Fandom [CLOSED] Tokyo Ghoul: Dead Enmity

[Yoki]

Bella could understand Jackson's concerns, but he needed to keep calm. They had a lot of people to think about, sure, but she wasn't about to get her parents in trouble for harbouring fugitives and the such if she could avoid it... They needed to leave within the next few days, and they'd leave whenever Daryl got his act together and found who he was looking for. If it took awhile then they'd have to wait for a little bit, but he'd worked all day on it, so he had to get through soon. 


"Listen. Jackson." The woman moved her hands, but ended up positioning them in the exact same place as before, "We're all trying here, it takes awhile to get things together. I don't know who Daryl is talking to, he's going through people, but he's trying okay? He's trying to make us safe. I know it's not the best situation, and carting children around isn't good, but what other option do we have?" She looked up, "Where do you suppose we leave them all? At some orphanage? Yeah, like that'll help, they have to come with us and we have to keep them safe, as the adults and their guardians that is our job." With a sigh she stood up, turning her back to Jackson as she placed one hand on the opposite elbow. 


There was silence between the two again, and until Bella decided to break it. "I wouldn't let Daryl hear you say that." Her voice was low and quiet, serious in fact, "He's already lost one sibling to the CCG. Don't remind him that he's liable to lose another." She turned back around, "Her name was Jade. Little girl, probably would have been about fourteen now...but she didn't get to grow up. She was the sweetest thing, and only had one goal; she wanted to make the world a better place. She wanted people to work together instead of fight, and so she tried to talk to doves. But they saw Daryl trying to stop her and...so they killed her. Right in front of him. They didn't care that she was a child...or that she posed no threat...and...Daryl never got revenge..." Thinking about Jade wasn't something they did often now, it only broke Daryl's heart to remember her, "So don't think we don't realise there's children to protect, we know, but what can we do for them but be there? I know you're upset about Adrian, but we can't do anything for him. Not yet...we need to find out what happened first, we need to get somewhere safe...and we will. Daryl will make sure of it. Just be patient." 

 

[yaint]

A sister. Daryl had never told Jackson that once upon a time he had a younger sister who strove to end the war between races - in fact, he had barely said a word about himself since they first met. That had been nearly five months ago now... When Jackson had lost his friend in Zeplin's alley and had to be dragged backwards through London as he trembled and prayed with his eyes squeezed shut. Five months and the guy had not given so much as a hint, and all of a sudden he now had a sister whose life was stolen away.


"The CCG did that," Jackson whispered into the air, and his words dissipated into silence just inches away from his mouth. He tugged at the sheet tucked across his belly and frowned. "He... He didn't tell me that, he didn't. Nobody said anything."


The word 'doves' still felt unnatural to hear coming from himself. It felt dirty, contaminated, like he should be washing out his mouth with bleach. And just the fact that he was disgusted by it made him loathe himself and his actions that much more.


He had been a part of that.


He had worked for the men who slaughtered Daryl's little sister in cold blood, and some part of him was still evil enough to think that the ghouls were still wrong to keep the grudges that they held. How could he think that, when everything was suddenly making sense? Idiot. He and Adrian were not the only ones to have lose somebody they loved, and he should be ashamed for ever having believed that he deserved the kind of sympathy anyone had shown him for it.


He was responsible for the death of an innocent girl.


After that, Jackson's tongue felt heavy in his mouth, like it was made of stone. It was hard to speak, but still he told Bella, "Wait. Bella, wait, d-don't go yet." There was something that revelation had made him want to say, and he needed to get it out whilst he was still awake. Their short conversation had taken a lot out of him; once more his skin had turned clammy and pale. He struggled to catch his breath after speaking. His hands were too weak to grip the sheets tightly. In a minute he would be out again, but he needed to use the time he had. "Just... St-stop a minute and listen, I've got an idea. Uh - Jade, you... Said she wanted peace, right? For ghouls and humans." There was a pause. The man's eyes closed, and then when he had the breath to spare he promised, "We can... Do that. We can, we'll... Just get on our feet.. And then we'll make... We'll make them s-see. We can do that. It worked on me, you can do it again."

 

[Yoki]

"Yeah. We don't bring it up much..." Bella sighed, "It's not exactly something we go around tell everyone, you know?" It was best to steer off that subject, if Daryl heard them then he'd probably be less than happy. He respected his little sister a lot, she had more guts than half of the people they'd known, but...she was just a child, she didn't understand the damage that could be done to her if she didn't keep herself at a safe distance. In the end, despite her good intentions, she payed for that. 


When she was just about to leave she heard Jackson's voice again, spinning around. He seemed about to fall asleep, but she did wait, she waited for him to speak again, but he really did look tired, like he was about to fall back asleep. The man mentioned about Jade wanting peace, to which Bella nodded, but then he said something that she wasn't expecting at all. They could do that. He really believed that? He believed that they could truly create peace between ghouls and humans? It seemed a little difficult, considering ghouls had to be fed with human bodies, it'd be hard to get any humans to want to live peacefully with them knowing that they could be their next source of food... 


"Well," She crossed her arms, "Seems idealistic...but I hope you're right Jackson. I really do." With a smile, Bella backed up, "Get some sleep, you need it. We'll have a busy couple of days coming up." Finishing her sentence, she turned and waved a hand at the man, slowly walking towards the exit of the room. He needed rest, she needed to talk to Daryl, hopefully he'd been able to sort something out in the time they'd had...or...at least come closer than he'd been before. 


There was so much riding on this one person that Daryl was trying to get hold of, a lot of lives, sure, they had other options...but if this person could get them somewhere closer so they didn't have to move people as far...well, that'd be ideal. It was all about whether or not they felt like replying to Daryl... After all, he hadn't even been given the chance to talk to them directly yet, and he didn't seem ready to give anyone else too many details about what was going on. That was probably for the best, he only needed to discuss it with one person. 

 

[yaint]

"You can do it, I'm sure," Jackson slurred back up at Bella, smiling weakly like he could almost believe that what he said would one day ring true. These days, when they still lived in the eye of the storm, it was difficult to find a second perspective that would give them all a view of what was coming next. In reality, peace - if it could ever be achieved at all - seemed like a long way away. Claire was for some reason towards the top of the CCG's most-wanted list. They had doves on their tail and with any misfortune the police were up against them too. And, of course... Adrian was gone.


It was a heavy thought to shoulder, and just remembering that his friend was lost seemed to drag Jackson down fathoms into his bedding. This was the second time he had lost that kid after promising to shield him above all else. This was the second time Adrian had to be alone, afraid, killed or locked up by someone who promised him that he would never again see the sun.


Jackson had failed. He knew that now, and it hurt to know. He failed, and he failed, all he ever did was let down the one person who needed him more than anyone else in the world...


