The Will to Protect
"Sosuke, let me help you with your tie," a beautiful woman with brown hair ushered to the man standing in front of the mirror.
The blonde male could be seen struggling with his tie as he attempted to adjust it. She couldn't help but giggle at his feeble attempt. She walked up to him and reached for his tie. He waited patiently as she adjusted the piece of fabric with her slender fingers. Once she was finished, she looked up to him and smiled sweetly. "There."
"I'm sorry. I just can't seem to get used to doing this," he apologized sincerely. She giggled gently placing her hand over her mouth as if to hide her mirth.
"It's ok. I don't mind doing this for you. Besides you are adorable like this."
"Hey," he whined playfully. He gently pulled her into a loving embrace. She followed suit. He ran his hand through her brown curls.
"Please be careful," she murmured.
"Of course. I'll see you two soon," he smiled. He parted slightly as he touched her belly.
"It's only been a month and a half."
"I know but I can't help it," he laughed gently as he stroked her stomach. He then leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss. "Don't worry. I'll come back," he whispered.
Morning had arrived to Namimori. Many students could be seen arriving at the gate of Namimori Middle School. Sayoko was walking with the usual crowd consisting of Tsuna Gokudera, and Ryohei. And as usual the crowd was pretty lively for the morning. A few of Ryohei's "EXTREME" comments could be heard; along with Gokudera's insults to Rhyohei. And Tsuna was being…well Tsuna. He would make a few comments here and there but nothing out of the ordinary.
Sayoko yawned. She had taken advantage of the night and stayed up studying since she had no early practice the following morning. She had no intentions of conversing with them this morning. There was no way she could keep up with their energy, not today.
A small cool gust of wind blew, messing up a few strands of her hair. As she was pulling her hair from her face she noticed a familiar figure across the street.
"Hey isn't that Yamamoto?"Tsuna asked.
Gokudera grunted and turned to face the other way.
"OI, YAMAMOTO!" Ryohei shouted to get Yamamoto's attention. But to everyone's surprise, he didn't turn around and greet them cheerfully like he did each morning. He had not even turn around to acknowledge their presence. He just continued to walk towards the school in solitude. Sayoko clenched her school bag.
"Something is wrong," Sayoko bit her lip.
"I guess he didn't hear us…" Tsuna said in a confused tone.
"How dare he ignore the Tenth!"Gokudera grunted as he shook his fist menacingly.
"Umm…G…Gokudera-kun, I'm sure he just didn't hear us," stated Tsuna as he tried to calm Gokudera from going into a rampage.
"That was weird to the extreme"
"No. Something…something is definitely wrong." Sayoko couldn't shake off the feeling. But she decided to hide her feelings for fear of worrying everyone. She didn't want to ruin their good mood.
"Morning Sosuke. How's that lovely wife of yours, Ayumi?" Sosuke turned.
"Oh, senpai. Good morning," he greeted his superior with a small smile. The man's age was etched on his face and wore a similar suit as Sosuke.
"Well? How is she?" he asked once more.
"She's doing well, as always," he quickly answered.
"You better take good care of her. It's rare to find women like her nowadays" the man said as he patted Sosuke on the back.
"Yes!" He couldn't help but feel shy.
"Make sure you keep us updated. My youngest daughter got really excited when I told her about the baby. They are so cute at that age," he laughed.
"Of course" he replied.
Sayoko frowned. She was walking briskly through the halls of Namimori; having to evade a few student who were crowding the hallways in small groups (Where was Hibari when you needed him, right?) She would have gladly run back to class. She was in the track and field team, but she didn't want to cause trouble for Hibari. And she had no plans of getting caught by him either. She was in too much of a hurry. She wanted to talk to Yamamoto but the track and field captain had given her a few errands to run during lunch, preventing her from speaking with him.
She mentally cursed the Captain. Why today? Out of all the days of the week, he had to choose today. When the Captain had asked her, she had to use all the self control she had gained over the years to stop herself from blowing up right then and there. Once she reached the room she quickly slid the door open. She let out a sigh of relief.
"He's still here." Her relief quickly turned into worry. It was already half way through lunch and he was still in his seat; in deep thought. "I bet he hasn't eaten," she thought as she shifted her eyes towards her seat. She walked to it, reached in and took out her bento. It was neatly wrapped around a piece of fabric with a cute print. She turned to Yamamoto and marched towards him. She stopped at his desk and smiled, "Takeshi." Her voice seemed to have gotten his attention because he looked up at her. But he didn't smile. She dug her nails into the wrapped bento.
"Want to share with me?" she asked as she gently pushed the lunch towards him. He smiled slightly, but his eye showed that he was still troubled. She didn't stop smiling.
"Yeah," he answered softly.
And with that said, she pulled up a chair and sat in front of him.
Quick steps could be heard through the halls. A man in a black suit walked briskly through the hallways. He passed by many doors and turned corners; left, right, left again. He then reached a door at the end of the corridor and walked in.
"Sir, these are the results of Kubo-sama's autopsy," The man handed the folder to a man with a mustache. The mustached man's eyes quickly scanned the papers as if he had done so his whole life. He scowled.
"Traces of Rains flames…"
"Yes sir. The wound Kubo-sama received had traces of Rain flames."
"And the weapon….a sword…" It wasn't a question.
"Yes sir. We do not know the exact length but we are certain there was only one assassin." The older man grunted.
"I this all the Forensics Department has figured out!" He slammed the papers on the desk, "Go back and tell them to get everyone on this case! I don't care how they figure it out but I want this guy found!"
"Y…yes Sir!" The man in the black suit slightly bowed and ran out.
