"Remember this Jiro. Every thing I'm going to do, I do it out of love."

A light humming sound was heard, colorful and vibrant as it bounced off the cold walls of the weapon room. The tune held an awfully accurate resemblance to the music box engraved on the windmill, the only difference being that this one was interrupted every few seconds by a sharp intake of breath.  The sound of soft rummaging and shuffling of objects merged with the melody, producing a strangely warm and comforting sound.

If you didn't follow the sound, that is. For at its source there was not a single trace of comfort to be found. There was no happiness, no colors, nothing but a sharp metallic smell mixing with the sour scent of the countless gunpowder boxes that now lay scattered across the floor, on several sealed boxes and even atop a shaking head of blond hair.

Nobody knew what the boy was up to, not even himself. All that could be seen was the unsteady path of a sizzling spoon as it sliced through clear, tan skin. It ripped, burned and melted away at its cellular tissues, leaving a stomach-churning smell in its wake. The boy could see stars dancing across his vision, and he could've sworn he heard a familiar voice calling his name. The beautiful mixture of melodies brought a weak smile to his face.

Give gunpowder to an old man and he'll use it in his coffee. Give the same amount to a teenager and he'll go out with a bang.

~~~
"Shin!" A lilac haired boy slammed the door to the dormitory open, making the walls shake as he gripped the door frame.

Said male tore his gaze from the ceiling where he had once again been counting the deformed stains left behind by humidity. She was like the rest, Shin thought, passing by with no purpose but to leave a scar and walk away once the damage is done.

"You're out of breath." The coal haired boy spoke, slowly sitting upright in his bed. "What's wrong?"

Ryuu breathed heavily, a desperate look in his eyes Shin had only seen only on extremely rare occasions.

"Jiro."

"What's wrong with Jiro?" This time a soft, mildly feminine voice spoke as Emi made her way toward the youngest boy.

The blond had been missing for days and Madam A wouldn't tell the rest of the elites where he was, no matter how many times they tried to approach her. They'd stopped trying after a while, concluding he had gone on a confidential solo mission. Now, however, the heavy pang in their stomachs made them realize they'd been wrong.

"There's a burning smell coming from the weapon room, and someone whistling inside. I'm one hundred percent sure it's Jiro." Ryuu explained, shifting his gaze toward Shin's electric one, watching as the male quickly stood up.

"Did you see smoke?"

"No, but Jiro is definitely in there and he doesn't want to come out. I tried calling his name and opening the door but he blocked it."

No more words were needed for the three elites to spring into action. They raced out the door and down the hallways, reaching the wide door of the weapon room in a matter of seconds.

Just like Ryuu had described, the door was locked. Picking it was no use as it seemed to be blocked with something from the inside. They tried calling his name only to have the same results. Jiro was unreachable.

"Jiro? Are you in there?" Shin growled exgasperatedly, slamming his shoulder against the door without any result.

The whistling had gotten louder.

"Jiro! Open the door!" Emi pleaded.

"It's no use guys, I tried already. We'll have to force our way in." This time it was Ryuu who spoke, the rest nodding immediately.

"This wall is filled with shelves and weapons. We can't knock it down or we might hurt Jiro." Emi said, being the one who spends the most time inside apart from Jiro.

"There's an empty space right here. It's full of boxes but they're just filled with supplies used to clean the weapons." She directed her hand across a slightly thin area farthest from the wall. "The wood bases are from here to there."

"Alright then." Shin cracked his neck and grabbed Ryuu's hand, pulling him toward the designated spot at the end of the wall.

"Break it."

The coal haired boy stretched his hands forward, allowing Ryuu to press his back against the older's chest as he set his elbows atop Shin's outstretched hands.

"Yes sir."

And in a swift motion Ryuu brought both his feet up, using Shin's body as leverage as he slammed the soles of his feet against the wall, dropkicking the wood. It immediately ceased entry, allowing Ryuu's foot to tresspass into the sharp, splintering pieces of wood.

Emi immediately took action and slipped her tiny hands between the cracks, pulling at the broken pieces until Ryuu had enough room to pull his, now scratched and bloody, ankles out.

The rest of the elites joined Emi as they began to rip the wall apart, but a nose-scrunching smell began burning at their noses, making their eyes water. Even faster they worked until a hole big enough to fit Emi was made.

"You go first." Shin ordered and Emi nodded, pushing through the wall and landing atop scattered boxes. The smell became pungent, to the point where Emi had to cover her mouth as she carefully jumped over boxes and lost weapons.

"Jiro?" She called.

The whistling stopped.

"Jiro? Where are you?" She walked faster, not at all minding the weapons as they grazed and tore at the skin of her legs. Finally she came upon her friend.

Or what was left of him.

"Emi? Oh, hey! What are you doing here?" The blond boy smiled up at her, the curve of his lip was as sincere as ever, exactly how Jiro would normally smile. Perhaps even back then they had all been fake.

"J-Jiro..." The girl whispered, uncovering her mouth to stare wide eyed, horror written on her face as she took a look at the boy's appearance.

He was sitting on the floor, drenched from head to toe in what Emi recognized as smokeless gun powder. He had a lighter in one hand and in the other he held a spoon. Blood flowed down his limbs and stomach at an alarming pace, and mixing with the smell of gunpowder it created the horrifying odor that traced back to the outside.