***


He had spent a long time thinking about that, his failure, and feeling his limbs sink into the mattress as he stared up at the ceiling. And then he blinked, and when he opened his eyes again the world had changed. Unless his memory was failing him, or the dizziness had made him hallucinate, there had been sunlight coming in through a window somewhere just a minute ago. It had been daylight. Morning, or early afternoon at the latest. And now it was dark.


In his dazed state, Jackson did not come to the conclusion that he must have fallen asleep again until he had spent a few minutes pondering the mystery, but at this point he was jarred by a sharp knock at a door he could not see. With bleary, short-sighted eyes he stared and strained to find the source of the noise, but it was of no use. So instead of looking, he just stupidly called out in his lazy, slack-tongued voice, "Bella?"

 

[Yoki]

The knock on the door was followed by the sound of footsteps as someone stepped inside and it was slowly closed once again, muffled voices came from the general direction of click and thuds and it became clear that there were at least two people, and Daryl was definitely one of them. 


"What fucking time do you call this?" The familiar voice of the male hissed as more footsteps ensued. One of the people was walking at a much quicker pace than the other, there were a set of fast, aggravated footsteps, and a set of slow, casual footsteps that seemed to be in no rush to get anywhere any time soon. 


There was no reply to Daryl, just the sounds of footsteps moving down the corridor, of course the sound of Jackson's voice caused them to stop. For a few moments there was silence as the individual seemed to think about where they wanted to go, something must have been going on in the hallway, since it wasn't the person with the slow footsteps that spoke. It was Daryl again. 


"Whatever, go in, might as well, he needs to know too you fucking asshole." The easily annoyed voice of the man echoed slightly as it was raised, but he quickly shut himself up, opening the door to the room that Jackson was in and walking through. He'd held the door open, avoiding looking at Jackson as another male walked in. 


Tall, well-built, strangely mysterious; the male that had walked into the room was all that and more, he had a hood up over his head, which was attached to a leather jacket he was wearing, under than there was a beanie, but his face was slightly obscured. Even without saying anything this person gave off a certain warning, even by looking at him you knew he wasn't someone to mess with, it was just something about him...but what was unclear. 


The light was flicked on by Daryl and the door closed, once the room was illuminated he turned to Jackson, crossing his arms to lean against a wall. "You're awake huh? Finally." He muttered, turning his head away, "Bel's asleep. Everyone's asleep. Well, apart from up of course. We got stuff to discuss." Finally, he turned his head from the man laying in the bed to the one now walking slowly around the room, investigating it. "Okay bruv, I get that you're meant to be all mysterious and shit, but fucking give it up now yeah?" Once again he turned his head, "You gotta lot of explaining to do after all." 


"You just don't know when to shut up, do you?" The male walking around the room had stopped to turn to Daryl, keeping his hands in his pockets. His voice was monotone, betraying no emotion what so ever, but it was enough to make Daryl grit his teeth. 


"Shut the fuck up Leo." When talking to him, Daryl didn't even look the man in the eyes, but the individual definitely heard him as his head seemed to tilt upwards slightly. 


"What?" Everything the male did was calm and slow, he'd removed one of his arms and casually pulled down his hood with no rush at all, revealing his face. Jade green eyes stared on at Daryl whilst the male put a hand through light chocolate brown hair, pulling off his beanie and sticking it in his pocket. 


"Nothing." Daryl pushed off of the wall, averting his gaze from the male he'd called Leo and moving further towards the end of the room. 


"Are you sulking?" Came his calm, steady voice once more, always very low. 


"No, I'm not fucking sulking you shit." The reply from Daryl was muttered and quick, he didn't even turn around to look at Leo. 


"What're you pissed about now?" 


"I'm not fucking pissed, asshole." 


"Why are you pissed?" 


"I told you I'm not-" Finally Daryl turned around, exasperated and raising his voice further, before realising there were other people sleeping in the house. He breathed out sharply and shut up for a few seconds before continuing, "You got a lotta shit to explain, y'know?"


"Do I." 


"Yeah, you fucking well do. What the fuck you honestly think you're doing playing fucking games. For one, how many people have I gotta go through to find your goddamn contact? Second, what the fuck man? I thought you didn't have family. Third, fuck you." 


"I don't see anything I need to explain to you in that list." 


"Well, whatever, maybe not to me then, but to him." Daryl's arm pointed out towards Jackson laying in the bed, immediately diverting Leo's attention, "Jackson, meet Leo. Leo, meet Jackson. Long time so see huh?" 

 

[yaint]

Everything so far, every event or occurrence or moment of confusion, Jackson had blamed on his wounds. The time of day? He was tired, he must have fallen asleep. Thinking he could end the trans-species war? The blood loss had made him delirious. Believing the strange, slow-footed man could ever be Bella? Well, it was hard to tell the difference between gaits with only a strange new flooring to go by, surely.


He had an excuse for everything, but only up until now. The moment that door opened and the silhouette of another man swept through the shadows, it felt as though the entire room had turned cold - almost like Jackson was breathing frost. It made his neck crawl with a strange, unsettling sensation. He knew that this person should have felt like a stranger to him, but every time he looked all he could see was the ghost of a person he used to know. Someone kind, unweary, selfless... And broken.


"Leo." Just as Daryl introduced this now-stranger's name, the same word came from Jackson. It was much quieter, much less an announcement than a tiny, hoarse whisper of disbelief. The brown hair, the green eyes, the voice, the height, it all matched up. Everything about it screamed 'Leo' at him like his mind was not already loud enough. It couldn't be right. It could never be true, Leo was dead, he was attacked years ago. They found his blood on the streets.


'It's not him,' he tried to tell himself.


His mind would not listen. 'Leo!' it kept crying. 'Leo, it's Leo!' And it kept shouting at him and tugging at his arms until they thrashed and flailed about his bed, swinging clumsily into the furniture surrounding him as they tried to sit him up when they barely had the strength to move at all. His eyes were wild, palms sweaty, skin turned ghostly and white from the strain of all of the movement. There was no way he could get any closer to look, but that did not stop him from wondering.


Why? How, and when, and where had he been all these years? So many better questions to ask, and yet the only idiotic thing he could think to say at that moment was, "Are you sure?"

 

[Yoki]

Maybe Jackson should have seen shock on the other's face, shock, confusion, disbelief, it would only be natural after all. They'd been apart six years. However, the male's face reminded a blank canvas, his expression did not waver, he just stared at Jackson with emotionless, piercing green eyes. 


"Yeah, Leo, are you?" Daryl spat, he was obviously annoyed about something, "After all, how do I even know your real name is Leo? What if you just stole it from some dead kid to cover yourself huh? Is that it? Have you been lying to me about that as well?" He growled, hands balling into fists. 


"Your voice irritates me." The reply was once again monotone, holding no emotion, green eyes flicked to Daryl, causing him to immediately freeze up. "I did all that shit for you, not the other way around. Don't overstep your boundaries and demand anything from me. I owe you nothing."


