The Leader...?

Happy Birthday

Shuichi walked away from the detective agency, heading to meet up with his friends. That, and he was going to see the people who had been Remnants of Despair. It had been about a year, so the Remnants could finally start appearing in public. The date today, however, was rather important to Shuichi. It was June 21st. Shuichi came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk, thinking for a moment. He shook his head, removing the thoughts from his mind. He continued walking, trying to avoid the meaning of the date as much as he could.

Where his friends had decided to meet was a small cafe place, just to talk and maybe have some drinks. Shuichi wouldn't object, but he was feeling a bit upset that day. He hadn't had the greatest time at work, and he was still having difficulty getting over what had happened last year.

Shuichi had gathered the group together, explaining the plan. They had pushed over the chair, finding the staircase that led out of the building. They all ran down the long staircase, urgency having filled them. Shuichi, however, was incredibly nervous. He wanted to make sure that Kokichi would be alright, but he knew he couldn't go back. Kokichi had specifically said to keep running, and he wanted to trust Kokichi's plan. Kaede and Kaito had stayed close to him, making sure that he was going to be okay.

"Shuichi, it'll be okay!" Kaede confirmed. "He's Kokichi! He'll get out of there, I know it!"

"Yeah! Sure, he's a real brat, but that just makes it much more plausible that he'll still be alive!" Kaito assured him.

Shuichi hesitated, but smiled nonetheless. "That's true. He definitely is very good at escaping bad situations." They group had continued running, panic causing them to stay silent. The building suddenly shook, causing the group to come to a stop for a moment. Shuichi turned back to the top of the staircase. "Was... that the explosives?"

"It must have been." Rantaro walked up to the three of them, staring up the staircase as well. Shuichi felt himself get nervous. That had been quite a large explosion, if they were capable of feeling it all the way down here. They'd gone down quite a few stories. Shuichi, of course, started stressing out, wondering if Kokichi was okay.

Kaede sighed, grabbing Shuichi's hand. "Shuichi, I know that I might, and that the rest of us might not be able to trust him, but you can, can't you?" Kaede paused. "He's, your best friend after all. So, you've gotta believe in his decisions. Even if they aren't the best, you've got to trust him with his life."

Shuichi hesitated, looking at the staircase wistfully. He blinked, before he turned back around, nodding. "Yeah, you're right. I'll believe in him." Shuichi then ran forwards at a much faster pace than before, as they headed towards the exit of the building.

Shuichi hadn't seen a trace of the leader ever since that incident. Future Foundation had confirmed him dead. That was just about it. Shuichi huffed, wiping at his eyes. No, you didn't see anything. Shuichi implanted that idea into his head, which caused his urge to cry to go away. Shuichi pushed the thoughts to the corner of his mind, and found himself in front of the cafe. There were, a lot of people. But, they were all people he knew.

"Oh! Hey Shuichi!" Kaede waved at him. "We've got you a seat!" Shuichi smiled, and walked over to the table. Seated at the table was Kaede, Kaito, Maki, and Rantaro. Shuichi sat down, letting out a slightly relieved sigh. Kaede smiled at him. "How was work for you?"

"It was, fine." Shuichi sighed. "A little annoying. One of my colleges just couldn't accept that he was wrong."

Kaede laughed. "That sucks. I had a pretty decent time. I'm been getting ready for my next concert. You all will be there, right?" Kaede asked.

"Of course!" Kaito exclaimed. Over the year, Maki and Kaito had gotten together with one another. They seemed pretty happy, and it made Shuichi smile, seeing them together. "We'd never miss it for the world!"