Akira didn't know if she liked where they were taking her.
On one hand, she wasn't really the social type. A side effect of constant rejection.
But on the other hand...
"Ren, when you said let's go, I thought you meant the park, not..." Yui sighed.
...she'd never been taken to an amusement park before.
Ren smirked. "Oh c'mon, it's an amusement park. Everyone loves a good amusement park."
"Yeah, well not this one," Yui deadpanned, eyeing the other section that genuinely didn't even look safe to ride.
"Is that a rocket?" Akira murmured, half hiding behind Yui.
Ren sighed. "Oh c'mon, how bad could it be?"
...
A few rides later, the only one who needed the bathroom more than once was the lad.
He clung weakly to the trashcan supporting his weight. "Bad," he rasped. "Very bad."
The two girls couldn't help but share a small giggle, Akira's even slipping into a genuine laugh.
It warmed Yui's heart.
Seeing her smile like that.-
"So my suffering is funny to you?" Ren whispered, still barely able to stop gagging.
Yui rolled her eyes. "Okay, tough guy, let's get you some water."
"I saw a stand that sold drinks a couple rides back," Akira pointed out. "I could go get some..."
Yui grunted as she struggled to support Ren. "Thanks. I'll get this guy to a nearby bench by the left side of the park."
Akira nodded before Yui dragged the dead man away.
"What was that about amusement parks?"
"...shut up...at least I didn't scream like you did."
"Okay, Barf-nado."
He puked shortly after the comment landed.
Akira stood there a moment longer.
It felt...nice.
Being here with them, in a place she'd never been before.
Part of her chest ached at the thought.
Not because she didn't like it.
But because she felt terrified that if she messed up...
...she might lose it—
"Ah, the water..." she remembered finally.
She walked past a few stands.
Prizes.
Obstacles.
Loud children who...didn't seem to stop staring at her.
She looked ahead.
Noticed more faces that didn't seem to look past her.
Her hoodie hung over her head.
Gaze glued to the ground.
Dirty.
Solid.
Grounding.
Safe.
Her eyes landed on the stand every few stolen glances upward.
Good.
Almost there.
She got to the stand.
An old woman welcomed her with a smile.
Akira tried to smile back.
It felt weird.
"C-Can I have two bottles of water, please?"
"Of course," the woman said as she opened the fridge.
Akira's eyes swept across the stand.
It looked run down.
Cracked windows covered up by cheap decorations.
Layers of paint peeling off the sides of the walls.
And a flickering hologram of an old album that no one knew about.
Her gaze landed on the young man sitting beside the fridge, fixated on his phone.
Their eyes met.
Akira looked away.
A scoff followed.
Her heart sank deeper—
"Here you go, ma'am," the nice lady said.
Akira nodded, paying and taking the water.
"By the way, I love the hair dye. Purple hair really suits you," the lady smiled warmly.
That one landed in an awkward place.
She bowed before scurrying quickly toward the left side of the amusement park.
Her mind drifted back to what the lady had said.
Part of her didn't know how to take it.
Because what if she knew it wasn't dye?
Her ears twitched, snapping her mind back to reality.
She heard slight gagging and picked up the pace.
She found the two of them sitting by the bench, Ren still barely hanging on while Yui looked half concerned, half amused by how easy it was to disorient someone like him.
"Here. I got the water..." Akira handed the bottles to Yui.
"Thanks, Akira. You're a lifesaver."
That wasn't supposed to make her heart flutter.
Yui chuckled as she helped Ren drink the water.
"You know, for an Essential, you're awfully fragile, Ren," she teased, patting his back in a steady rhythm.
A faint scream echoed in the distance.
Probably the rollercoaster rides.
Akira shifted slightly, her attention drawn toward it.
"What's wrong?" Yui asked gently, noticing the subtle tension in her shoulders. "Still feeling tense from earlier? Or was it the rides?"
Ren gagged again, holding up a finger. "Don't mention that. Oh, oh no—"
His stomach tensed again.
Yui, despite her concern, smiled anyway as she shook her head. "There you go..."
Akira's brows softened at the sight of his—
Another scream.
Closer this time.
Less distant.
Only she caught it.
Her gaze flickered between her friends and the rides.
She wasn't sure why, but her skin was tingling.