"You owe me a fucking explanation you asshole! Don't you dare say you-"


"Nothing!" With one word Leo shut Daryl up, it was firm, his was was slightly raise but far from shouting, it was just commanding. Once Daryl had calmed down, he turned back to Jackson had stared at him again, "Pretty sure." Daryl was muttering something to himself, but he didn't say it loud enough for anyone else to hear, so Leo ignored him. "And you're Jackson, correct? Jackson Lambert." He crossed his arms, "A human around ghouls is risking his life."

 

[yaint]

"Jackson... Yeah, that's..." For a frightening moment, the man froze and tried to wrack the uncertainty out of his brain. He had not just forgotten his name, no way - it was just a case of that thing he had heard of before. 'Jamais vu?' That's what it was called. Something that should seem familiar suddenly felt bizarre and unnatural. It suddenly felt like Jackson had jamais vu for the whole world. This wasn't Leo. It was him, but not... Him. A different Leo to the one who left him behind six years ago.


What happened?


The seconds ticked away as Jackson dwelled inside his own mind. There were clues everywhere, pieces of the jigsaw scattered throughout his memory. If he could find them all, surely he would be able to work out the answer; that was what always happened. He had spent his whole life picking up jigsaw pieces and fitting them together until they made a picture. It had worked through childhood, education, the sciences, forensics, investigations... And for a brief moment, he thought he could work it out here, too. They found Leo's blood and flesh, not his body. There were things Leo never talked about even when it was just him and Jackson. Surely there was something he must have missed, some kind of missing link. Prince?


No, it couldn't have been Prince. Adrian had believed it before, way back at the battle that happened just before everything fell apart. It seemed so likely, and it fit so well... But Prince was a ghoul and Leo was a human, and there was no way in all of eternity that God would be cruel enough to lay a fate like that on a second innocent life. One Sanister was enough. It had to be.


Leo was a human.


Eventually, Jackson stopped thrashing about - partially because he figured out how little use it would be, but mostly because the effort made him dizzy and sick, and he did not want to fall asleep again at such a vital point. He had to say to Leo, "But... So what about you? It's not just me, s-something happened to..." There was a pause, and he trailed off. If this really was his old friend he was talking to, to speak of Adrian now would be a disgrace. Even the thought of it made his eyes glisten with salty tears; he could not face what Leo's reaction would be now. "You. You were dead, Leo, we... Six years, mate, we all thought you were gone, you have no idea. And you're here and - with him!" His arm twitched like he wanted to throw it outwards at Daryl, but the best he could manage was a sharp glare. "Why? Wh-what the hell? Leo, it's as dangerous for you as it is me, do you even know who this guy is? He could r-rip out your throat, he..."


Silence. He trailed off again, but this time not by choice, for his voice was choked to quietness by a lump forming in his throat. He did not quite realise what was happening until he felt something trickle down the sides of his face from the corners of his eyes.


"Six years," he croaked again after swallowing the lump that had cut off his sobs, "I just... I didn't th-think I'd ever see you again. You scared me, man, you got us good."

 

[Yoki]

Upon Jackson saying that it was dangerous of him to be around Daryl there was a low grunt from Leo and he raised an eyebrow, but other than that didn't seem any more phased by the other's presence than before. His eyes slowly moved between Jackson and Daryl, still with no rush, his hands always staying in his pockets. 


"You're saying I should be afraid of him?" He asked, "I'm well aware of who he is, I gave him the name, and taught him everything he knows." The man moved backwards, leaning up against the wall, "So tell me Jackson, what do I really have to be afraid of?" Leo shook his head an sighed, almost disappointed in Jackson for thinking he was defenceless against someone who could was seen as quite a threat. 


Daryl had turned his head away again, crossing his own arms and keeping quiet. He definitely was shut up a lot easier than normal, after he'd been warned he wasn't saying anything, despite the look on his face that portray how angry he was with Leo. He was scowling wickedly at the man and glaring, but every time Leo so much as moved his head Daryl had turned his own away to make sure he didn't see. That man was actually someone he had respect for, but at the same time was slightly afraid of. Leo was a powerful man, getting on the wrong side of him had never been a good idea. 


There was silence in the room once again, no one spoke, no one did much of anything, maybe no one knew what to do, or maybe they just didn't feel the need to say anything...either way the house was enveloped in quiet. Until Leo decided to break it again. 


"You shouldn't have." He replied, eyes turned to a rather antique looking lamp, "I had no intention on coming back." Although it might have been nice for Jackson to have had some sort elaboration on that point, or for Leo to explain why he left, why he abandoned Adrian, why he didn't tell anyone, it didn't look like he was going to get anything else. After a short break of silence, Leo turned his gaze back to Jackson, moving his foot onto the wall in the process, "You just happened to get in my way." 


"Oh yeah," Daryl hissed, turning his head, "Speakin' of 'us'. Who is us huh? Huh Leo?" He'd pushed himself away from the wall and walked right up to the man, "I've had the pleasure of meeting your psycho little brother recently, quite the interesting kid, don't you agree?" The two looked at each other for a few seconds too long, Daryl with a scowl on his face and Leo with his lips still in a straight line. 


"And?" The reply was quick and straight to the point, he really didn't see any point to the conversation they were having. 


"I thought you didn't have any family around anymore huh? If that's so true then why the fuck is that kid parading around huh?" He got closer, attempting to match the taller of the two's height, but it wasn't really working. 


"I had no obligation to tell you about him." 


"Fuck you, asshole. You fucking lied to me!" 


"I did." Leo turned his head back to Jackson, ignoring the green haired male in front of him, "Where is he?" 

 

[yaint]

Jackson could not believe it. For the last six years, Leo's entire existence had been a lie. Everything from his birth to his death had been cut short, abandoned and tossed out with the rest of the world's worst refuse. He let them thought that he had died. Adrian had been forced to spend every day of his life up from that point believing that he would never again see the one person he learned to trust as a kid... And all for what? Some security? A secret friendship with this green-haired weirdo who pretty much picked Jackson up off the street like he was a piece of repulsive roadkill?


As provoking as the thought was, Jackson for once could not stay angry for more than a few seconds. If he could sit up and reach out far enough to get in a good, hard punch then by any means he would have beaten Leo to the ground right there and then. But it was that uncertainty and the jelly-like weakness in his arms that kept him down and mellowed with his head pressed into the tear-soaked pillow. Six years without anything at all, and this was all he could do: lie down and weep like a child and wish that he was strong enough to do anything else. Six years... No contact, not even to him, not to Adrian.


Adrian. Adrian, what? 'Where is he?'


