A/N: Sorry for the incredibly late update. My laptop wasn't working (and it still isn't really working...)

Akira slammed the phone down in despair. Ema had called him once again, regarding the matters of the Line case but she hadn't approved of what he had told her.

"Do you have evidence, or is this some baseless conjecture of yours?"

"Well, I don't have evidence as of yet but I'm sure that the Student President is-"

"I'm sorry but I cannot accept this new information. If you do not have incriminating evidence which points out the identity of the true culprit then I am afraid we cannot agree with your line of thought. Remember, Lost. You have only a few days left or your mission will be terminated and you will be retired..."

The troubled man clenched his fists until no blood reached his knuckles. Time was nearly up for him. If he could not find any evidence placing Shiki under suspicion of being the man behind the illegal Line distributions then he would be abandoned by the Organization- his 'family'. For the first time ever he could feel the pressure of the whole situation weighing down on his soul like a ton of bricks. Nonetheless he wasn't allowed to let such trivial problems hinder his mission. He wasn't so weak as to give up in the middle of something – especially if the result was abandonment.

Akira regained his composure and quickly made his way out the classroom, avoiding eye contact with those around him. He kept his eyes on the floor, sticky with stains and unidentifiable litter, and stopped dead in his tracks when he came across the sight of foreign shoes. He looked up.

-click-

"The hell?" Akira blinked a few times before his vision reverted back to normal.

"Heya! Sorry, did I surprise you?"

He glowered towards the blonde, feminine-looking man holding a digital camera in his hands. "What the hell are you doing?" Akira knew he wasn't in the best of moods at that time but he still regretted his sudden outburst of anger.

"Sorry! I just couldn't help myself! You looked so cool with that stoic expression of yours." The annoying boy grinned widely as if he was pleased with himself. "I'm Rin. Rin from the photo club! It's so good to finally see you in person, Akira!"

The grey-head frowned, his eyebrows twitching slightly in irritation. It was obvious he wasn't in the mood for some child's prattling; however he was curious as to how the stranger knew him personally. "How do you know about me?"

"Well, your name has been popping up more than I could say during my meetings."

"Meetings?"

"Yeah. I'm part of the Student Representative Council." Rin gloated with arms arrogantly crossed in front of him. For such a small man, his ego was pretty big. "It pleases me to inform you that I am also the vice-president of our great committee."

"Oh?" Akira felt hopeful once again. If Rin worked alongside that bastard then perhaps there was still a chance to gather information regarding the Line distributions. He decided now was the perfect time to ask Rin about it, especially since a certain asshole wasn't around to be a dick right now. Akira knew his efforts appeared to be a little desperate but he didn't care, as long as he got to keep his place in the organization. "Hey, can I ask you something since you're part of the Student Council?"

A mischievous grin stretched across the prideful boy's face. "Oh yeah? Sure, ask ahead!"

Akira decided to use the same justification as he did on Konoe. "Recently, I heard rumours about some illegal drug getting distributed around here and-"

"Akira~! There you are!"

Fuck this life of mine!

He turned around only to find himself glomped by an incoming mass whom he immediately identified as being Keisuke. He had his arms clutched around Akira in a possessive manner, glaring daggers at Rin who he inwardly claimed to be his rival on the spot. "Are you asking him out, Rin? You better not be giving Akira a hard time just because he's new here! To think you were going around seducing the others because of your body, hmph!"

"Huh?" The blonde's blue eyes glimmered, his mouth twitching. "Haha, you got it wrong… I only took a photo of him, that's all."

"What?" Keisuke freed Akira and lunged forward to grab Rin's camera but only succeeded in tripping over his own feet. He toppled over awkwardly, face first on the floor. "Ngh! Ow, ow."

"Ahaha, you're such an idiot! I don't think Akira wants someone as clumsy and moronic as you are! He deserves someone cute, athletic and intelligent!" Rin gestured with his thumb to indicate that he was talking about himself. "I'm also in the elite section of the school- the Student Reps! Beat that, Keisuke!"

The brunette stumbled a little but managed to stand up to face his so called rival. "Well, I'm in the art club! I can build stuff and fix bikes!"

The younger boy couldn't help but laugh, turning away slightly to hide his sardonic laughter. "Ahahaha, are you for real? Man, no wonder Akira looks so depressed around you. You're such a dumbass!"

Ugh…tell me about it. Akira rolled his eyes at the sheer stupidity of the argument between the two; Keisuke obviously losing against the intellectual Rin. He felt an obligation to help his friend out but he found himself getting distracted by an unfamiliar sensation. A spark of warmth emerged from the cold shackles of his soul as he silently watched the two bark at each other. It reminded him of the good old days at the orphanage- his second 'family'. His best friend Keisuke would often find himself amidst a heated argument with a younger child – of course, Keisuke would be losing – and whenever he watched, Akira would be reminded of how family-like it was. What he craved; what he needed to sustain his sanity – it was all there, back at the orphanage. He wished time would allow him to go back to those innocent days where he would be allowed to act naively and recklessly, free from worries and pain…

Akira was suddenly pulled back into reality. "Akira~! Help me out here!"