"—Akira," Yui cut through her thoughts.
"Huh?"
"Bottle."
"O-Oh, right, sorry."
She handed over the other bottle.
Yui muttered something beneath her breath as she tended to Ren, who barely seemed willing to drink at all.
"Enough, you'll drown me..." he protested quietly, shoving the water away.
"Hey, I'm not the one who said we should go on those rides, Ren. You're the one who insisted and—"
"That voice..."
A pause.
Yui looked at Akira.
Akira was...staring somewhere into the crowd.
"What?"
A faint purple particle drifted through the corner of Yui's vision.
Akira's brows furrowed slightly as she stared deeper into the crowd.
"...there's someone screaming..."
At that, even Ren's dry retching slowed a little.
Yui stilled for half a heartbeat, then remembered where they were. "Yeah, it...tends to be like that in an amusement park, Aki—"
"No...not that..." she said, waving her hand slowly, eyes never leaving the crowd. "I can hear...someone..."
A beat.
The rollercoaster zipped past, a small gust of wind blowing over them.
Ears twitched.
The air stilled.
"Akira...?"
Then—
Her eyes widened.
"It's a child." Her voice wavered with urgency.
Her body instinctively moved forward, stumbling faintly from the sudden burst of momentum as she ran in an unknown direction.
"H-Hey! A-Akira?! Akira!!" Yui called out, worry painting her features. "Where is she—" She stood, but Ren weakly grabbed her hand.
"What's going on with her?"
"I dunno."
"Does she always do this?"
"Dammit, I don't know, Ren!" she snapped as she wriggled free and ran after her.
Ren groaned as his head hit the back of the bench with a dull thud.
"...women."
Meanwhile, the hybrid's feet scrambled against the hardwood floorboards as she rushed out the gates of the amusement park.
Her eyes violently flashed between people's faces, birds, buildings—none of it was the source.
"Where is it?" her mind rushed. "Where are you!?"
A scream.
Louder.
Closer.
Left.
She slipped.
Someone yelled out—
"Hey! Watch it!"
She didn't care.
Then her eyes saw it.
Fire.
A fourth-floor apartment was on fire.
She froze.
Yui quickly spotted Akira on the ground. "Akira!"
That snapped her back into place.
People gathered.
Firefighters.
Worried neighbors.
Phones came out.
Screams for help from a woman already grieving her child as people held her back from running inside.
The hybrid's legs lurched back into motion.
Clumsy.
Frantic.
Urgent.
It took Yui too long to realize what was happening.
"Oh god..." she whispered in horror.
Akira's hoodie fell off.
Purple mist ghosted behind her as her eyes locked onto the child's screams.
"Move. Move. Move!" her mind pleaded.
Tears welled.
Teeth bared as she yelled—
"MOVE!!"
She ran straight into the road, never once checking both sides.
A bright flash blinded her right eye.
She didn't notice.
It was already glowing.
Her right foot met the earth.
Steady.
Solid.
Capable.
And as the truck honked at her, her footprint had already burned into the asphalt.
People only saw a bright purple streak tear into the fire moments after the glass shattered.
More and more people spilled from the building as backup and sirens drifted toward the scene.
The fire engulfed the room, breathing out the window, licking at one of the firefighters' faces.
Too much.
Too hot.
A woman's eyes widened as she screamed, tears flooding down her face.
"HIRO!!"
Yui remained rooted through it all.
Fear flooding her system.
The ground felt shaky.
Blood cold.
And for a moment too long—
The fire scorched further up the building's side.
But then.
Suddenly, glass shattered from the second story.
Violet spilled into the air.
A woman crashed through a tree, splitting it in half as she rolled and curled up on the road.
The sharp, piercing screech of tires filled the silence as cars slammed to a stop, everyone's attention falling on her...
...on the woman whose body was tightly wrapped around a five-year-old boy.
People rushed over.
The woman screamed a name as the child slowly stood, clutching his head.
"HIRO!!!"
She ran forward, arms flying over the child's body as she checked him over desperately.
Yui remained frozen.
Shocked.
Amazed.
...scared.
Murmurs followed.
Pictures followed.
People investigated.
Officials arrived.
And a certain violet-haired woman...
refused to stand up.