Kikuchihara stood idly next to Kazama and Utagawa, who seemed to be having a lively and interesting discussion with Arashiyama, Satori, and Tachikawa. He said seemed, because in all honesty, it could have been the most mundane conversation for all Kikuchihara knew. He didn't know when exactly, but at some point, he had begun to zone out and lost track of what the others were saying. Not that he cared - he wasn't a people person, so conversing with others wasn't really his thing.
Shiro glanced around, observing the scene taking place around him. Border had decided to hold a party, of some sorts, for the agents in order to acknowledge all the hard work everyone had been putting in as of late. Because of the second large invasion, then B rank wars, another small invasion, and finally, the mission to rescue the C rank agents taken to Aftokrator, it seemed like no one had had the chance to rest even the slightest. So, this was Border's way of thanking everyone.
Tables were set up around the edges of the room, holding food and beverages for everyone. Music more or less blared over the speakers while colored lights lit up the room. Some agents stood around in groups, conversing and laughing with each other while others tried (and in large part failed) to dance.
Kikuchihara inwardly sighed, quickly beginning to regret his decision to attend. The event had been set up rather well, he wouldn't deny that - he just hated this kind of atmosphere. Yes, so he wasn't much of a people person, but he could still talk to others when it was required. But this kind of conversing, when everyone was so laid back and having fun...for some reason, that really wasn't his forte.
He glanced at the clock. It was only ten - still early in terms of when the party was supposed to end. However, Shiro had been there for over an hour, so he figured he had been there long enough to make an appearance. Trying not to disrupt their conversation too much, the brunette lightly tapped Kazama's shoulder, causing his leader to look back at him.
"I'm heading home now," he more or less shouted, hoping Kazama could even hear him over the music.
Luckily, Soya had, and he nodded to his teammate without any question, something Kikuchihara was thankful for. Kazama didn't know much about Shiro, but he knew enough to recognize his typical behavior and therefore wouldn't question his social actions. It was refreshing - after all, sometimes he just needed space from others, a concept people tended to not understand. They would automatically think something was wrong, or he was upset - at least Kazama understood and would never bombard him with his concerns.
Shoving his hands into the pockets of his dress pants, he weaved through agents and made his way outside, pausing to take a breath of the cool, fresh air that greeted him. He sighed, not having realized until now how stifling that room had been. He stood there for several moments, closing his eyes simply taking in the night while waiting for his ears to stop ringing. Slowly, he was able to pick up on the natural sounds around him, like the rustle of the leaves as the wind blew by, and the chirping of the insects. It was so relaxing, compared to the atmosphere he had just come from.
However, his peace was suddenly interrupted by another sound, one that didn't belong to the sounds of the night. He opened his eyes, frowning as he tried to recognize the sound. It was some sort of ticking...like a clock? Shiro's first thought was it was someone's watch, but he shook that off quickly, knowing this sound was not one a wristwatch normally made.
His piqued curiosity slowly began to diminish as he followed the sound around the edge of Border's headquarters. He was at Border almost every day - if this was normal, he would have heard it before.
It was several more minutes until he ended up right outside the wall of the banquet hall where the party was being hosted. It was also where the sound of the ticking had resonated the loudest.
It's here…Shiro thought, an unsettling feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. But where?
He closed his eyes, forcing himself to focus and hone in on the sound. It was coming from his left, closer to the ground. It was slightly muffled as well, meaning it was covered by something else.
Opening his eyes, he looked in the direction of where the sound was and noticed the shrubbery near the wall. Without hesitation, he moved toward it and carefully pushed the leaves aside, searching the ground for the source.
Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he yanked his hand outside from the shrubs. In no time, Shiro's phone was in hand, and he quickly brought up Kazama's number and dialed it.
Pick up, pick up, he thought anxiously, afraid the noise from the music would be too loud for anyone to hear the ring of a cell phone.
However, much to his relief, he was greeted by the sound of his leader's voice.
"Kazama-san, you need to get everyone out and far away from the building right now," hoping his voice sounded forceful as he began moving toward the entrance of the building.
He definitely caught Kazama by surprise, because his response was, "Kikuchihara, what's going on?"
The brunette grit his teeth, knowing Kazama was wasting time the longer he questioned the call. "Just get everyone out! I'm almost to the entrance, but Kazama-san, there's-"
His phone was knocked out of his grasp as his hair was suddenly yanked back. Shiro let out a gasp, and before he could even register what was going on, a hand was brought over his mouth, muffling any noises that he could have once made. He was suddenly being dragged back and away from the walls of Border, farther from the bomb planted right outside of the base.
