A/N: Ok, it's been awhile. *Checks Calender*

Omg, it really HAS been awhile. Lol.

For those of you who don't like to check out profiles (especially when they are usually as useful as mine), this story has been on hiatus for like… almost a year. HOT DAMN. But, now it isn't anymore. HUZZAH.

Yeah. Lol. I wonder how many people had spontaneous heart-attacks once they spotted this update in their emails? Probably don't want to know, huh? XD My writing style is probably a bit different, and the plot has been re-worked, but hopefully you guys are still hanging in there with me. I don't like to leave things unfinished, especially with how in love with this story I once was. And still am, if truth be told; once I started re-working everything and plunging back into the plot, I felt my love resurrect from the ashes like Jesus-BUT BETTER. Lol. Enjoy, you guys! And please, criticize gently. It's been awhile since I've delved into this universe, and a lot's changed, ya know?! Lmao!

Title: For Every Action

Chapter Fifteen: In the Light of Our Dreams

It felt like…

Like…

Death.

That was all he could muster to think as the inky darkness invaded his senses and suffocated him with its decaying scent. Opening his eyes, however, he was faced with a picturesque scene of a quaint bedroom; it was disconcerting how easily the image melded into life as the scent of rotting substances became all the more heady.

"Hello…?" Akira gently called out, light brown eyes peering about the room underneath shaggy blonde and midnight-black locks. "Is… is anyone there?"

Silence was the only reply he received in return as he took in the warm colors of the room and lone bed; every part of the bedroom was meticulously clean and organized in almost a freakish fashion. Akira liked to think of himself as a neat-freak, but this surpassed even his level of dedication.

Smooth oak wood finishing, clean coverlets sitting atop a large comfortable-looking mattress, a tall bookcase filled to the brim with words he could not understand; letters blurred until recognition was near impossible.

All of this, however, barely caught his attention.

What did, however, was the large desk near the door filled to the brim with various objects.

'It won't do any harm, will it?'

Setting himself down in the chair in front of the desk, a wave of familiarity flooded the boy's senses and nearly knocked him off of his seat.

A notebook was set in front of him, wide open with fresh, crisp paper that seemed to be… taunting him, almost?

(injustice is the problem death is the solution)

Blinking at the sudden intrusion within his mind, Akira kept in his breath. A lone pen sat next to the notebook, waiting, it seemed, to be picked up.

(do it just do it all you have to do is)

'What?' The boy thought to himself as he left the pen where it was, the edges of his vision blurring as the notebook became the only thing he could focus on.

(pick up the pen you know you want to see how it feels so just pick it up and hold it never let it go)

The voice within his mind broke, filtering out into many unhinged sounds that seemed both inhuman and familiar.

'Stop… please… I don't…'

(you've always wanted it you can't deny it you've always waited for the day where you could pick right up where you left off)

'I don't… know what you're talking about…'

Feeling as if he were floating on air, Akira didn't notice as the chair tilted back and fell, landing on the ground in an uncomfortable sprawl. Unable to move, the teenager felt his eyes flutter absently, not sure what was going on as his ears pounded from the sensation of screams bouncing through their canals-

(don't lie to yourself just take it and write write write write write until your fingers bleed and you don't even know what you're writing anymore)

Tears poured down cherubic cheeks as the pounding kept going and going and going and going…

Akira stared up at the ceiling of the room as the colors blurred and bled, voices screaming and screaming and all he could do was take the pain and the confusion and the fear until he himself was screaming inside his own mind-

'I DON'T WANT IT, I DON'T WANT IT-'

"I DON'T!"

Gasps of breath escaped the teenager's lips as he abruptly sat up and glanced about the spacious living room he now inhabited, tears stinging his eyes and throat sore. The couch he was laying upon bounced slightly as dropped his head back and closed his eyes, feeling more exhausted now than he had before he had fallen asleep.

'If you can even call it that…'

Glancing about, Akira blinked as the warm body that had been practically plastered against his back was no longer within arm-length. A light blue light filled the apartment as the boy turned and winced, the night-sky slowly unfurling itself as the breaking of dawn began to peak over the horizon.

