Hearing his name being called out, Jayden gave a glance at the White Rose agent and then went back to looking at the grave as he had done before. His hands were slightly wet from having just placed down the flowers in his hands.
1
Kanu had walked up to the same gravestone and looked at it for a while. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before kneeling and placing his own flowers that he had brought in front of the grave.
After wiping his hands on his uniform, he went into his inner jacket and pulled out a cigarette, and started to light it.
"You're still smoking those?" Jayden said. "You know those are bad for you."
1
"They're bad for humans." Kanu let out a large puff of smoke, and a smile appeared on his face. "For us Altered, they do next to nothing. Our bodies will repair any damage these things can do. Unlike you, I don't have to keep up a clean image."
A light chuckle came out from Jayden. "Could anyone imagine a White Rose agent saying that?" Jayden replied. "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be busy on a case? Wait, don't tell me you were suspended again."
Caught in the act, Kanu had dropped his cigarette on the floor by accident. Was it really that common, he thought to himself, scratching his beard.
"There was a recent incident, and I am free for the time being, which is why I came here. But what about you? Aren't you too busy yourself? How often do you still come here?" Kanu asked.
"Once every two weeks." Jayden instantly replied.
There was more silence between the two, and Kanu took a deep look at Jayden, seeing the pain on his face.
"You're hurting a lot more than I am. I would tell you to move on, but when I haven't moved on myself, then it wouldn't exactly be fair. Still, don't you have someone else yet... or maybe you should spend more time with your family?" Kanu suggested.
"I don't have a lot of time. I've been busy doing the usual. As for family, Xin is strong on her own. I don't think she needs much guidance. I just hope that she doesn't get caught up in the same c.r.a.p as me.
"If I had to make a visit to more than one grave, I don't think I could handle it."
Jayden's fists were clenched hard, just as hard as Kanu had seen him on that day. People often said as time pa.s.sed, feelings would start to diminish, but that clearly wasn't the case with Jayden.
The thing was, for Kanu, it was hard to see him this way. He remembered how happy and easygoing Jayden used to be. On TV interviews and during his AFC matches, he still portrayed the same Jayden he always was.
However, whenever Kanu watched those clips of him, he could see the pain in his eyes. It was all fake, none of it was genuine.
"Why don't you join the White Rose? We could use someone like you, and we could work on it together?" Kanu asked.
"If I joined, I would just be filled with work all the time, just like there isn't much you can do right now, is there?" Jayden replied. "It's okay, you don't have to worry about me. I know what I'm doing."
Kanu started to scratch his head fast as he was getting annoyed. "You know, she said that to me as well. She said the same thing before she... before she... Well, you know where she is now. With just the two of us, we can't do much. If you joined the White Rose, at least if we had some evidence, we could run an investigation.
"The way it is now, with just the two of us, we really can't do much. You know most likely, our enemy behind this whole thing is far bigger than what we can handle."
Jayden was taking in Kanu's words because he knew he was right. It made him think back to when he had visited the academy. He had called to talk to Gary on the rooftop. At the time, he was very close to telling Gary everything... and asking him for help.
He had grown so much and had helped him save Xin before, but getting him involved in his mess wasn't right. It wasn't right for him to put his life on the line. But with the way Gary was going, if he continued climbing like he had been doing, then eventually he would run into the same problem anyway.
"It seems like you have some people in mind," Kanu said. "I'm surprised you managed to make some friends."
For the first time, Jayden smiled, and it was a real smile as well. "What about you? Have you gotten close to anyone, anyone that can help us?"
In Kanu's mind, Sadie and Frank appeared. The way they had acted, the reports, they were two very just people in the White Rose. If they thought the White Rose was the one in the wrong, they would go against them.
It was still too early to tell, though. He needed to spend more time in this world.
1
"I will continue with my path for now... I need to keep rising," Jayden stated. "But don't worry, I won't ever forget. There are three things in this world that I hate the most... Gangs, NIRV, and the AFC."
"Right, and you won't rest until they are all taken down. I know, I know... maybe I can do something with these days off."
"Although..." Jayden continued. "I'm starting to think, not all gangs are bad."
Once again, there was the same real smile on Jayden's face, and it made Kanu wonder who could get him to do such a thing.
******
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