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Un rêve peut mourir mais on n'enterre jamais l'avenir.

http://www.quizlet.nl/log.php?id=19909

stay safe because I like being alive at the same time as you

©

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.

There are three things Max is one hundred percent certain about in life.

First, defense is the best offence. No matter the situation or context it is applied in, this is basically a universal truth and Max's personal philosophy. It's also why he plays defense on the soccer team of their high school even though he's only a freshman. Also because soccer is awesome, even if it's called football in Japan. The point stands: it is far better to be on the defensive than the offensive. Always and forever.

Second, mayo is good on everything. Everything ever. Sweet stuff? Check. Sour stuff? Check. Salty stuff? Yes. Noodles? Hell to the effin' yes! It's simply the best thing there is in the world. American mayo, however, is kind of gross. He will and has fought people about this very subject. (Not seriously, because. Well, it's mayo. It is really not that big a deal! Except for its deliciousness.)

And lastly, Max's mother is a brilliant and hard-working scientist. She has done several things that will probably improve the overall quality of human life, and she loves her son and husband very much even though she lives in a completely different country. Max loves her just as much.

She is also kind of a terrible person.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

It all started on a Tuesday. The second Tuesday of November, to be precise.

Max is pretty okay with Tuesdays, usually. They're not that exciting; he doesn't have soccer practice but he works at the hobby shop instead, so they're not a day off. That's kind of lame, but at the same time Max likes helping out in the shop. Plus, he makes a quick buck (yen, whatever) when he's working there of his own free will instead of as punishment. Like, say, when he has been suspended for beating the crap out of another group of student.

(His dad has never let him forget that that's a thing that happened. He seems both horrified and proud about it. Tarou Mizuhara is kind of a total weirdo like that! Max loves it.)

As for Novembers, they are also kind of okay. He liked November a lot better when he still celebrated thanksgiving, for one. For another, it's close to exams time, so everyone is starting to study like crazy! Including Max, since unlike Taka he actually values his grades. But other than that, there's nothing noticeably wrong with November.

So it's really quite a surprise when Max's world flips upside down during the class right before lunch on the second Tuesday of November.

Okay, he is being a bit overdramatic. It's just that it started a spiral into the descent of total stupidity that Max will later be so grounded for; he might as well be dramatic in his retelling, right? It adds flair! And it's kind of fun, heh.

Oh, incidentally! The class right before lunch is the one Max shares with Kai, one-on-one. It's probably why Kai gets weirdly involved into this whole thing? Max likes to think it's also because Kai has started to think of them as friends subconsciously. It would be pretty great! Kai's kinda awesome, and he sure looks like he could use friends that aren't scared of him. That would make this entire venture seem not so bad! In the end, everything would have worked out for the better!

…

The truth is Max is something of an optimist. It's quite terrible, really.

Let's just get to the point.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"So you're saying I'm missing the other variable here, and that's why my formula is off?" Max asks Kai, once again probably ruining the other's plan to spend all class watching the window gloomily.

He's not sorry. There's only so much one can look at the courtyard before being bored to death. Besides, if Kai starts at least fake working in class, maybe the teachers will stop looking so terrified when they pass his desk. It is super distracting in its hilarity.

"No, you just did the first part wrong," Kai clarifies with a look on his face Takao would probably qualify as 'murderous' (backed up by Rei and Chief, probably) but that Max just thinks looks kind of awkward. Like he has no idea how to interact with people in a social context that does not involve either fear or contempt.

It is both kind of cute and a bit hilarious. The thing is Kai is really brilliant with—well, most things, honestly! But sometimes that translates into them being so obvious to him that he has issues explaining the entire development, so if you don't get it after the first blunt response? He starts to frown and sounds more and more awkward until he gets frustrated and either shuts up or leaves. Max has deduced Kai is scary to most people because he combines an aloof attitude plus social ineptitude with a bad boy look and pretty epic fighting skills, resulting in him seeming unapproachable and terrifying to most.

But seriously, Max just thinks it's kind of cute and funny. And, okay, a bit sad.

"Oh—yeah, I think I see it now. Forgot to subtract the circumference! Wow, fail. Thanks, Kai, that was super helpful," Max answers him after perusing his equation, grinning.

"…," Kai responds eloquently before looking away with a jerk of his shoulder.

Okay, it's a lot sad.

Max's pseudo-psychological analysis is interrupted, however, by their teacher telling them all to settle down and get back to their assigned seats, as the principal wants to talk to them.

Eh? Principal Daitenji, doing a personal visit to a class? That's odd. He's kind of a really busy man, usually. What with being the principal of all the schools in Bey City.

What is with that, anyway? Max is still mostly a foreigner, so he doesn't know if it's common in Japan, but it seems highly impractical. He'll have to ask his dad about it sometime.

Principal Daitenji enters the class with a smile, and he coughs to draw their attention even though everyone is already pretty much silent.

His visits are a really Big Deal around here. He's kind of the grandpa everyone wishes they had, so no one really disrespects him. Even Kai is sort of respectful.

He is only glancing out at the window out of the corner of his eyes instead of blatantly staring, for one.

"Ah, good day, class. I have exciting news to share with you!" Daitenji starts, immediately making everyone in class straighten in their seat in anticipation, glancing at each other and whispering in, well, excitement.

Max, for some reason, kind of has a foreboding feeling that the news will not be nearly as exciting as the whispers seem to imply. It's highly unlikely math will be cancelled forever, for one. Or that killer robots are attacking. Which is kind of unfortunate, because that would be really exciting.

(The great thing about November is that everyone gets what Max has fondly dubbed Takaoitis and starts dreaming up the craziest scenarios at the brink of a hat in hopes exams will not come ever.)