Emi could see it, she saw everything. The jumbled-up gunpowder piles on the floor, the residue of it clinging to the spoon like a second skin. She could even see the gunpowder seeping out of his body that, mixed with blood, gave it a clumped, thick sort of appearance. Jiro had been filling himself up with gunpowder and nobody had noticed.

"Emi, you're bleeding." Jiro whispered. "Are you okay?"

She wasn't, and neither was he. Emi shook in her place as she saw the strangely colored substance drip across his skin, wondering how much gunpowder had the boy slipped into himself for it to pool out like that.

"Jiro-"

"You should go to Shin, he'll clean you up. You can't leave your open wounds like that or else you'll get an infection." He spoke, the smile reappearing on his features once again, this time turning playful as he continued.

"You know, I bet if you blame it on Ryuu he'll make the little idiot share some of his candy with you."

"You're bleeding." Emi whispered.

Jiro looked down at himself, slowly running his gaze across his body before returning to Emi where he gulped slowly.

"Ah, looks like I am..."

"Why are you doing this Jiro?" Emi took a deep breath, ignoring the burning of her throat as she inhaled the mixtures.

"You shouldn't be in here-"

"Answer the question dammit!" She growled, fists clenched at her sides as Jiro blinked in surprise.

"You were the one who told me not to play with fire! Now you're pulling at your own fucking strings like its nothing? What are you trying to do Jiro?"

"I'm... I'm an experiment, you see." Jiro laughed, the shakyness in his tone indicating Emi had struck a nerve. "It's called chemical reactions. Wouldn't it be fun to just watch me...pop?"

"You're not even coherent. What's going on?" She whispered out.

"Look at it this way. Jiro was once here. Jiro disappeared. Jiro came back, and now he gets to leave how he chooses this time. Isn't it amazing? The best experiment! Do you see it now?" The blond tried to explain, another unsteady laugh rising from his throat as he rolled the wheel of the lighter until a bright flame emmited from it.

"You're not making any sense!"

"In time you will understand, Emi. Just give it time. There is a time for every single thing, you just need to find it."

"Give me the lighter Jiro." Emi warned as she took a step closer to the confused blond.

"Why are you crying?" His smile immediately dropped. "Did I make you cry? I'm so sorry-"

"Give me the lighter." Emi stuck her hand out to the blond who looked taken aback by her actions.

"No, you don't understand. It's an experime-"

"I don't give a shit about the experiment!" She screamed.

"You're Jiro. Weapon specialist. Hacker. Elite..." Emi clenched her jaw, feeling hot tears stream down her face as her lip trembled.

"My best friend."

Jiro gulped, feeling his limbs begin to shake once again. His breathing became heavier as he watched the girl slowly approach him without ever breaking contact with his hazel gaze.

"You're not an experiment. You were never gone. You're here, with us."

"Emi, I need to do this." The blond shakily whispered, leaning as far away from the girl as possible, feeling small under her gaze.

"Do it." She replied firmly, scooping a pile of gunpowder and pouring it over herself.

"Light yourself up." She dared, grabbing his blood-covered hand and placing a soft kiss against the back of it.

"You'll me taking me with you as well."

"W-Why are you doing this?" He whispered, leaning away until his back pressed against the wall. Emo didn't budge, inching forward as she wiped at Jiro's own tears springing from his eyes.

"In time you will understand, Jiro." She repeated his words barely louder than a whisper as she pressed her forehead softly against his.

"There is a time for every single thing, and yours hasn't come yet."

The sour scent burned at her lungs, watered her eyes and made her head spin, but she still held on to Jiro who stood motionless, eyes wide as his body shook.

"Light it up, or drop the lighter Jiro."

The blond blinked, the tension in his muscles increasing as he stood frozen in place. Only his thumb hovered above the lighter wheel, mere inches from killing not only himself but also the girl he had come to care for so much.

And he did it.

At an agonizingly slow pace he brought his heavy hands up, circling around the little girl's frame as he pulled her tight against his chest. One last sigh escaped the blond's lips.

And the lighter dropped to the floor.

A river of tears flowed down his blood-stained cheeks as he buried his head against Emi's neck, clutching her tightly like a scared little boy would do to his stuffed animal.

He shook, he cried, and he screamed until demons spewed from his mouth. Emi remained in his embrace, holding the boy close as the thought of almost losing him circled through her mind.

"I'm so sorry." The blond whispered between sharp intakes of air. "So sorry Emi. I'm-"

"Let's get out of here." Emi replied, leaning back just so her eyes could find his bloodshot ones.

"We have to clean those wounds or else they'll get infected, right?"

Jiro's lip trembled as a fresh set of tears slipped from his eyes, nodding slowly as he allowed the girl to stand up.

"You're gonna have to help me, alright? I can't carry you all by myself." Emi laughed softly, stretching her hand out for the blond to take. Jiro watched her like a deer caught in headlights, not knowing what to do. He wasn't even sure if the last couple of minutes had even happened.

"It's going to be okay Jiro." Emi smiled, taking it upon herself to grab the boy's hand as she remembered the same words Jiro had said to her at the beggining of her first elite mission.

"I'm gonna guide you through this. Just don't let go of me, alright?"

~~~~
I haven't written a long chapter in a while, huh? Did you guys like it? ;)

Feedback on it is greatly appreciated. How did this chapter make you guys feel? I'd like to know what was going on through my scrapper's minds <3

PREVIOUS TRIVIA: WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO:
1. Have a one night stand- JIRO
2. Drink until passing out- SHIN
3. Get kicked out of the bar- RYUU

ANSWER: C

~~~
TRIVIA: One of the elites never met his parents. Who?

A. Shin
B. Ryuu
C. Jiro
~~~~