Jackson's chest tightened about a minute after the question had been asked, when it finally got through to the awake part of his head. Yeah, where was Adrian? That was the question, and God knew that that man would have done anything to find out the answer. But even if he knew it, what would he say? He could never bring himself to tell Leo. If the guy still cared enough to wonder, then that meant he was worried. To confirm those fears would be a crime - but whether or not it would be worse to hide the truth than to face it, Jackson did not know. He could only close his eyes, sink into that sweet darkness for a moment and listen to what his conscience wanted him to say.


When he listened, there was no voice there telling him what to do; instead, his mouth seemed to move on its own. "Not here," it said quietly, still nervous despite its autonomy. It hurt to say it. Jackson even tried for a moment to stop it, but the explanation wanted to come out. So of course it carried on, "We... Got caught up in a CCG raid. We ran away, but... Adrian..." His cheeks tightened in a grimace, and he did his best to hide his face by pressing it further into the pillow. It didn't work, and before he could even look up again his eyes were streaming. "He didn't make it out, we - we left him b-behind, I don't know where he is. I'm sorry. I'm sorry Leo, he's not here, we don't know where he is, I'm sorry."

 

[Yoki]

Hearing that his brother was lost seemed to draw Leo's attention. Daryl had dropped his head and backed off, obviously not wanting to be in the middle of anything to do with Leo and family, he hadn't dealt with this before...he didn't know how it would turn out. For a few moments there was nothing, in fact it didn't even look like Leo was bothered, but then he took a step forwards. There was definitely something that was slightly different about the way he walked, something that said some part of Jackson's explanation must have bothered him, even if it was just in the slightest. 


After the first step he kept taking steps towards Jackson, closer and closer, until he was in front of the male, looking down at him. There was nothing said, instead he just stared, and in the quickest movement from him all night, slapped Jackson across the side of the head. It wasn't particularly hard, but it was hard enough to get the message across. 


"You lost him." His voice sounded a little lower, closer to a growl, but it still help that strange, uncaring tone, despite his actions proving otherwise. He let out a quick, slightly irritated sigh and crossed his arms. There really wasn't anything else to be said, Jackson had lost Adrian, that was the general topic, getting him back from the CCG wouldn't be an easy job... The only thing they could really do was wait, "You know he's too fragile to handle this kind of shit." It was true, even at eighteen Adrian was still too innocent and childish to deal with the harsh nature of reality, if he was alive they'd be lucky to get him back the same. He was too naive, if they were nice to him for awhile who knows what they'd get out of him. 


The man backed off again, making his way back to the wall in a way that almost seemed to say 'it can't be helped now.' He leaned against the wall once more, staring at Jackson again,. It was a break of trust, six years ago Jackson had been given the task of making sure Adrian was okay because Leo trusted him, but he'd failed. He'd failed to protect Adrian, he'd failed to keep him from harm, it was why putting trust into other people to do jobs you could do ten times better yourself was so risky. "You had better hope he's matured since the last time I saw him." 

 

[yaint]

It was far from the hardest hit Jackson had ever felt before; quick, sharp and stinging, that slap left the skin above his beard tingling and sore, but only for a moment. Then the pain sank through and seeped into his bloodstream. It travelled down in pulses until it reached his heart, which seemed to constrict and tighten and throb with all of the force that Leo chose not to use in his assault.


It was not the fact that someone had slapped him that turned his limbs to ice. It was the fact that the person who had done it was the man with the brown hair and the jade-green eyes. Never in his life, from the moment he first laid eyes on the kind-hearted eighteen year-old to this moment when he was locked in place by that icy clare, did he ever expect something so cold to come from Leo.


He heard every single word after that, but for more than a minute he could not react. All that he could do was stare numbly at the ceiling like he had been doing for hours, completely stunned. Leo had just hit him. Leo Sanister. It wasn't possible.


Was it?


As the seconds knitted into minutes, that tightness in Jackson's chest seemed to knot itself into a little ball of despair and regret. Then it grew, and suddenly the guilt and the shame were overpowering. He felt like he couldn't breathe, because he had done that. He had let that happen - wherever he was, however long he had lasted on his own, Adrian was alone and he was suffering. If the kid was locked up, it was his fault. If the kid was hurt, hungry, cold and afraid, it was his fault. If he was dead...


"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Leo, I lost him and I d-don't know where the hell he went," he repeated again in that same weak, rasping voice. "H-he was supposed to - to come back here with us, he could have s-seen you. He would've loved it, Leo, you - he's still a kid, he really is, he-..."


After a while, he just gave up. He kept trying to make conversation like he was talking to his friend again, but this Leo was a stranger to him. There was no point. He would just get hit again... Although at this point he could not say he didn't deserve that punishment and a whole lot more.

 

[Yoki]

"I don't know why you're apologising to me." The sentence would have been strange to hear after Leo's actions just moments ago, but he still said it. "I'm not he one you should be apologising to." Of course, he was referring to Adrian, there was no one else it could be. The sweet, innocent, kind boy who had been involved in a lot of shit that had nothing to do with him. The one person who didn't deserve the pain he was put through, yet that didn't stop people from hurting him. He was useable, it was easy to manipulate him, and who wouldn't take the opportunity to grab as much information as they could out of a naïve child who didn't know any better? It was too simple. 


With a sigh, Leo shook his head, he didn't say anything, but he was obviously thinking something to himself. There was nothing much to say to Jackson anymore, he didn't really have much to say. So he just kept quiet, waiting for someone else to interject. 


"We'll get him back at some point Leo." Daryl started, "Done it once." That seemed to catch the man's attention once more, without changing his  expression, he turned to Daryl. It was one thing to say they'd lost Adrian, another to say that they'd got him back before.


"From where." Leo asked, but Daryl seemed to turn his head away for a moment, deciding not to answer. Maybe that hadn't been such a smart idea.  "From where?" Leo repeated, this time with more emphasis, waiting for Daryl's response. 


"Nowhere important." He replied, tapping his foot on the ground, "Just a small group of ghouls...took him awhile back, but he's fine." 


"Why?" 


"I dunno, why'd you expect me to know what they wanted the kid for. Not my business..." 


"You lost him twice." Whilst Leo didn't turn his head, jade green eyes flickered to Jackson, although he didn't seem angry, but disappointed in Jackson. "But that's your issue. Deal with it how you want." With that he relaxed again. The Leo Jackson knew would have never been so calm about a situation that could damage Adrian, but he was so nonchalant in tone of voice it was frightening. 


"What? You're not gonna get him?" Daryl asked, blinking. 


"You lost him." 


"So? He's your family man! You gotta find him." 


"You lost him. You'll find him." 

 

[yaint]

"We'll find him," Jackson promised in a weak mimicry of Daryl's own words, but then hastily added on the end, "If - if we can." After all, he had to be careful here - tread lightly on the thin ice that he could feel groaning beneath the weight of his untold truths, or else it would splinter and crack. Then light would filter though and illuminate everything the man wished so desperately that he could keep secret forever. His fear, his confusion and disappointment. The heavy shame he carried from leaving Adrian behind when he had every power to keep him safe.