Principal Daitenji coughs again to quieten the class. The sad thing is it works. "As some of you may be aware, we've been graced with the presence of some transfer students from America for the year on a special program," Daitenji continues and wait what? Since when? "The results have been greatly positive so far, so much so that we've now been graced with the presence of the scientist overseeing the program, and she'll be conducting all of her research right here in Bey City."

The principal pauses there, either for drama or because he's realized he's used "graced with the presence" twice in as many sentences, Max isn't sure. Mostly he's kind of stuck on the whole wait what aspect still. He had no idea any of that was going! Also why would a scientist be overseeing a school program? And why is that supposed to be exciting?

Max turns to Kai to share his overall confusion with someone non-verbally. Kai has merely raised an eyebrow compared to Max's own overblown blink and tilted head, but it still counts.

"This means," Daitenji speaks again, undeterred by his overall lack of an expanded vocabulary and Max's general bewilderment, "that you kids now have the opportunity to participate in Dr. Tate's research alongside our transfer students. You're all encouraged to join one of our numerous sports teams and apply to be considered for the program. Those of you who will be accepted will gain not only extra credits, but also a scholarship of two hundred and fifty thousand yen, applicable to any school of your choosing!"

Wow that is like three thousand American dollars! That can pay a whole… half a semester at a university.

Wow education is not cheap.

Also, that's weird! Dr. Tate is what Max's mom goes by too. Talk about a weird coincidence.

But seriously, more important than all of that, they still have no idea what the program even is, except for possibly a bastard mix of athletics and science.

Sweet Genbu, the program is practically Max's life.

"For those of you who are interested, I'll leave the basic information with your teacher, and Doctor Judy Tate will hold a Q&A tomorrow at lunch in the auditorium. I'm afraid I have a lot of classes to announce this to still, so I'll leave you all to your maths. Good luck and good day, kids!"

Daitenji departs with a smile and a wave at the same time as the class starts bursting into excited and loud chatter.

"Oh my God," Max says out loud, completely slipping from Japanese, still gaping in shock at Daitenji's retreating back. No one hears him except Kai, who looks at him with a confused frown. Max doesn't bother explaining himself.

Because… holy shit, Doctor Judy Tate—that's Max's mom!

What is she doing in Japan?

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"What's your mom doing in Japan?" Takao asks the very same question plaguing Max during lunch.

They have, for once, forwent eating their lunches on the roof because, November weather being what it is, it is raining cats and dogs and possibly horses outside. Kai seemed to think this meant he could get away from them, but the combined forces of Takao, Max and Rei crowding him led to him being forcibly pushed towards the school library, where they are currently (illegally, woops) eating their lunches while actively working on their schoolwork.

By which Max obviously means gossiping about his mom while Kai looks like he really misses windows. And freedom.

Kai's own fault for being super mellow today! After the nightmare that was last week, he is practically begging for friendly harassment.

Plus, you know, he made friends with Takao. There's no saving him now.

(Max loves Taka, he is the best friend he could have hoped for when coming to Japan, but the boy is as pigheaded as they come. And more.)

"I have no idea, Taka," Max admits with what he hopes isn't the worryworrypanicsadface! tone he feels like using. Maybe she wanted to surprise him! "I feel really out of the loop. I guess the best I can hope for is to ask her tomorrow before or after the Q&A."

"Shouldn't she be staying with you and your dad?" Rei pipes up, and Max goes ha ha no inside a little, though he just smiles and shrugs on the outside. (His parents aren't divorced, or even separated. They are just… weirdly independent of each other 90% of the time, and then suddenly way too affectionate, as if they realize oh right we're a couple! It's kind of. Awful and awkward, to be honest!)

"I have no clue! I think if she was she'd have told us in advance. She has a tendency to stay in her labs when she's really deep into her work, though."

An unhealthy tendency, but who is Max to judge? It's not like he hasn't sustained solely on caffeine and sugar for a stupid amount of time before.

(And not even for a good reason, too. Why anyone in the world would watch two seasons of Glee consecutively still baffles him. The show is kind of terrible and awful, full of clichés and whatnot, but god it's addicting. And even when the songs are bad he can't help but sing along! Not that he remembers much of the episodes considering he watched them all in like a weekend.

Max is really glad he has multiple friends and hobbies now.)

"Oh, yes, I've done the same thing a few times," the Chief adds with a nod, and everyone silently stares at him in question. "Haaa, I kind of set up a lab for myself in my parents' guest room—"

"Okay, bored now," Takao interrupts, and Max can't help but laugh a little. Taka is soooo bad. Chief just looks affronted. "In that case, just go to your mom's lab and talk to her there, Maxie!"

Everyone looks at him in shock. That was… actually a good suggestion. Why didn't Max think of that? Takao squints at their openly gaping faces.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

"We're just … surprised we didn't think of that ourselves," Rei answers diplomatically. Yeah, that sounds better than "gosh Taka we were shocked you had a good idea for once!", though Max still kind of wants to say it. Taka's funny when he flails. Anyway, there's a slight hitch in Takao's suggestion.

"Problem, though! I have no idea which lab my mom is working in. Or where it would even be, anyway. It doesn't have to be located in Bey City, y'know."

"I can probably help with that," the Chief answers him, and pulls out his laptop and the information Max forgot to pick up from the teacher, wooooops. "I just need a few seconds to cross reference the reference address and Dr. Judy's name, and—"

Everyone waits with baited breath for the result of his research. Where could the lab possibly be located?

"Uhm, she's in the lab right next door," their youngest finishes nervously.

"That's… awfully convenient," Max offers.

Takao looks at him dubiously and Max shrugs. Well, what. It is!

"I didn't even know there was a research facility next door to our high school," Rei comments, drawing a drawled 'same here' from Takao.

