Fragments

Ch.20 - Unexpected Help

Trekking through the streets, equipped with newly acquired, shiny, silver cases, the group was returning home. Only Yuu, who couldn't get the futuristic rifle he wanted, returned with a compensatory firearm – a discontinued laser gun designed to set enemies on fire from afar, which it wasn't very successful at. It was kept around only because they had it in stock, but nobody used it in practice, making it the perfect item for the experiments he wanted to conduct.
For Min-jun, it was a P90 with remote-explosive and tranquilizing ammunition.
Yin and Lilly picked standard, reliable pistols.
And the rest felt like their current equipment was sufficient, so they willingly returned empty-handed.
"Range is one thing I currently lack, this should make up for it… I'll just need to practice." Min, already in deep thought just like Yuu, planned silently while looking at the reflective surface of the cuff around his wrist. Glancing up at his teammates, some of which held fervent discussions, one troubling question arose in his mind:

The whole city is preparing for something, isn't it?

From the surrounding atmosphere filled with cold, impatient tension, he could tell the others saw it similarly, although none openly spoke about it. "I'm sure it's to do with Saiken… We'll attack them in a matter of days, I'd say. Best research all I can until then," he concluded with a sigh.

Splitting up once they returned home, instead of testing his new gear, Min-jun went to Station 2's library to study. He unlocked the cuff from his arm, set the rigid box down on an old, wooden table and began picking out a stack of books, magazines, undisclosed newspaper articles and old information about Hinansho. "Right…" With a loud, dull thud, the heap of study material was laid on a table Min swiftly sat behind after cracking his knuckles.
The libraries at Aegis's Stations were special, containing not only general knowledge, but also information undisclosed to the public, mainly pertaining to the city's past and ties between events. This process of looking over past information about Hinansho was supposed to lead Min to his past… The looming dread he felt whenever he thought of his lacking memories fueled certainty that something isn't right with him, making him indulge in nothing short of desperation. For over a week now, he's been reading everything he could, trying to find clues based on what little he faintly recalled. Although it was no to no avail, his eyes, already accustomed to leaving out unnecessary information among the masses of text, still flew over a newspaper from 8 years ago about massive arson attacks… Because he still prayed to find at least something.
He was scared to reach out to anyone, scared to look for help… Because he didn't know what'd await him.

"You're still here?" A gentle voice called out to Min-jun just as the room's clock struck 4pm, two glass cups ringing against the table he sat behind.

"Hm…" Opening his eyes – which he didn't even realize were closed – Min looked up, seeing a slightly worried Rosea smiling at him. "Oh, well– I guess I am, why?"

"Nothing, it's just… You've been here for 4 hours, looking through old texts, and…" She glanced at the two piles which formed, one with read and other with unread material, the latter being much larger. "I thought you'd be tired, so I made you some tea." As if she needed to reassure herself of the reason for being there, she nodded to her own words.
Rosea was Station 2's bookworm, and throughout Min's research, they bumped into each other a few times, one or the other always bringing a snack or drink. She wasn't always curious about what he read so fervently, but the obsession slowly became worrying, so she had to ask at some point.

"Oh, thanks." Sitting upright, he pulled a chair out for the girl and took his soothingly warm cup. "Was I here for that long, though?" In mild disbelief, he looked up at the wall, the green clock ticking away. "I didn't think I picked out that much."

"You stay here longer every day… What are you looking for?"

"Well–." Min stopped himself mid-sentence, causing Rosea to confusedly tilt her head. "It's stuff relating to Saiken… They're located in the nearest Reaper territory, I'm sure we'll attack them soon." He was about to blurt out his actual motives, so a quickly fabricated lie was needed. "I'm just trying to get information, y'know… It's not easy, though, so I spend a lot of time looking."