The thoughts became distracting after just a moment of pondering, and something cringing inside him made him blurt out the first thing he could think of. "He might be dead," he said, and immediately regretted it. It was disgusting the way his voice even sounded hopeful. 'Yes,' he mocked himself, 'Let's all pray that an innocent kid is dead.' What a vile thought... Perhaps better than eternal torture from the likes of ghouls such as Zeplin, and maybe that was where the thought had come from in the first place. He hoped it was. He didn't want Adrian dead, not now and not ever. He just wanted the boy to be somewhere more peaceful than the piece-of shit life he had thrust upon him by the world. And to try and convey this to Leo, Jackson said, "I hope he's not - I m-mean that... I'll find him, if he's still alive, but if he's not then... I'm sorry."

 

[Yoki]

"He'll be alive." Leo said with a little too much confidence in his voice, "They'll keep him alive." He assured, "If they can help it." It seemed he was pretty confident that Adrian was alive, they just had to find him, but as soon as Jackson apologised again he turned away, his attention moving to the male with green hair who was standing near the door. The reason he'd come over wasn't to talk to Jackson, he had places to go, people to see, so he had to make this quick. "Oi." 


"What?" Daryl looked up just as Leo walked over to him, raising his hand. He held a set of keys up to Daryl, who immediately snatched them out of his hands, along with a note, grinning. "You got 'em!" 


"Trash the place and you're dead meat." Leo muttered, "Instructions are on the sheet, once you get there you rip it up and burn it. You hear me?" He continued to stare at Daryl until the man's excitement subsided, all he needed to know was that Daryl was going to listen to him. 


"Yeah. Yeah I get it." Recomposing himself, Daryl placed the keys and note into his pocket, "How far?"


"The paper will tell you anything you need to know." Leo sighed, "Making me come to you in person was a waste of my time. I have people for this shit." 


"Yeah, but your 'people' are fucking crazy." Daryl muttered, "I ain't dealin' with that crap." He shook his head, putting his hands back into his pockets and leaning against the wall once more. 


"Suck it up next time." After looking back at both of the males in the room, Leo took a few steps back. "If that's it, then I'll take my leave." He announced, making sure to stay still for a few seconds to make sure no one had anything to say, and when no one did he started making his way back towards the door, holding up one hand for a moment. "Later."

 

[yaint]

For a person who could not even have predicted that this was not Adrian's first known disappearance, Leo seemed quite firm and certain about his words. The promise was solid. Maybe that should have put Jackson at ease so that he could rest, relax and sink back into his bedding as the throbbing ebbed from his face where the older man had hit him. But he couldn't know. There was no way in hell Leo knew what he was talking about, and that made the certainty feel ominous and frightening. What would he do if he found out that he was wrong?


Of course, Leo... Or whoever this new, strange person was, did not linger on the topic for long. That would be counter-productive, and it had not taken Jackson long to realise that this person did not appreciate counter-productivity. They went on to talk about a new place - likely their next stop after Bella's house - with Daryl getting the keys and a note he was supposed to destroy.


Jackson never thought much of this other than that it would take him farther away from Adrian, wherever that poor kid had ended up, but something started screaming inside of him when the man named Leo turned to leave.


Images flooded his head. Days long gone when he and that very man had spent hours together, in a house, in the streets, sprinting across the rooftops and leaping from building to building like they would never have to look behind them again. The rush of air swirling around his neck, his shoulders, his legs. He felt it, and then he felt that jade-green stare as they sat together and conversed about something trivial and childish. He missed that Leo. He had wanted to spend the rest of his life doing the same things without a care, but then... The man had disappeared. For six years Jackson had believed that that was it, and that it was all over. But now he was here, and now that he had his back turned the thoughts of such a massive change in his persona seemed to drain from him within a second.


A clumsy, weak hand was thrust out against the bedside table, and five numb fingers fumbled about in the dark for something he had noticed out of the corner of his eye just hours ago. "Leo, st- wait!" His wallet. Where was his wallet? It had been right there, and surely it still was, but his hand... He was so weak and so tired, his hand could not find it, but - ah-ha! With one enormous klutzy movement his arm went to sweep everything on the table down against the bed. There went the lamp, several bottles of pills he probably should have taken by now, a flask full of water, and something soft and light.


There it was.


It was one of the most urgent things he had ever done, but the haste slowed him down. Jackson took far too long to unzip and open that little coin purse stitched to the leather, but as soon as it was open he reached in and produced something spectacular. It glinted in what little light there was in the room - something metal, something precious made of silver or gold, but it was hard to tell. Jackson, of course, knew exactly what it was, even if he couldn't see it with his inferior human eyes. It was a little golden bullet on a little golden chain, and a ghoul's eyes would be able to see that on the bullet's side there were the little engraved letters, 'L.S.'


"Here," he wheezed. All of the moving had gotten him out of breath; now he tried to reach forwards to hold the bullet out for Leo's taking, but his arm shuddered and sank into the blanket again. His fingers became slack and uncurled to expose the object. "It's... S-sort of like a - a good luck charm. I've been keeping it for a while, but... You - you can have it, yeah? I think you need it."

 

[Yoki]

Maybe he would have left without hearing Jackson out, but even Leo could hear the urgency in the man's voice, and it wasn't like if he did leave the room Jackson could just come and chase after him. So he stayed, he stayed and waited through the shifting and shuffling that Jackson was doing and he desperately tried to find whatever it was that he so desperately wanted Leo to see. 


The man had turned back around to face the bed, eyes locked onto the male on the bed, arms crossed. What was taking him so long? Leo had important things to do and people to catch up, waiting all day, or all night rather, for some guy to produce something that was probably of little importance was a waste of his time and energy. He could have been out of there by that point, but he wasn't because of this one person that was holding him back from leaving for some reason. Maybe if Jackson had told him what he was doing first of all then he wouldn't have felt irritated by the situation. 


Of course, everything seemed to change the minute Jackson produced a small, golden object hanging off of the end of a chain. It was the last thing Leo expected to see at three am in some random house when he was just trying to drop off keys and an address... He wasn't ready for it, he didn't even think Jackson would have kept such a thing... 


His whole demeanour seemed to change for a moment, he froze of the spot, arms moving to his sides, jaw clenching, and eyes widening, but as soon as he realised these changes in his own attitude he'd done his best to cover it up. Trying to look as casual as possible, Leo walked forwards until he stood next to Jackson's bed once more, snatching the bullet of his hand and holding it up in front of himself as if to check whether it was the real thing. He scanned the item until his jade green eyes landed upon his own initials, L.S., Leo Sanister. It was his, he knew it was. 