Honestly, neither did Max, but he's not about to go saying that out loud.

"It used to be an abandoned facility, actually," Chief expositions, "Generally considered to be, um, gang territory. They must have moved in and renovated everything without anyone noticing…?"

This is sounding fishier and fishier. Everyone stares at Kai to see if he has anything to add on the subject, seeing as he was in a gang so he should at least know about said ex-abandoned building, but he doesn't look up from his book on . . . wait is he reading Takao's manga?

"We should go over there and investigate right now," Takao declares dramatically, breaking Max's train of thoughts with one of his terrible, terrible plans, oh my god no.

"What? Takao, we have class after this," the Chief objects. Rei and Max share a look to despair his sense of priorities. "Plus, we can't just break into Dr. Judy's lab! We're not in an action movie!"

"What's more important, class or Max's relationship with his mom? Besides, I didn't say anything about breaking in, sheesh."

It's not necessarily a bad idea, and skipping a class or two isn't that terrible, to be fair… Max thinks about it and realizes with abject horror he is actually considering Takao's idea seriously. Uh-oh. … Well, why not. He really wants to find out what his mom is up to.

"I'm with Taka on that one," and that shuts up all of Chief's objections right there. "Don't worry, it's not like we'll get in that much trouble even if we get caught. I'll just say I'm trying to see my mom. Being related to the head of the research probably gives me some immunity!"

"This is such a bad idea," Chief gripes one last time, which basically means he's along for the ride.

"I think I'll go with you guys," Rei agrees. "I've met Dr. Tate this summer too, so that'll be two of us she knows. We can help diffuse anything that might come up."

Takao beams with barely contained excitement, which gives Max the impression he mostly suggested this venture to skip out on class. Fair enough! He turns to Kai, does a silent double-take at the fact that his manga has apparently been requisitioned, and just shakes his head and ignores it. "What about you, Kai?"

"And skip class?" Kai deadpans without looking up.

Everyone stares at him blankly except Max, who laughs. Kai is such a riot. Rei throws him an amused look after that while Takao just sighs.

"Fine, whatever, be a wet blanket. We should be back before school ends anyway. Let's go!"

Kai turns a page of Takao's manga pointedly as they grab their stuff and start for the lab.

"And I want that back later!"

Pfft, those two.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

If there is one good thing to say about Judy Mizuhara, nee Tate, it's that she never does things halfway.

This is probably why, once they get to the research facility (an entire block away, a bit further than "right next door" as previously advertised), that they are faced with what can only be the most ridiculous security ever seen in Bey City outside of television.

Okay, to be honest, that's not that much of an accomplishment. Even the bank in Bey City has lousy security. The point still stands, though; the guards and security system are not about to let them pass. They outright laughed when Max asked to see Dr. Judy Tate because she was his mother.

Which, rude!

Anyway. Sneaking past wasn't much of an option, seeing as there were alarms settled to fire off everywhere and probably like, hounds while they were at it.

(Max wastes about three minutes imagining his mother yelling "Release the hounds!" before it stops being funny.)

"I guess you'll have to wait until tomorrow," the Chief consoles him with a pat on the back. (Probably because he can't reach his shoulder.) Max reminds himself that hounds aren't funny when they're running after you.

"Ugh, this is so lame. We can never do anything awesome," Takao gripes. Everyone stares at him. "Also the whole thing with Max's mom, yeah, yeah, I haven't forgotten. Sheesh."

Max laughs it off, because, well—

"Taka's right, though. It is kinda lame."

Rei, who's been oddly quiet for a while, turns to look at him.

"On a scale of one to ten, how bummed out are you about it?"

Max blinks and as Takao and the Chief share a confused look.

"Huh?" he answers very eloquently.

"I've been observing security for a while, and these guys seem oddly concentrated over here," Rei starts, speaking lowly as he keeps an eye on the guards. "Is there an entrance at the back, Chief?"

The Chief snaps out of it with a blink and stammers, "Uhm, I haven't really looked, give me a second—"

A minute later, the Chief has a complete map of the building on his laptop and everyone is wondering when their friend became a hacker. Max thinks it's kind of awesome and also worrying. One rebel in their group is quite enough, thanks!

"This is the map available on the website for the research," he explains under the weight of everyone's stares, and they all seem oddly disappointed by that answer. "There's no entrance at the back. Why?"

Rei grins, quickly and sharply (Takao coughs out "kitty face" under his breath) and answers: "Let's just go check it out. I think I've got an idea."

For the hundredth time that day, they all share a look. They shrug and agree to go take a look. What can it hurt?

(Woops, that's totally jinx material! Max should remember to knock on wood soon.)

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

It's only when they're deep into the ventilation system that Max voices what can only be the absolute truth:

"This is a really bad idea."

"Oh, yeah, point that out when we're all face deep into each other's ass, Maxie, super helpful," Takao deadpans, struggling to crawl ahead. It turns out ventilation systems are not as big as they appear. Or as sneaky, considering the noisy bangs they keep hearing.

Soooo unsubtle.

"Why did I ever agree to do this? This is completely illegal," the Chief whimpers in dismay. "We're going to get caught and I'll have a criminal record, guys, this is the worst idea you've ever had."

"At least we're not in alleys," Rei quips unhelpfully.

He has a lot less trouble than the rest of them, which is probably why he keeps chuckling at their struggles. And general despair, because well. It really kind of is totally illegal.

"Okay, we should be getting close to a drop off soon," he informs them after a few seconds, and stops abruptly.

Which of course causes a chain reaction and, well, Max is at least comforted by the fact that Rei has a nice cushy bottom for him to run into. He wonders if commenting on Rei's ass is appropriate at this time.

"I hate you all," Takao groans from behind Max.