'That dream… why…?' Tangling his fingers into his shaggy head of dark-and-light locks of hair, Akira felt his eyes blur over with the remnants of the nightmare he could barely remember. A lithe figure dressed in casual-work attire entered the room as the boy continually blinked, trying to grasp the pictures that had been running through his head, the voices that had haunted his ears-

"What are you doing, Akira?"

Stumbling out of his thoughts, the young boy caught his yawn as he rubbed at his bleary eyes and blinked rather adorably. Smudges of black underlined his vision as the dream he had been grasping for just moments ago slipped beneath his fingers once again.

"Ryo…" Akira gasped, reaching out towards the now impeccably dressed teacher, feeling as if such spotless demeanor was out of place for his guardian, and not able to grasp why. "Oh… is it time for school already?"

"For me, yes," Ryo held back a smirk as he ruffled the boy's hair in a way that he knew Akira both hated and loved all at once "for both you and Miko-chan, that would be a resounding no."

"Argh." Stretching his body into a graceful arc, Akira grimaced as the wounds still littered over his torso and legs protested against agitation. "I see your point for once."

"Hm." Ruffling the boy's hair, Ryo barely kept in his ill-concealed smirk and tilted his head to the side. "You are not arguing with me. That is a pleasant surprise."

"Will you at least get my work for me?" The young boy yawned cutely as he snuggled into the couch, trying not to pull against the lacerations still decorating his body. He ignored the smirk lingering over Ryo's face and yawned once again. "I'll be bored all day as it is, might as well keep up with what I can while I'm down and out."

"As you wish, Akira-kun." The light-haired teacher knelt in front of the still-tired student and gently raked his fingers through the fine hair once again, obsidian and blonde locks falling through his digits like liquid silk. "I shall call you around noon to see how you are, but do not hesitate to call me yourself if anything happens while I am gone, alright?"

"Yeah, sure Mr. Mom." The joke unintentionally fell flat as a sour grimace fell upon Ryo's face, the reminder of the woman who put both of his charges in the conditions they were in making him irritable and twitchy. "Hey, don't get all mopey. Don't take everything so… I don't know, all serious."

Scrunching up his face, Akira closed his eyes and let his head fall the side, bearing his long tanned neck to the man beside him. "Everything's going to be ok, Ryo."

Letting his fingers fall upon the warm patch of skin now presented to him, Ryo absently nodded, eyes trained onto the bruise still lingering on Akira's cheek.

Still, the bitter thoughts didn't dissipate, and angry words along with trembling accusations swirled within the older man's head, refusing to leave him be.

But Ryo had more self-control than even Akira could imagine. He could keep all his comments about his friend's situation to himself…

For now.

A heavy sigh lingered within the office as the large chair sitting behind the menacing desk spun around, the thin figure sitting within it tired, hungry and more than a little confused.

Matsuda nearly hit himself in the head again as he glanced down at the piece of paper still sitting on the desk, mocking him almost with the fine print and random series of numbers that he still couldn't figure out.

Was it a warning?

A threat?

He still didn't know.

And on top of the migraine-waiting-to-happen that was Kosei's box filled with files and case notes,he still didn't have any leads on where Megumi could be.

His hand reached into his pocket without him even realizing it, wishing to dial the number specifically given to him for these type of circumstances-

Only to push his hand back into its resting place, temples throbbing with pain at the remembrance of where that phone now lay.

He had tried to figure out as much as possible without involving his friend, but he knew that he had no choice at this point. There was no one else he could trust, and though he was young, Matsuda knew that Akira was essentially a genius when it came to deductions of the criminal-kind. He had studied his father's ways in the most intricate of manners; there was nothing about Akira's thought process that didn't scream 'Kosei', and that would most likely be to their advantage.

And… well…

'Don't think about that. He's dead and gone, and no amount of fear or regret will ever bring him back.'

Picking up his phone, Matsuda shook his head and dialed the number he had learned by heart, hoping against all hope that Akira would just pick up.

