Short Stories

We're Here For You (Part 2)

Summary: A What-If ending if the rest of VOID didn't go to find Nikei.

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Iroha honestly didn't know what to think.

Everything was a mixture of worry, anxiousness, and a little bit of excitement.

It was mostly worry, though.

She had completed a new picture, one that included all the VOID members together, and she'd been dying to show it to the others. When Hajime, Emma, and Mikado all came into their meeting place, they had praised the picture immensely.

Now she was just waiting on Nikei.

At first, she couldn't wait to see him and show him the painting. She'd actually wanted to go out and search for him herself, but the others protested, saying that it was getting late and she'd catch a cold, and that Nikei would probably come in a bit later.

Almost an hour had gone by, and Nikei still had not come in.

Iroha mindlessly doodled in her sketchpad as she waited. All the excitement she had felt was gone, replaced by worry and fear. Nikei was never late. And if he was, he always sent a text, a phone call, something to let them know.

The others were clearly worried about Nikei, too. Mikado floated aimlessly in the air, staring at the ceiling with his face twisted in a worried expression, Emma was pacing around, checking the time every few seconds, and Hajime was mindlessly punching a punching bag they'd gotten about a month ago.

They all kept glancing at their cell phones, waiting for something. Mikado had sent a text to Nikei through the group chat reminding him of the meeting after the first five or ten minutes of him not being there, but he hadn't even seen it yet, never mind responding.

Five more minutes passed, and Iroha couldn't take it anymore.

She wasn't the only one.

"That's it! I say we go out and look for Nikei right now! He's never this late!" Hajime said, stopping his assault on the punching bag. He crossed his arms, glaring at the door as if he was trying to materialize Nikei there.

"Yeah! I agree! What if he's in trouble?" Iroha asked, grabbing her sketchbook and holding it close to her as she also stood up.

Emma nodded. "I think we made a mistake not looking for him earlier. We should have gone out. Let's go look."

"Hang on." They all looked up at Mikado, who pulled his phone out. "We're all stupid. We never tried calling him. Maybe he just has his phone on vibrate, so he didn't notice the text. I'll try calling him; he'll hopefully pick up."

Wow, Iroha thought. How could we have forgotten about calling him?

She shrugged. Well, they remembered now, and hopefully he'll answer. Then all they needed to do was tell him about the meeting, and he'll come, simple as that.

All eyes were on Mikado as he pressed the 'call' button on Nikei's contact and put his phone to his ear, and they waited. After a little bit, Mikado frowned at the phone.

"He didn't pick up. It went to voicemail." He said, putting his phone in his pocket and hopping back down onto the ground. "Now I say it might be wise to go look for him."

"Alright! Let's go t-" Hajime started.

SLAM.

The door slammed open, and, startled, all four remaining VOID members looked towards it.

It was Nikei. He shut the door roughly behind him and collapsed onto a beanbag chair, curling up into a ball.

At first they were happy to see him, then they took in his appearance.