This is kind of an awkward situation overall. Woops.

"Just give me a second, I'm trying to remove the vent here," comes the mumble from up front, and Max wishes he could tilt his head and see what was taking so long.

"Where did you even learn all of this?"

"Mao loves spy movies for some reason—okay, got it. Down we go, guys!"

Max files away that juicy bit of gossip for later and follows Rei down after he jumps. He manages to catch himself in a crouch and feels incredibly cool about it. He is a regular James Bond. Dana nanaaaaaa— it becomes a lot less cool when Takao also succeeds. Damn. It turns out dropping down from an air vent five feet onto the floor without crashing is not that great a skill. TV lied to him.

Too bad!

"I swear, if I ever hear anyone mention sneaking through air vents ever again, I will punch them in the throat," Takao rants menacingly—

For all of five seconds, because then the Chief jumps down and drops right on him. Ouch.

"That must've hurt," Max comments as he takes in the whimpering and crushed form of his best friend. Rei sniggers quietly in the background for a few seconds before covering it up with a cough. "You both okay over there?"

"Oh gosh Takao I am so sorry! I concentrate on trying not to damage my laptop when I landed, so I forgot to look down! Are you okay?"

"THE PAIN," Takao wheezes miserably, "My ribs. My everything. It hurts."

Max tries and fails to not laugh.

"With the way he's whining, I think he'll be alright," Rei comments, the sniggers having died down but the grin on his face very obvious. He is positively basking in schadenfreude, wow! "Come on, we should go if Max wants to find his mother before we get caught."

Takao gives him the finger from his spot on the floor, totally ignoring the Chief's worried hovering. Max laughs and walks over to give him a hand, which he gladly takes.

"Alright, but I'm serious, next time anyone mentions sneaking into whatever, someone is getting punched in the throat."

Nobody mentions that, considering how often Takao seems to be the butt-monkey of any and all situations, it will probably be him. They're not that mean.

Besides, it's not like they're going to be illegally sneaking into any other building anytime soon.

Right?

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

It comes to light, after a few wild detours and sudden distractions ("Oooh, what's this do," thank you Takao and buttons), that they have no idea where they are going.

They really need to learn to plan things better. Woops. It's a wonder they haven't run into anyone by now out of sheer failure! They must be lucky.

"Let's just go back to school already," the Chief tries vainly as everyone peers at his laptop for some kind of clue as to where they should be heading next. "I'm sure someone has noticed our absence by now, and Kai is probably wondering what's taking us so long—"

"Hahaha no," Takao cuts him off. "Besides, there's no way I was stuck crawling around that air vent for no reason! I'm not getting out of here until Max got what he came for: a talk with his mom."

The silence following his declaration is partly because they all agree with him, and partly because they all realize how they are doing a ridiculous amount of work for something that really shouldn't be that hard to get. And that could've waited a day.

Ha ha. Haha. Ha. Oops.

His mom is going to be either impressed by their determination as well as thankful that they have uncovered such a deep flaw in her security, or really mad that they broke into her lab. Max is going to hold on hope for the former. It never hurts to be optimistic!

"Can I mention something?" Rei asks, breaking the awkward silence as they look and their life and their choices. "According to this map, there's a lot of … sports court around and in the building."

"Huh?"

Rei points to something at the screen. "Look—here it says basketball court. Way over there is a baseball court, there's a football one located there, a tennis one here—"

"There's no way this building is big enough to hold all of these," Takao objects, gesturing wildly around them for good measure. Max has to dodge his flailing before getting it in the face. Man! Takao is such a klutz.

"They're all on different stories," the Chief answers. "I hadn't noticed before because I didn't pay attention to the names, but… it's true. Most of what I thought had to be laboratories are just glorified gymnasiums!"

Curiouser and curiouser. Max takes a closer look himself and zooms into something completely different from the others. Huh?

"Hey, what's this? 'RCRR'? It's one of the big rooms too, but there's nothing else written there to identify it. It's right on the same level as us, too."

The other three turn to look at where he's pointing and then turn their gaze to each other, perplexed.

"That's got to be where they do the big research," Takao decides. "There's nowhere else. We should go check it out! Bet your mom's over there, too."

"We should go back to school."

Everyone ignores the Chief.

"It's worth a shot," Max agrees with a grin. "Besides, we've come so far, we might as well get some info on this place while we're at it!"

"We keep going forward this way for a while, turn left two corridors down, turn right twice in a row and then another left and we should be there," Rei lists off, following the map with his finger. "We should get there in five to ten minutes, I think. It's closer to the front door than we are."

"I have a really bad feeling about this, guys," the Chief continues.

Everyone keeps right on ignoring him.

"Okay, let's go!"

"—Wait, wait, at least don't go off without me if you're not going to listen!"

Man, they are the worst friends to the poor guy. Max'll have to make it up to him later. But for now: exploring!

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Meanwhile, elsewhere…

"Mi-mister Hiwatari! Where are you going? Class isn't over yet!"

Kai looks at his life, looks at his choices, and wonders exactly when he became a babysitter.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"You know, I'm surprised we haven't run into anyone yet," Max ponders aloud as they get closer to their "goal". It's true that it's odd—if this is supposed to be a research facility, where are all the scientists? The more Max thinks about everything that's happened so far, the weirder it seems.

"Everyone's on lunch break?" Takao guesses, walking with his arms crossed behind his head as he stares at the ceiling, looking almost… bored.

This is definitely the world's least exciting and most convenient break-in. Hmm.

"Well, let's hope it stays that way, 'cause we're almost there," Rei says, taking the last turn first and then abruptly moving back to behind the corner. "Spoke too soon—guys, hide. I saw a door open!"

They stare at each other and huddle the wall, pretending they are invisible. It's. Not working.