Akira coughed as he heard his phone ringing on the table behind the couch, his legs itching to get up and do something. The young teen heard his little sister groan in the other room as the annoying jingle continually broke the silence of the apartment and made him crinkle his nose in distaste.

'Why did I pick such an annoying ring tone?'

Plucking himself off the couch so as to not fully awaken the other girl in the room (Miko needed her rest, after all), Akira stretched as he swiveled around the couch and stumbled over his own legs. After a moment of embarrassed disbelief, Akira finally picked up his phone and snapped it open, golden-brown eyes still groggy from sleep.

"Hello?" The high-school student rasped over the receiver, still not fully cognizant.

"Akira-kun? It's Matsuda!"

"Hm. Hello, Matsuda-san." Akira amiably replied, leaning against the table as his legs wavered a bit under his weight. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm fine, I suppose… Uh, I have to ask, will you be attending school today?"

Akira rolled his eyes, not sure why the detective would ask such a senseless question. "I would have loved to go to school today, but Ryo kind of prohibited it. Jeez, the man acts as if he were my parent or something…"

"Well, I know you'll hate me for saying this, but I have to agree with his decision. I'm sure you'll still quite weak from the attack. Remind me to bring you to the hospital later on."

"No!" The teen jumped up, no longer caring if his voice disturbed the young girl in the other room. "I already told Ryo, I'm not going to go to the hospital! I'm perfectly fine!"

"Akira… you don't know if you may have damaged anything-"

"Yes, I do. And no, I didn't." The boy replied shortly. "I'm ok. Now what did you want to speak about, Matsuda-san?"

"I'll talk to you about it once I get out of work for lunch; shouldn't be more than a few hours."

Akira sighed as he shook his head, smiling as a dark-haired moppet (who clearly thought she was much more sneaky than she actually was) giggled behind him. "Ok, Matsuda-san. I'll see you later."

"Hm." After the clipped response, Akira frowned as a slight change of tone indicated the end of the conversation. Slowly lowering the phone from his ear, Akira smiled over at his younger sister and waved her over, more amused than he wished to admit he was.

Yet still…

That conversation hadn't sat well with him.

It was vague even by Matsuda's standards.

'Because listening to him rush through his words wasn't odd in the least...'

Ryo sighed as the bell rang, laying down the piece of chalk and tapping his foot impatiently as his students seemed reluctant to leave his class. It was nearing lunch time, and he was starting to get a bit antsy…

His hand strayed over to his pocket where his cell-phone lay, instinctually making a grab for it even though he knew better-

"Lowen-san!"

Really, really knew better.

"Yes, Itou-chan?"

Chiyoko blinked as she held her professor's stare, the unnatural shade of obsidian even darker than usual. She blushed prettily as she fidgeted with her clutch-case, her reddish-purple hair sliding off her shoulders as she tilted her head to the side. "Uh… well, I just wanted to see how you were doing, professor. You look even more stressed out than usual."

Discreetly glancing back at the clock behind him, Ryo quietly nodded as he internally shuddered.

Still an hour left before lunch time.

Perhaps if he had a moment, he could call Akira and see if there was anyway that he could-

No.

He still had to rest, after all.

And though Ryo was selfish, he was not so selfish as to watch his dear charge limp in his presence, trying to appear indifferent in front of not only his little sister but a class of his supposed 'peers' as well.

"Professor?" Chiyoko quietly made a motion with her hand to see if the teacher was still with her, not noticing as Kaori peeked in from the door, motioning her away from the now bleary-eyed man barely paying her any heed.

"Ah, I apologize, Itou-chan," Ryo slowly pushed an unruly strand of sandy-blonde hair away from his eyes as he gave the young girl a strained smile, "I am just fine, as you can see. A bit distracted, but no more so than usual."

"Hm…" Chiyoko giggled before swinging her bag over her shoulder and waltzing away from the now confused professor. "I think that professor may be suffering from something I'd like to call 'love-sickness', if his symptoms are anything to go by…"

Kaori snorted from her spot next to the door, putting on a blank expression as the teacher's face swiveled over and gave her a dead-set stare, not the least bit pleased by the student's disbelieving noise.

