Chapter Text
Slightly raising both his glasses and his gaze from the monitor with a thousand buttons and lights, he sees him passing by chance in the distance: he recognizes him because very few people, in that place, have hair of that particular color. He understands the direction where the other man is going and he imagines, at that point, what he is looking for; for this reason, he calmly moves away from his own workstation and with a nod he reassures the members of his crew that nothing was wrong in the stringent control system that manages the whole building and what it commands. Holding the folder of notes and codes tightly in his hands, he exits the control room with transparent walls, made of plastic as hard as resistant, and walks towards the intersection of white corridors with a resolute pace.
He stops the other man returning in that direction, snorting rather angry.
-Kiryuu.
Kuro seems rather surprised to find him right there - he didn't expect to meet him, perhaps, nor he did foresee having to deal with him so quickly. It seems that that eventuality is the last thing he wanted to happen.
The red haired man chews slowly the only word he speaks to him: nothing but his name, in a flat tone.
-Hasumi.
Keito doesn't get too close to him, he keeps that right distance so that he doesn't feel threatened or accused of something in advance. But they look into each other's eyes without hesitation.
-I heard you were looking for Kanzaki.
-Yes, I had to ask him a favor.
Keito eyes up the corridor behind the mighty man. Several meters away, there is the laboratory where Souma Kanzaki, their esteemed colleague, was supposed to carry out his work of control that day.
It’s boring, monotonous, unrewarding like almost all the jobs that everyone is forced to do in those times of peace.
Hasumi adjusts his glasses on his nose, before telling him what he knows.
-Today Kanzaki is not there, this morning he asked for a few days of sick leave. It seems that he has not felt well, that he has a stomach ache.
There are several seconds of hesitation in the gaze of his interlocutor, and this only deepens the man's suspicions, moreover it confirms part of his doubts. Then, the concern sharpens the frown of those perennially frowning eyebrows, while the tone of his voice becomes a little more deep.
-It must be very serious to block someone like Kanzaki.
-I thought the same thing.
Kuro looks down at the ground, considering something in silence. And his foot is already ready for a quick step, to slide back the corners of the long white coat over smooth tiles to his department, isolating himself again until his work is completed, when Keito precedes and blocks him there.
-So tell me, what did you need?
Surprised, Kuro tries to respond but every attempts of escape are cut short immediately.
-I had to ask Kanzak-
-Kanzaki is missing, I just said that. But there's nothing he does that I can't do for him.
The Yumenosaki Company is a particularly quiet place, especially since Machines have been brought back under human control. All that white color, all that silence, the human spirit and its powerful feelings seem to stand out as if there is a perennial echo.
On the other hand, this is what Eichi Tenshouin, undisputed leader of the powerful structure, has always wanted to be.
Keito therefore does not believe in Kuro's words, not even this time.
-You don't have to worry, Hasumi. It is nothing important.
-I've told you more than once, Kiryuu. I see you very worn out, it's not like you.
Kuro thins his gaze, examining the face and expression of his interlocutor.
Keito then looks at his shoulders, his whole body to his legs, raising his eyebrows as if the words he is about to pronounce are so obvious that only someone with severe cognitive impairment could not understand.
-Your connections have passed the latest backups, right? Have the technical and bionic tests give any interesting results?
-Everything is normal.
-What about biological tests?
Pause, Kuro tries to smile but he does it very badly - not that Keito judges him for his inability to express himself, but he is always dazed by the grimace his lips take in those moments.
-Done them too.
Keito sighs and uses the folder in his hands as an improper weapon: he taps it on Kuro’s forehead, trying to be at least a little persuasive.
-So do me the favor of not ending up like Kanzaki. Have some good sense, take care of yourself.
Kuro's tone softens a little, although there is a little annoyance of being warned in the back of his tone.
-You don't have to worry, Hasumi.
And without more words, he leaves him, finally relaxing his shoulders only once he no longer has to look the other man in the face.
Keito's eyes snap, rolling around behind his glasses: focusing on the back of Kuro’s neck, perhaps they are looking for something that doesn't exist and never has. The fact that Kuro and Kanzaki himself are hiding something from him is certain, the level of danger of this something is up to his judgment.
Soon everything will be clearer, it's just a matter of time.
A boy with a clear voice, but also a little hesitant, calls for the attention of Keito Hasumi, chief responsible for the permanent control of Yumenosaki, because the suspended work can no longer be postponed and none of the crew can read codes as complex as those on the monitor. His eyes snap again, the metallic mechanism takes refuge behind the white bulb and the green iris so perhaps it never frightens those of them totally human, who have never seen the perfect coexistence of bionic and biological in one body like his.
He goes back to the ward without delay, to finish his own job as quickly as possible.