They are really bad at sneaking anywhere.

They can hear footsteps getting closer now, as well as voices. They strain to listen and stay very, very quiet at the same time—years of practice listening in on his parents talking mean Max has an advantage at this. And, it turns out, a disadvantage.

"I think there was a bug in the security system earlier," he can hear a woman(?) say, "Everything was turned off for some reason. I fixed it, of course, but you should've really stayed in America, Judy. The facilities and equipment are much better there."

Judy? That's his mom! Max freezes in place, ignoring the looks everyone is giving him. All he needs to do is listen a bit more, just to—just to make sure—

"True, but I have been missing my favorite assistant," his mom says (his mom), and Max forgets everything else and bolts towards her.

He needs to know—he needs to see—to talk to—

"Mom!"

He barely hears the alarms blare when he trips over a mention sensor; he's too busy staring at his mom's shocked face while he runs towards her. Before he knows it, he's tackled to the floor from the opposite side, just in time to miss being crushed to death by a heavy glass door.

What.

Also, ow, being tackled to your own safety hurts. His head bounced off the floor there.

The alarms are still blaring around them but all Max can see is his mom, on the other side, and he scrambles to get up and yells:

"Mom! Mom, I'm sorry, I just—Mom! Let us out! It's just me!"

"Kai, what the fuck?" Takao asks in the background, and Max realizes with a jolt that that's who tackled him to safety. He'll have to thank him later, but for now—his mom needs to hear him out, he didn't—she can't leave them here, right?

He couldn't have screwed up that badly.

He sees the girl with his mom—because she's a girl, not a woman, just a young redhead with huge glasses he can vaguely remember seeing around school, what is she doing here?—ask her something, and his mother answers, but he can't hear it, their voices are muddled through the glass door.

He can, however, see his mother shake her head and walk away at the same time security gets there. Followed by …

Cops.

Oh.

Crap.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"Do you know this kid, Judy?" Emily asks her, and Judy pursues her lips as she stares at her son.

Oh, Max.

"It's not important for now," Judy answers, turning away. "Go back to your research, please. I've got a phone call of a more… personal nature to make."

She needs to have words with Tarou Mizuhara right now. Amongst other things.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

The evidence against them all is overwhelming, so it's not long before they're hauled up all four of them in the back of a police car. It turns out they were patrolling around the area, hence their quick response time.

Guess they weren't so lucky after all, Max thinks bleakly.

"Oh god oh god oh god," Chief whimpers in a mantra, just like he has since they put handcuffs on the lot of them. Takao complained it was overkill. Rei told them he wouldn't talk until they provided them with a lawyer, and the cops told him to stop watching so many American movies.

Max is pretending he isn't caught in a spiral of self-hatred for disappointing his mom and bringing all his friends into it. He is not succeeding very well so far.

As usual when something awful happens, they concentrate their attention on Kai.

"Thanks," Max manages a few minutes into the car ride. "For, well, saving me."

Kai doesn't answer, but he hasn't spoken since the cops got there. Oddly, he's the only one they bothered putting the handcuffs on behind his back. It must be uncomfortable.

"Yeah, speaking of that," Takao pipes up, because unlike the Chief's panic, Rei and Kai's distrustful silence and Max's semi-depression induced silence, he has not shut up or stopped complaining since they got hauled away. "How did you even get there so fast? Or just get there in general?"

Kai shrugs. "I walked through the front door."

Everyone ponders that for a few seconds and then just stare at him incredulously. The two cops up front share a look before concentrating on the road again.

"So, wait, are you saying you didn't do anything illegal, or—but then there's—NONE OF THIS MAKES SENSE," Takao flails. Rei gets a handcuff to the head and glares at him, trying to scoot away.

"Please keep it down back there," cop number 2 (Max didn't look at their badges, being otherwise… distracted), "Everything you do in this car can and will be held against you."

Takao blows them a raspberry for their trouble, and Max manages a smile.

"Okay, for once in your life, would it kill you to tell us the entire story? You kind of skipped class to come save our butts, how did you even know where we were?"

"I've skipped class for stupider reasons," Kai answers.

"That is not the point stop being obtuse on purpose you jerk—" Takao cuts himself off suddenly and stares blankly as Kai starts to move from his spot next to the window, lifting his legs up. "Whaaaaat are you doing now."

His question is answered when, after some minor struggling and some shoulder movements Max can attest are both gross and probably not healthy (seeing as he is sitting next to Kai and can see his bones move weirdly and all that), Kai triumphantly brings his handcuffed hands in front of him and leans against the car seat more comfortably.

Contortionist too now! Okay Kai. Be whatever you want.

"OH COME ON," Takao gestures again, much to Rei and the Chief's chagrin, probably objecting to … uh, the entire scenario, honestly. "That is just—you're just—THERE IS NO WAY ANYONE CAN BE THAT TALENTED AT EVERYTHING."

"We said shut up," Cop number 1 bites out, and Takao flips him the finger. Twice.

Yeah, that's going on his criminal record.

"Kai, I swear—can't you at least wait until we can't see you to do that," Cop number 2 mumbles in the silence. Max guesses they weren't meant to hear that, but seeing as they all suddenly shut up, they do.

And stare at Kai once again.

"I was the leader of a street gang," Kai deadpans.

Okay. Point.

"I hate everything," Takao grounds out.

Max kind of agrees, for once.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

The rest of the police ride is spent in silence (yay), until they arrive at the station. The reaction once they get there is… unexpected.

"Friggin'—I toldja assholes, I didn't wanna see the mug of that kid unless you had actual legit proof so I could dump his ass in juvie," the police chief greets them with a gruff tone of voice, gesturing at Kai, who simply stares back.

What a magnificently clichéd man.