"Well, I'll leave you to it, professor! Have a good day!" The redhead gave the man a wink as he blinked, both amused and disturbed by the perceptiveness the airheaded teen exhibited.

'Should I be scared that a 16-year-old saw right through my guise without even having to know anything about what's going on in my life?'

Watching the redhead and blonde leave as a new batch of students entered his classroom, Ryo gave the clock on last glance and sighed.

'Soon, soon, soon…'

Akira sighed as he pushed his sneakers on, pulling on an exasperated smile over his lips as Miko hopped on one foot, clearly having trouble pulling her own shoes over her feet. "Do you need help there, Miko-chan?"

"No!" The small girl snapped, her now-disheveled braids hung over her shoulders in a slight disarray, her cardigan sweater and baggy jeans creating the picture of fall-innocence. "I'm fine, onii-chan!"

Grabbing her hand, Akira pulled the young girl out of the apartment and locked the door, thanking Ryo for the key he had passed to him the night before. Straightening out his own jacket and impossibly-tight jeans, the way-too-mature teen pulled his little sister down the hallway and towards the staircase leading to the outside world.

"Where are we going, onii-chan?" Miko curiously asked, pulling on the crocheted hat her brother then handed to her as she gazed up at him with large brown eyes.

"Out." Akira smartly replied, eyes gleaming with humor.

"Out, out?"

"Out."

Miko laughed as her brother carefully swung her hand, mindful of her injured arm. She smiled rather beatifically, absorbed by the actual happiness within her brother's eyes. She had never seen such an expression set on his face before…

"Akira-nii?"

"Yeah, Miko?" The smile grew over Akira's face, a light tilt of the lips as honey-brown eyes lit up with silent glee.

Feeling the urge to spontaneously hold onto her older brother, Miko attached herself to the boy's arm and laughed once again, uncaring of the people staring at the both of them. This was the first time in such a long time that both her and her brother had felt almost… at peace with everything they had both gone through. Being with Ryo was great, but seeing her brother so happy even without his partner's presence to buffer away the depression that seemed to emanate out of his every pore was so… so… refreshing.

"I love you, onii-chan." Miko stated without a doubt, knowing that no matter what happened, she would stick by Akira and help Ryo fight back that darkness that seemed to linger over her brother's usually saddened gaze. "Things will get better; you'll see."

Funnily enough, Akira didn't counter the argument, feeling much more optimistic in that moment than he had at any other time before then.

'I think… I might actually believe you this time, Miko-chan.'

"Akira! Miko!"

Matsuda smiled as he waved the two siblings over, both of them radiating a happiness he hadn't seen in forever.

'Whatever Ryo is doing,' the investigator thought to himself as he drank a bit of his tea and watched the two children wander over to his table, 'it's most definitely working.'

"Hello, Matsuda-san." Akira grinned as he grabbed a chair and sat Miko down in the chair next to him. "How are you doing today?"

"Fine… just fine." Slightly taken aback by the amiable attitude and even more genial smile, the older man laughed as the boy finally sat down and gave him one last grin. "And you? How are you holding up, Akira-kun?"

"I'm good." And for once, it wasn't a lie. Akira actually did feel good, nightmare from this morning aside. Even his weakened body felt a bit better; his soul… lighter.

It was…

Positively amazing.

"So… what was it you needed to talk to me about, Matsuda-san?"

The older man sighed as he gripped the shoulder strap of his knap-sack, dark eyes brimming with worriment.

"Well…"

Ryo almost growled as the last student practically ran out of the classroom, the look on his face despairing and cold. The phone in his slack-pocket was heavy and solid; all he wanted was but a minute to himself.

For some strange reason, he couldn't help but feel as if something was happening without him…

Shaking his head in ill reprieve, Ryo locked his door and quickly sat down behind his desk, pulling out his phone and dialing the number that had been on his mind all morning; along with the boy who held said number-

Matsuda halted in his words as Akira froze up in shock, the annoying ring tone from his phone breaking the conversation before it could begin.

