The Crow In the Backyard

1 | The Feather In the Fire

If you had a choice to, you would choose to live.

'Damnit. They really went full out with this.' Shinichi kicked a wall to boost himself as another explosion set of behind him. Thankfully, that section had already been closed today, but if Shinichi's hunch was right...

SLAM!

"EVERYONE! EVACUATE RIGHT NOW!" Shinichi yelled into the room and helped people up who had frozen at the sounds and the smoke.

Minutes that felt like seconds after, another explosion was set off from the opposite branch of the building.

'Crap!' The teenage hero winced as some of his feathers actually lit on fire as the explosion started, as if there was a terrible harmony in this burning disaster. "Please let Ran be okay... Please...' His mind wandered over to Sonoko as well, the obnoxious, gossiping newbie, Hattori, Kazuha...

Shinichi didn't waste a breath on hissing as a bullet shot deep into his left wing. He kept running, looking for a glint... A reflection...

He should've known.

Suddenly, his eyes got blinded and a ringing shrieked in his ears as his clothes tore apart from the window as it shattered and he fell...

And fell...

And fell........

He could hear the sirens even from his apartment. The tower was burning and falling apart. A dove cooed in his arms.

Even from this distance, Kaito could tell this explosion had been intentional. The bombs had been wrapped around the body of so-called justice delicately, weaving past the foundations and setting the fireworks of thick, dark smoke around the small little branches. And each explosion had been adjusted to protect the apple of it all, the forbidden system of evil hidden far, far away from the public. Kaito guessed the data had all been already collected as a backup, just in case, but by how the Center was, he doubted their plans would fail.

Kaito's ears involuntarily flinched and his tail twitched as another chain of explosions set off once again. The dove in his arms nuzzled even further into his chest.

"You're comforting me, Shin-chan," Kaito brushed his fingers against the soft, well tendered feathers, "But that's okay. I'm not afraid... Myself..."

But he held the dove closer.

'Knowing him, he'd be in the center of it all...'

Kaito sighed.

It would never work out. It never would... Kaito didn't stand a chance.

But... He wished he would be alright, at least. Because Kaito himself wasn't sure how that reckless luck would last for him. And also...

...But that was just a selfish wish.

And he deserved more than whatever scraps Kaito could try his hardest to offer.

"Kazuha, stay here!"

"Wait-!"

Hattori had already run off before he could even hear the end of his childhood friend's word.

'Kudo... Where are you?!' He easily jumped over a fallen rubble, instinctively flicking his tiger tail to the left. "KUDO!!!" He ran around the crowd first, hope slowly seeping away. "KUDO!" He went through the crowd about three times now, three failed attempts of Kazuha trying to catch him. The fourth round he finally stopped, gasping for breath while Kazuha helped him, patting his back, not scolding him for once. He directed his attention at the building that was spewing out fumes from every exit, from every single one of the holes caused by the snake made of bombs and smoke.

Knowing him... Knowing him..... He was still in there.

With trembling hands, Hattori wiped the ash off his mouth.

"T-That idiot..."

This was not supposed to happen. This was not supposed to-

They promised.

Instinctively, his wings spread out and the bundle of crow feathers hissed as he half-glided, half dropped from the sky. Underneath the mess of the black feathers, you could see that there was a small boy, around the age of seven, ash and scratches laid across his entire body.

'Need to find them... Need to find...'

The boy's vision wavered again, and his trail of thoughts were cut off.

'...Find her... Him? He can- He has to be alright-'

He crashed onto a platform and found the cool surface slowing his heart, the freeze wrapping around his entire body...

'Who are they...?'

I would choose to die.