"Sorry, sir," cop number 2 mumbles, "But these guys broke into the lab next to the school, so—"

"Don't wanna look bad in front of Americans? Buncha pussies, th'both of ya."

Cop number one flips off his boss.

"Okay, you guys have got to be psyching us. There's no way I'm ever going to believe you're legitimate cops," Takao comments blankly.

(And that's how they got there.)

"Listen here, punk, m'the boss 'round here," the guy turns on him. "You know what? Breaking and entering, that's a full night in jail. You'll be wanting to call your parents if you want some bail money."

Max really, really wishes Takao would learn to keep his mouth shut. The Chief whimpers and Rei winces yet tries to hide it, glaring defiantly at the cops. It's obviously up to Max to defuse the situation.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Whaddaya want, punk?"

Seriously? This is like a scene out of a bad movie. Max schools his face into a sheepish smile. "Um, the thing is, the scientist in charge of that place—Dr Tate? She's my mother. I wanted to surprise her, so we sneaked into the building, but…" But she saw us and completely ignored me. "But we got caught before I could see her. It was a stupid idea, but this is all just a misunderstanding. And my fault, to boot. Could you let us go? I promise we won't do it again."

The cop looks at him for a long while before snorting.

"I've gotta admit, you've got a pretty good lying face, kid." Max winces pre-emptively. "But the reports indicate your so-called mom was on the scene, and she didn't do anythin' to stop it. So nice try, but no cigar. Now get in the slammer, the lot o' ya. I got better things to do."

Max deflates, looking at his shoes in shame. She … didn't. He's right.

He feels a hand on his shoulder and turns, expecting to see Rei, but instead it's Kai, who gives him a look Max can't interpret before stepping in front of him.

Rei's hand was extended to seemingly do the same thing, so Max feels a bit better about that expectation fail. They share a confused look and shrug. Takao looks at Kai apprehensively.

"Shows over, Officer. If you hadn't noticed, these guys are with me," Kai starts, cockily gesturing behind him with a nod of his head. "And I'm going to go ahead and guess the lab hasn't asked to press charges against any of us?"

There's a tense silence that follows his question. Cop number 2 shrugs awkwardly in answer to the look her commanding officer gives her.

"They actually called the station to ask us to release the kids without further charges. They did ask to write it in our records, said they'd call their parents to inform them of what they did, and—"

"That's what I thought," Kai interrupts with a smirk. "So how about you take the handcuffs off and we leave, before I call my "parent" about the so-called bail you want us to pay."

Max stares at both of them blankly. His mom called? But then why didn't she—

He doesn't understand.

The officer in command swears loudly.

"Okay, seriously, how are any of you in the police," Takao complains.

The chief ignores him.

"I'll do a write-up on your records, alright. I'm taking all your names and then you'll get the hell out of my station. But I swear, I catch any of you at it again and you won't get away that easy."

"Um, sir—" police officer number 2 starts again, unsure, "There was a condition so they wouldn't have further charges pressed against them…?"

Everyone turns to stare at her. Max has a really bad feeling about this.

"Spit it out."

"Uhm, well… Dr Tate asked that Kai, um, I mean, Hiwatari—"

Kai tenses and narrows his eyes at her, and Max continues to not get anything that is going on here.

How did his life get like this?

"Get to the point, Major, before I sack you for incompetence."

"She said Kai had to participate in her research program," the Major (woops!) finishes in a rush, an angry flush to her cheeks as she stares at her commanding officer.

What.

"What," Kai repeats Max's thoughts. The major turns to him and explains patiently:

"She said she'd tell you the details of your participation when you come see her at six tonight. She was very adamant about it, and told us to consider it community service? I'm honestly not sure about the legality of any of it, but—"

"There you go, issue resolved," the, like Takao just unsubtly coughed out, Worst Chief Of Police Ever deadpans with a smirk. "Now let's get your names and get you out of here."

"Not interested," Kai snarls.

"I thought that was what you wanted, Hiwatari? Or you can go ahead and call your grandfather to pay for bail. Sure he'd love it."

Kai flinches and glares at him before throwing a look at the major who simply looks back apologetically.

Max is completely lost, for his part. A quick glance at the others shows that they also don't get anything.

What's his mom getting out of all of this?

"That's what I thought."

Seriously! Why is no one answering his questions?

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"So, what have we learned today, kids?" Kai deadpans once they're finally let free.

The four of them share a look and can't even contain their snickers.

(Max apologized fifty times for his mom and, really, everything, while they were deep in the process of getting a criminal record. (Well, some of them—it turns out Takao has a few previous minor offences already! The Chief spent the entire time with his head in his hands, so it was up to Rei to comment that they really, didn't want to know.) Around the fiftieth, Kai finally snapped back that his issue was with Max's mother, so would he please shut up.

Max decided to take that as forgiveness.)

"Next time we sneak into a building, check out the security beforehand?" Rei tries with a smile.

"Never listen to any of Takao or Rei's idea, ever," the Chief groans.

"When we're in trouble, you're always there to save the day?" Max jokes half-heartedly.

Kai's answer to that is clear and blunt: "I am not anyone's babysitter. Next time, you can drown in your own troubles."

It's a testament to how long a day it's been that they all laugh.

"Maxie's mom is kind of a terrible person," Takao deadpans after.

"Takao!" Rei and the Chief snap at him. Kai turns his head slightly towards them, watching Max from the corner of his eyes.

There's a tense silence between them before Max can't help but laugh. They all stare at him in bewilderment.