"E-excuse me!" Giving the detective and his little sister an apologetic look in response, Akira quickly fled from the table as he plucked the phone from his pocket, not noticing the sly smile smothering Matsuda's lips or the gleeful one covering Miko's.

"They've certainly hit it off quite well," Matsuda casually commented as Miko nodded eagerly.

"I've never seen onii-chan so happy before." Miko quietly smiled as a waiter appeared beside them, a notepad and pen ready to take down their orders. "He's like a brand new person when he's around Ryo, and on top of everything else, it seems like Ryo understands him and how he thinks. Akira-nii has never had that before, and I think he's just starting to treasure it."

"You're right, Miko-chan." Matsuda nodded at the server before picking up the menu. "Absolutely right…"

"Hello? Ryo?" Akira felt his heart quicken in response as the familiar number almost made him fumble with his phone, forgetting about Ryo's earlier promise to call him during his lunch time.

"Akira-kun! Finally… this day has been dragging on and on; I did not believe I would ever be able to contact you!"

"Yeah…" Sighing as he leaned against the pole set beside him, Akira lowered his eyes as a pretty blush set over his cheeks. "How are your classes?"

"The same as always; filled with idiotic children who think they know more about history than I do. I miss you, Akira-kun."

"I…" Coughing so as to cover up his trembling nervousness, Akira nodded, even though Ryo could not see such a gesture. "Yeah. Thanks."

Warm laughter tinged with that smooth undertone of bland monotony that made up Ryo's tone filled his ears, making even his ears burn a bright magenta.

"As always, Akira-kun does not know how to take a compliment." A slight pause filled the air, settling the burning sensation covering the boy's cheeks. "So what is my young stubborn ward doing at this moment?"

Rolling his eyes, Akira didn't notice a sudden movement on his left side as he casually twirled around the pole, dark gray eyes tracing his figure under the bright sunlight. "I'm actually meeting up with Matsuda-san at the moment; I guess he had something important to tell me or something. I don't know, everything just seems to be going so fast."

"I wish I could be there with you; in fact, why do you not delay this meeting until later on. I would gladly help Akira with this if he would just wait for me. The school day is all but over for me, anyway."

"I'm already here." Akira laughed, finding the over-protectiveness within his friend's voice both annoying and endearing.

"So? Just tell him that you wish to have a pleasant lunch with both him and your sister and that you would feel much more comfortable with me by your side. There is nothing wrong with that, Akira. And I would feel better if I was with you. We both do not know his true intentions, after all."

"Matsuda-san is a good man," Akira felt a bit of anger rise up at the insinuation that his father's mentor could be a traitor, knowing this to be absolutely untrue, "he has always been there for Miko and me. I don't doubt him in the least, just as I don't doubt you."

"… … I apologize. I seem to have hit a nerve."

"Matsuda isn't perfect, but he is all I have… all I have left." Was the only answer the young boy could give, knowing that Ryo was not to blame for the lack of knowledge of such a subject. "I'll tell him that I wish to wait until later, but that doesn't mean he'll actually wait, Ryo. For now, I have to go. They're waiting for me."

"Alright. Please be careful, Akira."

"Yeah, and Ryo?" Holding the phone closely to his ear, Akira smiled as he closed his eyes, the busy street filled with people and cars only fueling his desire to simply say what he wanted to say.

"Yes, Akira?"

"I…" His breath caught in his throat as his grip on the contraption tightened unexpectedly, "I miss you too."

Before the man could respond to his reply, Akira shut the phone and gave out a loud exhalation of air. He smiled, knowing that that was one obstacle down.

'I can do this…' The boy thought silently to himself. 'I can.'

Walking back into the café, Akira once again didn't notice the suspicious flash of black; dark gray eyes stalking his thin body with malicious intent.

'So it is you…'

Ryo nearly fell over his chair as he dropped his phone, a large smile covering the better half of his face.

'I can't… believe it…'

Not wishing to spoil his own mood, Ryo shut his mouth and kept the grin on his face.

Despite everything, he knew Akira still had a chance.

'And so do I.'