The cold man shook Keisuke off and smoothed his crinkled sleeve before reaching for his shoulder bag. He knew he didn't have time for such trivial affairs, especially with his reason for existing was at stake. Without a place in the organization, Akira wasn't so sure what he'd do with his life. "Sorry Keisuke. Take care of it yourself."

As expected, the brunette whined depressingly. "Are you going somewhere again? Can't we hang out today?"

"Maybe some other time."

The brunette whined some more. "But Akira~" He was about to stop the man in his tracks again but then his eyes suddenly averted elsewhere. The expression on his face looked as if someone had stabbed him in the stomach and was about to be stabbed again. Akira followed Keisuke's line of sight and when he saw that inhuman leopard standing there, sneering at them, something struck him mentally, like a sharp thorn through his heart.

How long has he been standing there?

"It's the president!" Rin addressed Shiki with familiarity. Akira thought the bastard was there to talk with the vice-pres but he didn't speak a word. He simply just…stared. There was no doubt that the oppressive aura gathering in the classroom belonged to Shiki and it no longer made the students feel safe anymore. Some immediately left the room when they noticed the president standing watch.

Bastard's probably looking for people to bully…huh?

It took Akira a moment to realize that the same 'bastard' was actually staring at him. His mind clouded as fear took hold of his heart. He could only think of one thing at that moment - that Shiki wanted revenge. Before Akira could dwell too deeply into that subject, he scooted out the classroom using the back door, completely ignoring the protests coming from Keisuke. Nothing else mattered but escape from Medusa's gaze.

Akira's legs took him as far away as possible from the classroom where Shiki had shown himself. Rather than stay inconspicuous, the agent would rather not deal with whatever bullshit Shiki handed to him. He didn't even want to see his god-forsaken face – that ghostly pale mask, framed by a clash of black silk; those inhuman red orbs that mocked all living things, that cruel smirk of his…Akira detested it all which was why he aimed to get him convicted for the Line incidents whether he was innocent or not, though the agent was sure Shiki was the mastermind behind the crime.

The grey-head hastily made his way through the ominously quiet halls, focusing his eyes on the mosaics embedded on the floor. As the man neared the stairs, his head almost collided with an open door. Startled, he glanced up and approached the door, wary of another presence lurking in the utility room. He detected a man wearing a janitor's uniform, collecting bottles of cleaning liquids and poisons from the shelves. It appeared as if the man took no notice to Akira's presence but when he stood up and turned around, he offered a nod with eyes of indifference.

"Hello." For some strange reason, Akira couldn't help but feel intimidated by the stranger. There was a certain eeriness behind the man's purple eyes, though not necessarily evil. His distasteful clothes and shaggy brown hair made him seem solemn and perhaps a bit mysterious.

"Still at school, are you?" The man's voice was thick with sadness. His eyes were downcast, away from Akira's view. "Be careful on your way home."

"Uh, yeah. Thanks." Akira managed to utter before moving aside to allow the janitor to walk past. He took one last look at the suspicious stranger before he turned a corner, away from sight. Turning around, he realized the janitor had forgotten to lock the door to the utility room. He was prompted to run after the man and inform him about it but thought it too much of a hassle. Akira took a peek into the stale room, glancing at the bottles on the floor that were being swallowed by the darkness before closing the door himself. If someone stole any of the equipment it wasn't going to be his fault.

The path ahead of him seemed endless. He didn't know where he was headed – maybe he was lost? But it really didn't matter to Akira anymore. The man just didn't feel like doing anything anymore and he certainly didn't care where he was going. He wondered when he started to lack motivation. Was it because of what Emma told him, or was it simply because he was just tired? Regardless, he just wanted to call out, scream, destroy the trophy stand in front of him; he wanted to vent out the stress building up inside him. The halls were silent and nobody was around. It provided the best opportunity for him to release all his pent up stress, and yet something in his conscience told him not to do it. Something told him that he wasn't truly alone.

-clank-

Akira, suddenly alert, looked around but when he detected nothing he told himself that he was just being paranoid. It's probably just the janitor. He decided to finally leave the school grounds because he didn't feel safe anymore. His back would crawl as if someone was stalking him and when he turned around there would be nothing in sight. He felt irritated at this and finally decided to just confront whatever it was that was following him. He hoped to god it wasn't a ghost.

"Show yourself!" Akira felt a little stupid for calling out when there was obviously no one in plain sight. He called out one more time but again no one replied. He sighed, shaking his head and mentally called himself an idiot. He took another few more steps but stopped dead in his tracks when he felt someone sneak up behind him. "What the -" The unknown attacker grabbed his arm and twisted it, rendering him paralyzed. He struggled a bit but found that his attacker was much more powerful than he was. Before Akira could even register what was happening to him, his assailant covered his mouth with a damp cloth and at last he lost consciousness.

XXX

I think you all know what's coming next :)