The silence dragged out in the room as Leo continued to check the bullet over, Daryl was completely silent during the ordeal, simply watching from a corner, and no one was paying full attention to Jackson for them to notice what he was doing at that moment. They were all only interested in the bullet that he'd produced out of his wallet, although the meaning of it was different for the both of them. 


Leo's mouth moved as if to say something, but no words came out, instead he seemed to simply mouth something to himself, something that looked oddly similar to 'no way'. He was surprised to say the least, but whatever he was feeling, it definitely wasn't on display for everyone to see. That stony expression never left his face again. 


"A good luck charm huh?" His arms dropped to his sides, gaze moving back down to Jackson's as he dropped the item back into the man's hands. "Keep it." At first his reply sounded quite harsh, like he thought it was ridiculous of Jackson to offer him such a thing, but then he continued, "You seem to need it more than I do." With that he turned from the bed once more and placed his hands in his pockets again, "Besides, where I'm going, luck is irrelevant. Later, Jackson." 

 

[yaint]

The effort of holding out his arm left Jackson's palm hot and clammy. By the time Leo came and snatched the weight out of his fingers, the bullet would have likely been smeared with fingerprints of sweat and grease. But the item did not shine any less for it - in fact, it seemed to glow with a faint golden light, although Jackson knew that was just his warped and dizzied perspective playing tricks on his perception. He was so tired... And when his vision had turned dark at the edges, everything else looked so much brighter by comparison. 


Leo turned around again. The glow shifted to the older man's green eyes when Jackson stared back up and took in every detail of his carved, stony face which seemed to soften and contort into something closer to what he was familiar to. That same Leo he had known all those years ago came back, if just for a moment, and Jackson felt something shift and flutter inside him. It was him. Leo, the real Leo had come back for just a moment, and then just as quickly as he had appeared he was gone again. That cold expression came back. There was that certain tension in the air again, one that made Jackson wish he had the energy to stiffen his shoulders and clench his jaw, but he was too tired to move. In fact, he did not even notice for a moment that the bullet had been dropped back into his hands until that voice came to him again.


'Keep it,' Leo - or whoever it was - told him. Jackson's fingers twitched, and the little charm's golden chain slithered past his thumb and settled in a little knot around the bullet itself. Maybe he should have put it back in its safe place, but even if he were able to, the man did not want to move it. For some reason this whole situation gave him déjà vu and a terrible sense of longing, and he didn't want to let go of the gift from the friend he had missed so dearly for such a painfully long time.


Jackson heard something else. 'Later, Jackson,' Leo had said as he turned around to leave. No! Jackson thought. Not yet, not already! It was too early to say goodbye, and they had so much to catch up on. Explanations, stories, sharing news of one another's progress, sitting together in a quiet room so that they could remember what they had been to each other all those years ago. He didn't want Leo to leave. But he was so tired... So afraid of losing this man again, and yet so tired... He couldn't move. His eyes were rolling back and closing. "Leo, wait," he began. "You can't..." And then the rest never came, because the wounds from those bullets had taken the last of his energy and drowned him in sleep again.


***


Far from the first time, Jackson awoke and wished immediately that he owned a wristwatch; he did not need to open his eyes to see the light in the room. It was warm-feeling, a natural gold prickling on the fair skin of his eyelids. But how long had he slept? Hours, maybe. That was probably the most sensible answer, but it felt more like days. Or years, even, but to say something like that would be ridiculous.


Maybe he felt like that because of the dreams he had been having. Normally he did not remember his dreams in the morning when he woke up after a restless sleep, but last night's had been particularly vivid. They weren't just the usual nonsense adventures in a fantasy world, either, because they were memories. Nothing too long or elaborate or meaningful, though - just little flashes of the life he had lived in a better time.


That scene on the beaches of Portsmouth. His dog, Daisy, trotting dutifully alongside him as he led a small gang of children across the sand with the icy sea lapping at their toes. Then it was his bedroom, the bright little den filled with sunlight that made the characters in those movie posters seem to dance on their pages. Bunting lined the walls and ranks of stuffed toys blinked happily at him as he swung his legs back and forth as he sat craned over a book on the sofa.


The memories had been simple and happy. Calming. Warm. They came and went in a matter of seconds, then faded into nothing at all.


At one point, Jackson remembered that Leo had been in his dreams, too - he was there in some kind of mash-up vision of their many adventures scaling the rooftops in central London. It was funny to think about how once upon a time Jackson had been such a nimble climber. He had loved those days... Spending hours of the daylight and sometimes the moonlight too on a roof. They would leap over obstacles, shimmy along gutter pipes, slide and roll like they were secret agents pulling off their own Mission: Impossible. And then when they were too out of breath to move, they would find a calm place to just sit and talk as they stared across at the skyline.


Those days were the best. But they were gone forever, as Jackson was suddenly reminded when he recalled the events of the last night he could remember. Probably at some point earlier that morning... How could it feel so far away? After six years he had seen Leo again, and he wasn't the same. He wasn't in this room, either, he could tell that just from the atmosphere. If someone else was in here with him, he didn't care to open his eyes and look or listen for a voice. It wasn't someone else he wanted to see this morning. He just wished he could see the old Leo again, to wake up for a second time in those years where he and Adrian were safe and happy to some weak degree more than they were now.


What happened to Leo over that time, and why was he so different now, so cold?


Did Jackson even want to know?

 

[Yoki]

Once Leo had left Daryl had quickly followed, getting sleep was difficult for him as he had a lot to think about, how was he meant to get everyone to this place without them being found or followed? There was Bella's parents car, but they'd have to take seven people at a time, so that might take awhile... He knew that it wasn't going to be easy, but it wasn't like Bella's parents were going to kick them out, she just didn't want to get them involved in the shit that they'd created... Which was completely understandable. 


The day before Daryl had asked them if they'd mind looking after some of the youngest children, to which they said they wouldn't mind, but it couldn't be too many. It was a weight off of his and the other's shoulders to have someone willing to raise and care for the really young children that wouldn't stand a chance should they be found. It was less people to worry about and less people to have to look after. 


Eventually he'd left the work and gotten as much sleep as possible, but people had soon started to wake up. Bella was the one to come to his room and tell him to get up and stop being lazy, to which he replied 'fuck off.' Of course, he was quickly dragged out of bed after Dane appeared in the room to tell him there were people waiting downstairs to know if there was any news. There were things to do, people to reassure, he had a job to do, he couldn't laze around. If only Leo had chosen a more convenient time...and then he just left... Bastard. 


Reluctantly, Daryl had gotten up and made his way downstairs, there he'd explained what was going on to Bella and they'd started working through a method to get everyone to the desired location along with Diana and Dane. It was going to be a long day... 


***


Jackson's bedroom door opened and a figure with their head down walked inside holding a tray, they had a red beanie over their head and a grey jumper on that was much too large for them in every way, as well as a pair of light blue jeans and black socks.


