The bedroom had pretty much remained the same as when I arrived a couple of years back. Madam A made sure to keep the elites and the regular batches on different rooms, claiming it was not a good idea to have me around her batches. Dusty beds lined the walls with little to no sheets, mysterious stains scattered across mattresses that could very well range from a blood stain to some sort of fecal matter, you could never be too sure. The thick smell of humidity still danced around my nostrils with every breath. Unknown spots covered the ceiling and floor, just waiting for Shin to wake up so they could be counted over and over again.

The only new thing was the small windmill right at the corner of the room. Despite it's small appearance it made a drastic change to the scenery and I often caught myself staring without even realizing. Just the thought of setting my hands right where Rei once had sent a jolt of electricity through my being.

The rest of the elites were also mesmerized by the dusty object. Often I would catch Jiro staring at it, seemingly lost in thought. Ryuu would sneakily glance at it's direction, for some reason looking like the windmill would explode at any given second.

And Shin, well... he had woken up a couple of times these past few days. Only for a couple of seconds, though. He didn't seem to take notice of our presence, he simply groaned in pain and clutched his stomach before falling into deep slumber once again.

I don't know how much longer Ryuu can keep patient. His nails were almost nonexistent by now and his bags were so prominent it was almost scary to watch. His appearance resembled more of a walking corpse than a 15 year old boy. He didn't talk as often as he would before and limited himself to hover over Shin's bed, waiting for him to wake up.

I had to turn my gaze away sometimes. Ryuu's pain was contagious, like a deadly plague.

"Hey Emi!" I heard the familiar cheery voice of a blond boy calling my name. He was hunched over his bed with a bunch of tools I couldn't even name, fidling with a strange object in his hands.

Jiro had been doing the exact same thing for the last couple of days, working on what I guessed was a new weapon. He'd made some sort of a makeshift workshop on his bed, refusing to leave Ryuu alone for a second in his current state even if that meant he had to work uncomfortably.

"What's up?"

He flashed me a blinding smile before beckoning me closer.

"C'mon, right here." He patted the spot next to him. "Crisscross applesauce! I need to show you something."

I laughed, following his orders and taking a seat with my legs tucked under me right beside him.

"Wanna see something cool?" The grin on his face was so contagious I found myself holding back another wave of laughter as I nodded eagerly.

He stretched his open palm to me, letting me see a small black box with a thin tube hanging from it. It was compact enough to fit inside his hand, only the tube extended a little more.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's called the Trinity Reaper. Yeah, I know, bomb ass name right?" He smirked before taking my hand and hovering the small black box over the inside of my wrist. Immediately a thin string shot from inside the box, wrapping itself around my wrist before connecting to the inside once again. The strap was so thin it was practically invisible.

"Trinity Reaper? What does it do?" I hummed, turning my wrist in every angle to see how much mobility it gave me.

"Glad you asked! Although I was gonna tell you anyway." Jiro huffed proudly before continuing.

"This box shoots a small, bullet-like sphere that, when in contact with RC cells, expands and explodes your brain. You can use it on ghouls and humans alike." He answered excitedly.

"You see this tube?" He pointed at the one hanging from the box. "The bullet comes out through here as a sort of liquid and solidifies in the air. Once it pierces the skin and mixes with the RC cells in your blood it makes your brain go boom!"

The smile he carried was maybe a bit too bright, but his eyes shone with a spark I'd never seen before. Jiro wasn't just proud of his creation, he was overjoyed to have made such a weapon.

"You like it?"

It was my turn to give him my best smile. "It's absolutely amazing!"

"I know!" The blond squealed excitedly. "It's so fucking cool! Quick, make a finger gun!"

I did as told, curling my bottom fingers as I straightened my thumb and index. Jiro took my hand in his, fixing the tube until it aligned with the inside of my index finger.

"People will think you're shooting bullets from your fingers!" He laughed, bringing my extended hand to point at the farthest wall from us.

"Go on, flick that wrist."

I straightened up, bringing my finger into view just like I would do with a normal handgun. I breathed in, focusing on a particularly dark splotch on the wall.

"How's the recoil?"

"Non-existent." Jiro's overly smug vocie boomed. I smirked, focusing right on the splotch before flicking my wrist.

I waited. And waited. And waited some more.

"Uh, Jiro?" I asked, turning back to the overly cheerful blond behind me. "Nothing happened..."

"Really?" The fakest gasp I'd ever heard left his lips before they curled smugly. "Go check the wall."