"Taka… Thanks," Max tells him with a slap to the back. "You're right. She kind of is. I mean, I know I should be grateful she didn't press charges, but…"

"I'm pretty sure my guardian would've laughed it off with a weird metaphor, but like I've said before—special case," Rei comments with a chuckle. Kai looks at him weirdly at that. "I do think she's not quite acting as a parent should right now, though…"

Max smiles tightly. "That's not … really what's bothering me. It's this whole—lack of communication thing. Plus blackmailing Kai into being a test subject. That's kind of awful."

"I wonder why she wanted Kai in particular," Takao muses aloud. "It can't be for his awesome people skills, that's for sure."

Kai flips him off as everyone laughs. They are so tired.

"I don't know. It'd be easier to know if we even knew what Mom's research consisted of."

"Wait—I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier!" Chief bursts out. "I went on the website and didn't even think to check the General Information tab!"

Do researches usually have general information tabs? You know what? Max doesn't even care anymore.

"Guess we were all distracted," Rei muses. "It didn't cross my mind either."

Max and Takao nod in acquiescence. The look Kai is giving the lot of them says that he is judging them. A lot.

Yeah, this entire thing could've been avoided if they hadn't apparently been holding an idiot ball.

Max is so going to ignore that when he's explaining things to his Dad.

(Oh sweet Genbu they are so grounded, aren't they?)

The four of them ignore how dumb they were (and Kai's judgmental looks), crowding around as the Chief loads up his computer. They hold their breath in anticipation to the answer of at least one (1!) of today's mysteries. The tab starts to load and…

The screen suddenly turns pitch black.

"Ah. My battery died. …Sorry."

Takao facepalms. Max hides his face in his hands. Rei shakes his head in despair.

Kai sighs judgmentally at them before taking something out of his pocket and thrusting it in their direction.

"What's that?"

"One of those information pamphlets they were handing out all day. I brought it to the research center and pretended I had questions about it to be let in."

Everyone stares at Kai.

His badass points just dropped like twenty because it turns out he really did just walk in. His logic skills however boosted like fifty gajillion points up.

Why… didn't they think of that…?

"So they let you in?" Takao is the first to get over it, possibly because Taka is used to being dumb.

… What, he is.

"No," Kai answers bluntly. "They said the Q&A was tomorrow. So I slipped past them."

Wait, nevermind, his badass points are also off the charts. That is so unfair.

"They saw me going in, so they started to follow after that and called for back-up. I was considering going back and forgetting about it when I heard Mizuhara," he finishes with a shrug.

And noticed him about to be crushed by a door so he tackled him. Well. That explains a few things.

"Why did you even go after us in the first place?" Rei asks the last Very Important Question of the day that isn't answered in a shiny pamphlet Kai is holding.

And by shiny Max means awfully designed. That is one ugly pamphlet.

Kai frowns and doesn't answer for a while, staring at the sidewalk instead of any of them. Could it be Kai doesn't even know himself and that in actuality he has started to care about them but doesn't want to admit it?

"Does it matter? Just read the stupid pamphlet and be glad I was here to save your sorry asses," Kai answers doggedly.

Oh my God it's true. That is ridiculously adorable and sad. Takao narrows his eyes at Kai and opens his mouth—

"Give it here, Taka," Max interrupts him, which he justifies by the fact that Taka was most likely about to make a comment that would probably make Kai uncomfortable and awkward enough to leave, thereby ruining whatever progress they had made today as friends. Takao glares at him suspiciously but does, shrugging afterwards and letting the entire thing go.

"Did you read it?" Rei asks Kai as Max stares at the picture on the cover for a few awkward seconds.

That picture of his mom is so photoshopped.

"No. I have no interest in whatever they're doing."

Wow that is some ugly font usage.

"So what're you gonna do, tough guy? Go to Max's mom and go 'thanks, but not interested'? I don't think that'll work, somehow."

Who put these photos together? If Max didn't know his mom was a legitimate researcher, he would be very wary of going through with this "program".

"What I do about it is my business. It has nothing to do to with you, Kinomiya."

And when will these guys shut up so Max can dramatically announce what the research is about? So rude!

Rei nudges him with his elbow to look at him in question. At least Rei noticed, geez.

"No, but since it has to do with Maxie, I think he deserves the right to know! And by extension, me! 'Cause we're best buddies, and that's what buddies do."

Max looks up from the pamphlet at that, just to make sure everyone is appropriately judging Taka for that comment.

"Also I'm curious stop looking at me like that."

Good.

"Guys, I think Max is waiting on us to shut up so he can tell us what the research is about," the Chief finally points out.

"Just a little bit! It's not like it's a big deal or anything," Max answers with a laugh.

It is. It is a huge deal. In an awful pamphlet. But Max can tell the guys aren't as interested as he is. Or as moderately dramatic right now.

(There's a reason he doesn't want to open it on his own.)

"Okay, shoot, Maxie."

He opens the pamphlet, and…

Later that evening, Max and his father—

Ha ha ha just kidding no one is that mean.

"I … have no idea what the research is about," Max declares after a few minutes of perusing the pamphlet to tense silence.

Max will have to tell his mom to fire her advertising team. Do researchers usually get advertising teams? Probably not.

That… explains a lot, actually.

"Can you tell us what the pamphlet says, exactly?"

"Basically, that if you have good grades and belong to a sports program, you can get the chance to test… something? To check … something? It's really vague."

"Are you certain Judy is your mother? You certainly don't seem to share her intellect," a voice pipes up from further away. The boys all swivel around in surprise.

It's the redhead that was with his mom! Max… has no idea what her name is!

"Ah! Emily!" the Chief gasps in surprise

The Chief apparently knows! Okay then. Let's concentrate on the fact that she insulted him.

"Excuse me?"

Emily waves briefly at the Chief before staring at him judgmentally.

"You heard me. That you still don't know what your mother is working on is simply pathetic. No wonder she pretended not to know you earlier."

Max flinches. That… that hits a bit too close to home.

