My Lost Soul

Chapter 22 - Love the White Noise!

"I am so, so sorry again, sir! It's just that there's been a lot goin' on, but I promise you this ti-" Enjō's hands trembled as he held his phone to his ears.

"It's fine, it's fine, my brother! Just give me another time we can meet up. I leave Shacia in a couple months, but I don't perform for a while. " Spade Mask laughed as he left the studio. "Tonight then! That's fine, isn't it?". Spade rubbed the material of his hot motorcycle-like helmet and groaned softly, "Uh, alright. I can make that work. Come by the address in an hour."

Enjō knocked on the door of the condo, still surprised from seeing the shockingly low quality of the building. How does a popular musician live in a place like this? He thought. The door opened slightly, and Enjō realized what he was about to see— Spade Mask's bare face. A drumroll sounded in his head as the door creaked open even slower- until he saw him. Dressed in a thick trench coat and a motorcycle helmet over his head—Enjō could barely see an inch of his skin. The drumroll dissipated to disappointed trumpets. "Not exactly what you expected, huh?" Spade Mask chuckled, "Gotta keep my face away from the prying eyes. Good evening, Enjō."

Enjō's straight face of disappointment was covered by a hearty smile, though it wasn't necessarily fake. "Good to see you, sir!" He bowed. "Pfft, man, get in here." He let the door close by itself as he entered the room, "Welcome to my temporary humble abode. I didn't bother doing anything with it, since I won't be staying long. Make yourself at home." The place didn't look much different than his own, "You're alright with this?" Enjō asked as he sat down on a couch. "It's not much different than my own house. Anyway, you like my music?"

"Huh? Oh, I guess I do—I mean I really do! I've always wanted to play guitar, but I never had the money for one." Enjō laughed nervously.

"You mean bass, right? I'm a bassist."

Get me out! Just get me out already! Enjō's mouth stayed agape for a moment, until he finally responded, "Yeah—Yeah! I am so sorry about that—so sorry! I don't actually know that much about music."

"You wanna learn?" Spade Mask offered, and Enjō could feel the mischievous grin under his mask. Even still, he felt confidence slowly flowing through him.

"Alright, I'll do it!"

———

"Uyama?" Omega knocked on Uyama's door, the TV running in the back. The door opened and a sliver of his room peeked through the crack.

"What's up?" Uyama sounded rough, yet calm at the same time.

"I wanted to talk about something with you. If you don't mind, of course."

"Yeah, sure. Come in." Uyama's door opened further and revealed quite a messy room, but it had a sense of order in it all.

"I'm still anxious about what that man told us the other day—that there's another person like me somewhere." Omega slumped down on a chair.

Uyama remained silent- but sat down on the floor next to him.

"But I don't know why. Maybe, I feel like there's even more. Then that wouldn't make me a special case..." Omega remembered Steele calling him the special case. "...But that can't be right. Steele said I was a special case—That I was unlike the rest!" His weak shout made him look down at Uyama in surprise. Uyama was staring at the wall, unfazed by his sharpness.

"I'm sure you remember when you told me that you wanted to be able to do things by yourself. You said that was the reason you were there but that was only a half-truth. You felt that all the pieces connected- and that if you went to "face your fears" in the garage, you would find something to lead you towards the other case." Uyama looked up at him, "So what you really wanted was to find him. You're searching for someone like you—someone to call family."