I shot him a wary glance before pushing off the bed and making my way over to the farthest wall. At first glance there wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but upon closer inspection I noticed a small hole, barely a milimiter wide, etched into the middle of the splotch I'd been aiming at.

"Whoa." Was the only thing I could utter. Total shock ran through my veins as I inspected the seemingly deep hole on the wall and I couldn't help asking.

"How many walls can it go through?"

"That, my little Emi, is for you to discover." Jiro smiled at me.

"I made the Trinity Reaper for you, with your light combat style in mind. It's just a prototype, however, so you have to improve and customize it to fit your needs."

"Impro- what the fuck!" I gasped incredulously at his words. "This thing is absolutely silent, with no recoil and insane precision! How can I possibly improve this?"

"Well Emi, I don't bullshit." Jiro shrugged, although the smile in his face irradiated a warm glow only he could produce.

"There's always room for improvement. You just need to play with it and see what you'd like to add."

I ran up to him, circling my arms around his frame for a tight hug. His chest vibrated against me, melodic laughter ringing through my ears as his arms coiled around my small body.

"You're the best, Jiro." I grinned against his shirt.

"I know, I know."

It looked like Jiro was going to say something else but the sound of an all too familiar voice pierced our ears, making us both turn wide eyed at Ryuu's direction.

He was practically on Shin's bed, gaze trained on the coal haired boy as a few quiet words left his mouth. The most surprising part was the sea of electric blue that locked on his lilac gaze as he heard every word.

Shin was awake. After such a long time he was finally here. We both rushed to his bedside just in time to catch the rough, weak words leaving his mouth.

"You look horrible."

For the first time in weeks I saw a real smile on Ryuu's lips.

"You don't look much better yourself." He whispered, his gaze running over the other's body at a hundred miles per hour, taking in every inch of his appearance now that he was awake.

"What happened?" Shin groaned, attempting to sit upright but Ryuu pushed him back down.

"Tenri Hiiragi. Don't you remember?"

"Ah, yeah. I jumped in to save your reckless ass." Shin's words were playful, albeit lacking energy, but either way it sent a refreshing wave of relief through our bodies.

"Yeah, and look where that got you." Ryuu rolled his eyes.

"I'd do it a million times if I have to, just to keep you safe." The coal haired boy smugly replied.

It was Jiro who cleared his throat, interrupting whatever eye contact was going on between the two boys.

"Standing right here, guys. Just sayin'."

"Jiro." Shin shifted his gaze toward his hazel one. "Still as annoying as ever, I see."

"You fucking wake up after a hundred years of rest and the first words you say to me are insults." He rolled his eyes. "I feel the damn love, thank you very much."

"Welcome." Shin replied with a weak smirk before his eyes landed on me.

He blinked, seemingly sizing me up before shooting me the best grin he could offer in his state.

"Emi, Ryuu hasn't done anything bad to you while I was gone. That's good to see."

"Until now he was basically brain dead. Wouldn't even sleep." I huffed.

Shin gave Ryuu a questioning glance to which the younger boy answered with a sheepish smile.

"You could've woken up in the middle of the night."

"That explains why you look like a zombie."

"It's all your fault, idiot."

I watched with a smile on my face as the two bickered. Shin's voice, although rough and raspy, produced a strange sort of calming sensation that spread through my entire being. I missed his voice so much.

Jiro's hand slowly circled around mine as he leaned down to my ear.

"Ryuu will be alright now that Shin's awake. Wanna go test your new toy?" He asked, not even needing to wait for my answer. It was an obvious yes.

We slowly stepped away from the other two elites. Of course, our presence wasn't noticed nor was it needed, those two were always trapped in their own world.

"I'm going to teach you how to make Reaper bullets tomorrow. It's a completely different process to how you normally make quinque bullets." Jiro spoke as we stepped through the door of the weapon room and into the training area.

"You really outdid yourself, ya know." I grinned up at him, my finger playing with the Trinity Reaper on my wrist. A giggle raced past my lips as he ruffled my hair, shinning his bright hazel eyes at me.

"Anything for my little Emi."

______________

Emi is cursing now :") she used to be so sensitive to curse words. What has Jiro done to her?

Yo guys! I know it's been a long time since I've updated. School is extremely rough on me ever since the hurricane. I've also been dealing with some personal issues. I haven't been in a good mood lately, so sorry about that! Hopefully I'll have the time to update a lot sooner!

Everyone seems to love Ryuu XD

Thank you all so much for reading, voting and commenting! You guys are absolutely amazing <3

TRIVIA: Who is the oldest elite?

A. Shin
B. Ryuu
C. Jiro