Out of all of the people in the house Jackson probably expect to see Caleb the least. He wasn't someone who really went anywhere without Dane, so seeing him step into the room with Jackson alone was likely to be a shock. Not once as he was walking over did he look up, he hid his face, and hastily walked to Jackson's side, placing the tray on the side of his bed. Then for a moment he stood there, hands behind his back, head turned away. He seemed hesitant to speak, but it looked like he wanted to say something. 


"U-Um..." His voice was a whisper, breathy and nervous, everything about him screamed uncomfortable. "I-...I-It's...g-..." He had to stop speaking in order to regain himself and collect his thoughts. This whole situation had really shaken him up. "S-S-...Sorry...It's... Um...I-I..." He swallowed again, "You...You c-can...eat...or...whatever I...um...It was...m-made..." 

 

[yaint]

It had been such a terribly long time since Jackson had last been blessed with the privilege of a quiet, sunlit room and the comfort of his own company. He had missed this so dearly, and yet at the same time this was everything he had been dreading for as long as he could care to remember. After all, the truth, that unbearable weight strung around his strained heart, still dragged him down towards the same end-all conclusion that had been niggling at him all morning: 


Those dreams had been heavenly, but they would never be real again.


Leo was once more a stranger. His younger brother was gone, either dead, locked up or tied down against some madman's operating table as someone took a needle to his eye. And to make things worse, the silence, the only sweet liberty Jackson had in that moment, was waning with the sounds of someone's quiet, nervous footsteps drawing ever closer.


Okay, stop thinking now, the man had to scold himself before another ghastly image came into his head. His mind listened, and silenced its chattering just in time for the door to crack open and reveal a familiarly small and frightened shape holding in his hands what looked like a tray of something somewhat palatable.


"Caleb," the man said. The newcomer wore clothes far too large for his body, which Jackson thought was rather sad and that maybe he should tell him to go and find something else to put on instead. But of course, that wasn't the sort of thing you talked about with Caleb, especially if your name was Jackson. So instead of making a suggestion, he simply received the tray with a quiet word of thanks and a nod.


It took nearly a full minute of cold, stagnant silence before Jackson realised that time was wearing on without him, and that he should probably say something to ease Caleb's jitters. In the end, the best he could come up with in his mind-numbed state - which he still blamed on blood loss - was, "Uh, morning, I guess - d'err - d'you know where Bella is?"

 

[Yoki]

"A-Ahmn..." Caleb swallowed, keeping his head turned away as he spoke to Jackson. Looking at him had always been hard for the male, Jackson knew that, he was being brave, in his own right, by even entering the room with the man alone. He was nervous, afraid, and all he wanted was to go curl up on a sofa next to Dane and sleep for a bit...but they were all focusing. Interrupting would only cause problems, so he'd had to keep himself busy.


It was a little difficult for him to get out his words when speaking to Jackson, but he really was trying. "She...- She's j-just doing...- she..." He swallowed, getting irritated with himself for not managing to produce a single coherent sentence, "She's...s-sorting people...um...out..." If Jackson could have understood from that then he would have stopped there, but he knew that wasn't possible. "They're...a-all f-find-...finding the place we- we're g-going to, ah, s-st...-stay..." 


With that said he turned his body towards Jackson a little bit more, looking towards the good made. "Uh-" He looked down, his hand tightly clamped down over his wrist, before he suddenly froze and tensed, "SHIT." Upon muttering he word he spun around rapidly and started to fiddle with something. His back was to Jackson, and that large jumper he had on probably didn't help Jackson to see what was going on. Both of his hands were in front of him, and his clothing was being tugged at, but what he was doing was unclear. 


After a few minutes of this fumbling, Caleb turned back around again, pull a sleeve over one of his hands and clutching it. "Uh...um...S-Sorry." He muttered, grating his teeth together as he waited for Jackson to speak again. Although he didn't know how long that was going to be...and silence wasn't good for him at that moment. "Uh...um..." His blue eyes moved up to the ceiling, still avoiding looking directly at Jackson, "They're...they're a-all busy." It seemed he was a little calmer than before, as he was managing to get his words out a little more, but his hand that had settled over his wrist kept clenching and loosening slightly out of nervousness. "D-Daryl...k-keeps falling as-...asleep so..." He trailed off, spinning his foot on his toes, it didn't seem he though it was important he finished the sentence... There was nothing more to say. He didn't know what to say.

 

[yaint]

Now, stuttering was certainly to be expected when trying to make conversation with Caleb. Jackson could not lie to say that he wasn't becoming impatient with the constant stopping and starting, but still he pushed down the ticking start of frustration and breathed in. This wasn't the kid's fault, it was his. He knew that Caleb was frightened of him.


At first, the boy could barely get a word out, but patience produced a reward; there was news of a new shelter where they could all go to stay. Good. They had somewhere else to stop for a while before everyone would be scratching their heads again, and Portsmouth really was a last resort. But where were they even going? Was anyone even going to bother looking around for Adrian? Jackson perhaps would have opened his abnormally large mouth and made the mistake of complaining when he was timely interrupted:


'SHIT.'


"What?" Eyes darted up again and strained to focus as that one word fell out of the man's mouth. It wasn't like anyone could have walked in and carved out someone's teeth, there would have been more noise than that. But something had happened.


Jackson's hand grasped weakly, blindly at the table beside his bed. His glasses, were they there? ...Yes! With more strength than he had had the night before, those thin-framed, circular spectacles were thrust back against his face. A couple of blinks later and he would have been able to see what Caleb's uncharacteristic outburst had been about, but strangely, whatever the problem was had seemed to have fixed itself.


Fair enough, he thought, although there was a slight griping feeling still lurking in the corner of his mind. Jackson decided to be careful from now on.


Explanation kept rolling in through babbled nonsense. "Falling asleep," he echoed quietly, and then smiled. His shoulders heaved in the best laugh he would ever manage - a pathetic little grunt and sigh - and he carried on, "Y-yeah, me too, me too. I - I guess we're all tired, after all... This. Bella told me everyone got here okay. Except, uh..."


Adrian.


Everyone got here okay, except for Adrian.


That thought made him sink into the bed again, but for some reason it still didn't quite feel real - like his body was trying to use muscles that didn't work to cough up a pellet of poison. It was rejecting it, the truth, and it made him feel sick. Nobody even knew where he was, at least nobody nearby. The CCG might have released something to the public, but... Wait.


"The public," he repeated out loud. There was suddenly an idea swelling up inside his head, a 'light-bulb' moment as he often used to say when he was younger. There had been news stories before detailing the crimes of the notorious duo of Lambert and Sanister the runaway investigators. If there was any chance of finding out what happened to Adrian, they had to do it the same way as the public. "Hey - hey, Caleb, i-is that TV on? Uh, sorry, I just want to check something - if you don't mind."