"Hey! Who are you to talk to him like that?" Takao objects, taking a step in front of Max.

"Judy's main assistant. I'm Emily York. I've been working with Judy for a few years now," Emily answers smugly. "I'm on a transfer to Bey High for a year as part of Judy's research."

Everyone stares at her blankly. Takao scoffs.

"Yeaaah that still doesn't give you the right to be rude, Miss Know-It-All."

"And I'm sure the opinion of a summer school student matters to me so much."

"HOW DOES EVERYONE KNOW THAT," Takao objects. Loudly.

He has a point there.

"Alright—enough. Look, Emily, I don't know what you have against me, but I'm sure you didn't come here just to antagonize us. Can you please just go ahead and tell us what you wanted so we can all just … go back home? We've had a long day," Max tries to negotiate.

"I'm sure being arrested is very stressful, yes," Emily answers him snidely.

"Max might have been polite with you, but the rest of us don't have to," Rei warns her.

"Can we please not fight with everyone we meet?" the Chief asks nervously. "Emily and I are lab partners, and I'd like for that to still be possible."

"Tell that to her," Takao grinds out.

"I could say the same to you boys."

Kai steps up with an aggravated sigh and crosses his arms, staring her down.

"Enough. Either spill it or go."

Let it never be said that having Kai on their side isn't kind of awesome, sometimes. (Most times.) Emily pursues her lips and stares at him warily before smiling coldly.

"Fine," she tells him, her tone of voice oddly sweet, "I suppose the least I could do is answer our new favorite test subject."

Max, Rei and Takao all pre-emptively either step in front of Kai or put a hand on him to calm him down. He looks at them like they've kicked his puppy and steps back.

Oh, right, the whole "my personal space!" issue. Woops.

He does sneer at Emily, though, so their fear wasn't totally unwarranted.

"It's simple, really. We're testing a solution that will improve brain functions and muscle functions. Our subjects need to be out on some kind of field. Everything has been successful so far, we just need to test it on a wider variety of people."

… What.

"So, wait," the Chief is the first to mention, "Does that mean—you and Dr. Tate are planning to make super soldiers?"

Emily looks at him with a sneer. "Don't be ridiculous. We're trying to improve the general quality of living for everyone. Who ever heard of super soldier? This isn't science fiction, you know. And don't worry, Kai. You won't be taking the solution," she adds, Kai looking at her warily. "Going by your general tests scores—when you do take them—and the physical capabilities you've shown over time, you're a perfect comparison point for us. Consider yourself the normal mice amidst all the other lab rats."

Somehow, Kai doesn't sound very reassured. Neither do the rest of them.

"Judy herself was going to ask you via your principal for your participation, but your little escapade earlier means you get no choice. Really, your overall failure was a pretty big win for us."

She grins at them and salutes them with her tennis racket (wow, Max hadn't noticed that before) before leaving.

"I'll see you in school, boys."

Max takes back what he said earlier.

It turns out? He hates November.

Judging from everyone else's faces, so do they.

Ha! I invent the word impossible. That's why I am the champ. Whether I like it or not.

http://www.last.fm/user/xelisaaa

Everything is quiet, except for all the voices in my head that say your name.

niks xd

Some people are so poor, that the only thing they have is money.

But if this was a movie you'd be here by now

"Ignite, my love. Ignite."

Ik zweer bij de arts Apollo, bij Aesculapius, Gezondheid en Algenezeres, en neem alle goden en godinnen tot getuige dat ik deze eed naar best vermogen en mijn eigen oordeel zal respecteren:

Ik zal de leermeester, die me deze kunst leerde, beschouwen als een vader. Ik zal mijn leven met hem delen en ik zal alle zaken die hij nodig heeft, geven. Ik zal diegenen die van hem afstammen deze kunst zonder vergoeding aanleren, en ik zal alle voorschriften getrouw overleveren aan mijn kinderen en die van mijn leermeester, eveneens aan de andere leerlingen die zich akkoord verklaard hebben met de wetten van de geneeskunde, maar verder aan niemand.

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.

Chaos, panic and disorder. I see my work is done here.

Rol(Bij jongeren uit andere landen wil ik niet alleen brave types, dus ook loverboys, bedeleden enzovoort): Meisje in het vriendengroepje
Volledige naam: May Leslie Summer
Leeftijd: 18 jaar
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Extra:

I'm Ellie's & Mitshy's little secret. Rawr.

http://by171w.bay171.mail.live.com/Handlers/WebIM.mvc

Un rêve peut mourir mais on n'enterre jamais l'avenir.

In België is Vaderdag de tweede zondag in juni en in Nederland de derde zondag. In Spanje, Portugal, maar ook in een deel van België (o.a. Antwerpen), wordt op 19 maart Vaderdag gevierd, de dag van Sint Jozef, de voedstervader van Jezus. In Duitsland wordt het gevierd op Hemelvaart (Jezus keert terug naar zijn Vader in de hemel).

Mijn username is een kopje, geen plaat

Life is all about having a good time.

C. PLINIUS CALPURNIAE SUAE S.
1 Scribis te absentia mea non mediocriter affici unumque habere solacium, quod pro me libellos meos teneas, saepe etiam in vestigio meo colloces. 2 Gratum est quod nos requiris, gratum quod his fomentis acquiescis; invicem ego epistulas tuas lectito atque identidem in manus quasi novas sumo. 3 Sed eo magis ad desiderium tui accendor: nam cuius litterae tantum habent suavitatis, huius sermonibus quantum dulcedinis inest! Tu tamen quam frequentissime scribe, licet hoc ita me delectet ut torqueat. Vale.

Have you ever been alone in a crowded room?

http://www.breakfest.nl

Inspiration can hit you any time

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How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.