Cross Worlds

Chapter 30-1: "Brothers"

Riku was planning on leaving Artemis when the event with Hiroshi was settled. He had written a detailed note as to why and slid it under Yoshitabi's door, who was asleep at the time. It was when Emica called in her and the other women who showed up on the scene that Yoshitabi saw his note.

The note read as follows, "Yoshitabi, I plan on leaving Artemis after I finish my business with the head of Apollo. I don't know where I'll go, but I know that I do not belong here anymore. I can feel it as I walk through the halls, whenever I speak to anyone in this facility; it speaks volumes that I have no place here anymore. Not only can I not bring myself to fully trust anyone, but I also disrespected the highest members of Artemis as well as its President. So, I'm going to leave silently after repaying my debt to Emica. I will kill Hiroshi Nishida, and then I will disappear. I want to thank you for all that you've taught me and helping me reach this point in my life. For what it's worth, I've always had faith in you. Not as a teacher, but as my friend." signed, Riku Fumiya.

"So...you told everyone about it..?" Riku averts his eyes.

"Yoshitabi had been acting weird since we returned to Artemis, so I ordered her to tell me what was wrong." Emica mumbles, walking over and sitting at the foot of Riku's bed with a sigh. "You want to leave Artemis. The reasons you've given are valid, and I have no right to stop you. However..." Emica stares forward, silent and not looking at anyone. Her actions draw in everyone's attention nonetheless.

"However...what..?" Riku glances at her, staring at her back.

"...I don't want you to leave. So, I refuse to let you." Her words make everyone look over in surprise, all expressing their confusion in various ways. "I'm not going to let you leave Riku. There's still so much value you have. You've yet to even properly meet the head members of my facility, several people still want you here, I want you here. I don't care about what you said during our meeting, I deserved it for being selfish that day." She bites her lip. "But...since I finished off Hiroshi, that means you still owe a debt to me. I saved you again, so you're not allowed to leave."

Riku shoots up, grunting and his eyes widening in shock. "W-What..? You were only able to kill him because-"

"Nope! You would've died if I didn't show up when I did, so you owe me." Emica presses her palms against the bed and stares into Riku's eyes, her expression quite serious as she speaks her next words. "So, you will repay me by staying here and assist me in making Artemis and Apollo as great as they can be, along with everyone else. This isn't a request, it's an order. You will be staying here with all of us."

"And if I refuse?" Riku glares ever so slightly at Emica. "If I choose to run away and become a menace to Artemis as a whole?" Everyone's eyes go a bit wide at Riku's declaration, some of them even looking on sadly.

"If you do that, I'll chase you down and beat some sense into you. Not just me, but everyone sitting here around you, and the friends you're going to make in the future. All of us will be here for you, no matter how much you push us away." Emica's expression doesn't so much as twitch, nor does she look away from Riku's eyes. "You belong here, with us. I know that to be the truth."

Riku stares back at Emica in light shock, no one uttering a word for what feels like eternity as Emica and Riku stare one another down. Riku clears his throat and is the first to avert his gaze. "...That note must've been some kind of bad prank, because I was never planning on leaving anyways. Since you already named your price though, I'll do my best to meet the requirements."

"W-What..? You mean...you didn't write that note..?" Yoshitabi whispers, her voice but a squeak at this point.

"Nope..." Riku lies, but it seems to fool almost everyone; everyone except Emica who merely giggles in response. Yoshitabi whines in embarrassment and hides her face in the pillow Riku once laid on. Everyone starts to laugh or sigh with relief, though Riku narrows his eyes with disappointment. "Even with everything that happened...I wasn't able to defeat that bastard. Even with help, I still failed." Riku clenches his fist tightly. "I have to get stronger. Much much stronger..."