 

[Yoki]

Caleb looked almost relieved when Jackson didn't question his mini outburst, he sighed and let his shoulders fall slightly as he relaxed. He just seemed to want to keep the topic of conversation on anything but himself, so Jackson asking different questions about what Bella was doing, where they were going, and then asking Caleb to switch on the television really were probably some of the best topics he could have chosen to talk to the boy about.


"The uh..." He mumbled, turning his back on Jackson once more, his blue eyes scanning the surfaces for the remote to the small, flat screen television that hung on the wall opposite the bed. "Y-Yeah, um, here." Upon seeing the little, black rectangle laying on a side board he nodded and walked over, picking it up with his still covered hand, he didn't remove his sleeve from it, not even after he had the item. Once more he spun to face Jackson, holding up and wiggling the black box in his hand, although he still refused to make eye contact. 


Walking back over, he held the device out in front of him, pressing the power button so that he could watch the screen flare into life, bright colours filling the once bland screen. It might not have been on the right channel, but he didn't bother changing it since he didn't know what Jackson wanted on. Instead he just dropped the remote in front of the man and backed off once more, hopefully that was good enough, he hadn't said another word since grabbing the remote.


The boy walked over to the chair nearby and sat down in it, pulling his legs together, eyes looking down at his lap. It didn't take long for him to start messing around with his sleeves, he'd finally removed his hand from his wrist and was instead trying to wrap the sleeve already over his hand around his wrist too, almost like he was tying it. He could have probably pulled it off, but it was awkward to do, and the boy was terribly clumsy and uncoordinated by the looks of things... Or maybe that was just nerves... 


He kept glancing up towards the television, then back to his arms, and sometimes even to Jackson, but each time he looked away from the ground it was only for a split seconds. Jackson would be lucky to catch him doing it. It wasn't every day Caleb sat willingly in the same room alone with Jackson either, he was usually expected to have left by that point, but...he was still there. The reasoning behind that was unclear.

 

[yaint]

As much as he wanted to imagine the little sparks flashing through his brain as electric ideas darted to and fro between his ideas, Jackson remained quite still as he waited for Caleb's action. There wasn't much else he could do, apart from imagine, and think about the things he wanted to see. But quickly those images turned into the things he prayed to never see in his life, so he decided to stop thinking about all of that and focus on something else instead.


Those nut-brown eyes followed Caleb's arm as it reached up and snatched the remote control from its place. It looked like that sleeve was still wrapped tightly around whatever was under there that the boy had been so concerned for just a moment ago. Maybe later he would ask Dane about it. Caleb was a fragile thing, and he reminded Jackson far too much of Adrian, which felt so wrong and such a saving grace at the same time. Somehow, it made him worry.


All extra thoughts were cast aside, however, as a muted 'whump' signalled that the little block dotted with buttons had been dropped against Jackson's lap. The man glanced down, then at Caleb, and then at the remote again. The screen was on. He grabbed the object in both hands and looked for the numbers he needed, then punched them in carefully.


'BBC News,' read a pop-up at the bottom of the screen, which soon faded into a familiar red-and-white interface. A woman with short blond hair sat at a desk on the set and stared into the camera with piercing eyes as she finished up the last story with a rather ominous, '...Are advised not to take matters into their own hands. I'm Jane Finnigan, this is BBC News.'


The report cut away to the weather. Jackson released an irritated, throaty grunt after having wasted his time and clicked quite aggressively at the next button. The BBC flashed away, replaced another news channel, which he had actually always preferred anyway.


He did not expect to stumble upon something particularly relevant right away, so for a few minutes he tried to ignore Caleb's fidgeting and just focused on every word the reporters said. A lot of it was, as usual, the same old stories recycled over and over.


'...The body of a young woman...'


Another murder case, he thought to himself immediately after hearing those words, but then the man at the desk continued, '...Now identified as Mari Phisher.' That was when Jackson jolted so hard that if his legs had worked, he probably would have fallen out of the bed. Luckily, he stayed in place still enough to then freeze and stare back at the screen with his eyes turned glassy and wide. There was a photograph of a face he knew from somewhere on the screen.


"Mari," he mouthed, and then snapped his head back towards Caleb. Then his body turned to water, and his grip on the remote softened. One arm fell down by his side. "Caleb... Th-that's not..."

 

[Yoki]

Everything was silent as Jackson turned on the news and started to listen, Caleb hadn't said a word, he didn't need to, he just sat there in silence...waiting for who knows what... Maybe he was listening too. Who knew. The boy didn't really look like he was paying attention to anything but his sleeves anymore, he was just fiddling anxiously, like he always did... He was always anxious. 


It was when Jackson changed the news channel and that all too familiar face popped up on the screen, along with those all too familiar names, that the boy finally froze and stopped fiddling. Mari Phisher. A girl who once upon a time had been going out with him, until she found out he was a ghoul and completely fled the scene... Caleb knew it was his own fault for not telling her sooner, he knew that he should have warned her, but how could he have ever warned her when her parents could have killed him on the spot had he said the wrong thing? He kept it from her because he was scared she'd leave, and she did...she left and tried to avoid him, talked to him a lot less... Although, he didn't make that much effort either, maybe he should have made more... Cherished her whilst she was still alive. 


"I know." Upon hearing Jackson speak he swallowed and turned his head down, the colour of his light eyes seemed to have dulled into a deeper more solemn shade of blue, maybe it was just the light. His words were forced, hard to get out, his jaw was clenched, body tended, one hand squeezing the opposite arm as he sat there trying to keep himself calm. "I-I know...Jackson..." For a moment he faltered, his breath became shaky and his body seemed to become weak, he dipped forwards, winced, and picked himself quickly back up. Everything was fine. 


It didn't look like this was the first time Caleb had heard the news, his head was turned away, but it wasn't hard to tell that he was somewhere close to crying. He curled himself forwards himself, his body shaking and jolting every now and then as he tried to hold back tears. Mari was dead, she had been for quite awhile, and they'd never even known... No one had ever told him... 


"I-I...c-called her...last-...last ni-ight..." Caleb's words were interrupted by little hiccups of sobs as he tried to speak and control his own emotions, "P-Parents...told m...me..." Chewing on the inside of his cheek, Caleb dropped his head, a tear dropped off of his cheek and onto the grey material covering his hands as he looked down.  He didn't think it would still be on the news. After all of this time they were still showing it...and he just had to be there to see it now. After he just found out the day before. 


Caleb gritted his teeth, squeezing his arm, he jumped slightly as his eyes closed and an uncomfortable look crossed his face. She was killed and he didn't even know, he wasn't even there. She didn't have to die. She could have been safe...but she wasn't...she never would be...she'd been stripped of her life so young...and he couldn't help feeling it was somehow his fault. "Sh-She...d-didn't...des-..." He took a moment to collect himself before continuing, "deserve th-...that..."