Odd Jobs

Chapter 24 - The Disappearance of Mikaela (Part Two)

A/N: I can't put a proper trigger warning without spoiling what's going to happen, so my apologies for that. If you are easily disturbed or triggered by self harm, and subjects revolving suicide, I recommend skipping a couple of chapters. Thank you.

Yuu groaned as he attempted to phone Mika again. Frustration and anger pent up in his stomach as he was met with the upbeat voice of the blonde's voicemail.

"Hey, this is Mikaela! I'm currently unavailable, but leave a message after the beep and I'll be sure to call you back!" A short beep rang in Yuu's ear.

"Hey, Mika. It's me again. Listen, I'm getting really, really worried. Please, just... Call me back. I love you." The ravenette's heart sank as he hung up the phone.

He didn't know what to do. Mika was gone, without any trace or message, and he had no idea where he should start to look. Yuichiro had already puzzled together that his boyfriend had probably gotten expelled due to his stripwork, but still, it isn't that hard to answer your phone, right? It wasn't dead, either, because it still rang. Yuu felt his breathing start to hitch and speed up. The situation and his emotions were starting to get the better of him.

"C'mon, Yuichiro...", he clenched the blazer of his uniform. "Now's not the time for a panic attack... You need to find Mika..." Resting his weight on his shaky legs, he stood up. He took another deep breath. He quickly changed out of his clammy, uncomfortable uniform and threw on a T-shirt. The pants shouldn't bother him too much for now. He grabbed his phone, and stormed out of his dorm room. He dialed a new number, putting the device to his ear.

"Yuu?"

"Mitsuba! Is Mika with you?" His voice was desperate. Not a surprise, seeing he himself was desperate.

"Uh, no, you guys are at school. Did you two get in a fight again?"

"No, I just got back from class and all of Mika's stuff is gone." He waited for the elevator doors to open, so he could get in. "I've called him about five times, but he's not answering his phone. He might be at his apartment, but I have genuinely no idea where that would be."

"It's above the strip club. Shinoa's at work, but she went by bike, so I have the car. Wait outside the school, I'll be there in ten minutes. Then we'll go to the club to see if he's there. Stay calm, Yuu. We'll find him."

"Easier said than done." Yuu made his way out of the campus gates. "I feel like my legs are going to give out on me." He rested his hand against a lantern pole, trying to shift some of his weight away from his trembling feet.

"Come on Yuu, you got this." He heard the sound of a car door closing. "You've repressed your panic attacks before, you can do it this time too. Do you want me to stay on the line?" Mitsuba's voice sounded further away when she reached the middle of her sentence, indicating she had put the phone on speaker. The car started.

"T-That would be nice... If it isn't too distracting for you, ofcourse."

"Nah, ofcourse not. I'll tell you a bit about my day to keep your mind off of things."

And so, Mitsuba stayed on the call. She talked about her day, about Shinoa whom had talked in her sleep... Useless chatter, really, up until she could see Yuu resting his weight at the lantern near the gates of the academy. He was wearing a T-shirt, but he still wore the dress pants that came with his uniform. She halted the car in front of him.

"Come on, get in!" Yuu nodded, and hopped in the car, hanging up the phone call in the process. He took this time to try and send Mika another call.

To no avail. The phone rang, but no one picked up. Yuichiro was once again met with the blonde's voicemail.

"Please, Mika...", he muttered.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing." Yuu took another deep breath, trying his hardest to choke back his tears. He felt a warm hand rest on his knee.

"He'll be okay, Yuu. I'm sure he's just at his apartment." Shooting a quick glance to her right, she saw the ravenette nod.

Immediate guilt washed over Mitsuba. The club was trashed, and as far as she was aware, Yuichiro didn't know of that. Who knew if Mika's apartment was fine? And if it was, who knew if he was even there to begin with? Lying to Yuu was something she hated, but at the moment, she figured it would be for the best. At least he wasn't alone right now.

Eventually, they arrived at the street of the club.

"W-What the hell?", Yuu exclaimed as Mitsuba parked the car. They ran out, running over to the entrance of the club, where they were met with Crowley. He seemed to be doing some patchwork on the windows. He seemed to notice their footsteps growing louder.

"Oh, Mitsuba, Yuu? We had a rough now, so the place is closed for the time being. What's u-"

"Is Mika in his apartment?", Yuu interrupted him inbetween his own gasps for air.

"Uh... No." Crowley pushed his sweat covered bangs out of his face. "Why?"

"He disappeared. He's not answering his phone, his side of the dorm has been cleared out and he's not at our house either.", Mitsuba explained, as the ravenette boy next to her still caught his breath. It was a messy mixture of gasps for air and sobs.

"Ah, he got himself into trouble again, the little bird...?" The tall man rested his hand on his chin. "Have you checked the woods? There's a certain spot at the river he really likes, so he tends to go there whenever he's upset about something. Though he usually does answer his phone..."

"Not helping.", Yuu frowned.

"Let me go grab my keys, it's a five minute walk from here." They nodded, as Crowley made his way inside the club to collect his stuff. Yuu felt a soft hand intertwine with his, causing him to shoot the girl next to him a gentle, yet sad, smile.

"You don't need to play pretend, Mitsu. I can tell you're just as scared as I am." The blonde didn't reply. She just nodded, clenching Yuichiro's hand. Not soon after, Crowley returned, and the three of them started making their way to the woods.

The walk was short, sure, but to Yuu it still felt like forever. It was like his head was stuck with endless possibilies on what could have happened to his dear Mika. Had he fallen asleep, like last time? Was he just ignoring him? Did he slip and fall, hitting his head on something sharp and knocking him out? Or maybe...?

He was kidnapped?

Yuichiro felt the waves of panic return, as he tried to shake off the thoughts. He attempted to focus on calling Mika's name.

"MIKA!", he yelled. He was eventually joined by the other two, in desperate, feeble attempts to catch any glimpse of the missing boy.

Yuu's breath hitched as his eyes fell on the sightings of a familiar black backpack. He ran over as fast as he could, finding the bag slouched against a tree in a small clearing of the woods. The shocked silence would be deafening, if it weren't for the light trickling of water coming from the small river next to them. The ravenette sat down on his knees in front of the backpack, staring at it in agony. Next to it, stood a pair of blue sneakers he also recognised. Inside of it, and iPhone he also recognized. His trembling hand hovered over Mika's phone. He pressed the on button, being met with a picture of himself Mika had taken at Starbucks. Yuu's heart dropped.

He was also met with the tens of missed calls icons, coming from him.