Parallel Vol. 4 [LEGACY EDITION]

Chapter 9: Get to Work

Undisclosed Location.

Suzuki's lips curled up into a rare smile as he watched the black-haired, cool archer he was all too familiar with stand upon a podium, trophy in hand as she gave a short, thank you speech. His smile spread even wider as he realized the source of the joy within his heart. He was proud! Not proud of himself for accomplishing something, but proud of someone else. He was proud of Ayumi!

Suzuki clutched his chest to restrain the butterflies that had begun to dance within his heart. This small, but prominent exhilaration, accompanied by a small heat in his chest that seemed to wish to rise up to his eyes. This feeling that seemed to carry equal parts joy and excitement! So, this was pride in someone else!

Suzuki closed his eyes as he reveled in the newfound emotion. In all of his life, though he had sympathized the plight of some people, he had never felt what it was like to feel proud of someone who achieved something great. This was a first for the young man, and he intended to commit the feeling to memory.

Stood next to Suzuki, Jade looked up at the young man. Her gaze travelled from the smile on Suzuki's face to the confident young woman on the screen. Someone who could cause the stoic Suzuki to release such a profound smile (or any smile in general) could not be a normal acquaintance. Jade's eyelids twitched as she forced down the uncomfortable feeling in her chest. She looked back at Suzuki whose gaze seemed to be fixed on something far away.

Well, she had never been one to be indecisive. Since Jade had confirmed the faintest hints of jealousy hidden within the depths of her heart, she now knew what she had to do. Jade's expression betrayed none of the emotions in her heart as she calmly stood by Suzuki's side while waiting for his strange state to pass.

A few moments later, Suzuki's eyes flashed as he exited the brief reverie. He took a deep breath, a profound look in his eyes as he nodded at the screen. "Let's go." With those words, he climbed the stairs to the corridor above while Jade silently tagged behind with a queer smile.

Usman watched the duo's backs with bemusement and confusion. Leaving aside the fact that they had totally ignored his presence in the room, he was more interested in the recent changes in 'Suzuki.' Originally, Usman had not been sure of it, but during Suzuki's 'enlightenment', Usman had seen clearly 'felt' something change in Suzuki. It had not been something tangible or huge, but if her were to put a word to it... Presence.

Yes, it would be presence. It now seemed the black hole known as Suzuki finally had a bit of presence. Usman could not understand how it happened or was supposed to work, but it had been obvious that since they met, Suzuki had begun to culminate more and more presence. Was it truly as a result of Kashi? If so, what was Razznik supposed to have been then?

Considering Suzuki was almost devoid of genuine emotions when Usman first met him, the young agent wondered what the hell Razznik was supposed to have taught Suzuki. Furthermore, if the Suzuki he initially met was an improvement on a previous version then... Usman shuddered at the thought.

Usman sank into his thoughts, his brows bunched together in a tight frown. He pulled out his PDA and typed in a short message to his superior. "The entity Suzuki requires further investigation." Usman placed the communicator in his pocket then turned his attention back to the screen. The Archery Princess had already left the grounds after accepting her trophy so the station was playing a rerun of all her competitions leading up to the finals. The Archery Princess's saga was a true money maker and the stations intended to earn the maximum profit possible from her name.

Usman sighed as he watched the special. "Yep, it's much easier to understand the motivations of humans." With a wary gaze thrown at the staircase, he added, "So much easier to read than those monsters."