He struggled against the grip of his captor, but the person only yanked back on his hair harder, making it too painful for Shiro to try and move. He allowed himself to be dragged, but he wasn't giving up - he was running through plans in his head, his thoughts moving a mile a minute.
They suddenly stopped, and Kikuchihara remained still, waiting patiently for his chance, not allowing fear to consume him.
"Trying to ruin my plan, are you?" a voice said from directly next to his ear, causing the teen to shiver.
"It was a nice attempt," he continued, "but unfortunately for you, you were a tad bit too late. There's no chance all of them will get out of there alive."
Kikuchihara's heart stopped momentarily as the words registered in his mind. Too late?
The male's grip slacked ever so slightly, and the teen took the opportunity. He kicked back at his captor as hard as he could, feeling his foot make contact with the man's knee. The man swore and loosened his grip even more, and it was just enough for Kikuchihara to twist out of his grasp while swinging his leg in a roundabout kick.
However, the man moved back just in time and was able to dodge the attack, much to the brunette's surprise. The man, who Shiro could now tell was probably no more than twenty five, was now several feet away from Shiro, looking at the teen with the most twisted smirk he had ever seen.
"Damn, you still have a lot of fire in you considering the fact most of your fellow agents are going to be dead in several minutes," he said, his voice amused.
Kikuchihara grit his teeth, knowing this guy had to be lying -he was simply trying to infuriate him and stall for time. This guy knew he had been caught, and he was most likely trying to think of a way to get out of his current situation.
Shiro, however, wasn't going to let that happen. Kazama was smart - Kikuchihara was confident he would get everyone out of the building safely. He tried not to worry about that as he focused on the figure in front of him. His task was to capture this man so Border could figure out just who the hell he was and why he tried to attack the agency.
His first thought was to pull out his trigger - even if his weapon wouldn't work against someone who wasn't in a trion body, he could at least protect himself. Sure, he trained his physical body in order to make himself even stronger in trion, but even so, he had never fought someone directly with his physical body. He wasn't sure if he should take the risk.
However, as soon as he reached into his pockets, Shiro knew something was wrong. His trigger wasn't in either pocket. He knew he had brought it with him, so…
"I figured you might want to play with this," the guy said, dangling Kikuchihara's trigger by his fingertips, "so I took it away. Sorry about that."
Shiro grit his teeth as he watched the man throw his trigger far behind him. Looks like that settles it, he thought with annoyance, pushing down the bit of fear that tried making a presence in his head, guess I don't have another choice.
Not bothering with idle chit chat, Shiro quickly moved forward before the other could react and threw forward a punch. The man dodged it, but Kikuchihara had anticipated it and kicked out at the guy's side, landing a soft blow despite his attempt to dodge. Recovering quickly, the man unleashed a kick of his own, catching the teen in the ribs and causing him to stumble back.
Not giving him time to recover, the man moved on Kikuchihara, sending forward several punches that he barely managed to dodge in time. This guy was fast, and Shiro found that despite all his training, this person was clearly more experienced. If Kazama were here, he would definitely be telling Shiro to back off, that it was the smart thing to do.
Sorry Kazama-san, but I don't exactly have a choice here, the teen thought angrily as he attempted to land another blow on his attacker, but failed. He grit his teeth in frustration, trying to figure out the best way to subdue this guy.
However, he was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts by a crippling pain in his side as the man managed to land a kick directly at Kikuchihara's ribs, the sound of their cracking ringing loudly in his ears. He stumbled backward but managed to catch himself before falling over. The man was in front of him, prepared to deliver another blow, but Shiro managed to throw his arm out first.
The hit never landed, though. Instead, the guy grabbed Kikuchihara's fist, suddenly twisting his entire arm until it was behind his back, and Shiro was pressed painfully in front of the man. He let out a gasp of pain as the man twisted his arm even farther up, preventing the teen from moving.
"You know, you should really stick to fighting with a trigger," the man said in a low tone from right next to the brunette's ear.
Before Shiro could react, his mouth was covered once again by the man's hand. Suddenly, his arm was twisted quickly, and the sound of his bone shattering rang in his ears. Pain flooded his body, and he let out a scream, muffled by the hand. He heard the guy laugh, but he didn't release his grip on the teen.
Despite the agony flooding his mind, Kikuchihara was still able to hear the sound of metal coming from the man's pocket. He tried squirming from his grip, but it only elevated the pain in his body.
"It's quite a shame though," the man continued, raising the metal object up. Shiro felt a sharp pain as something protruded his back, and he let out a gasp, unable to let out a noise any more audible. The knife was plunged in slightly deeper, and despite the pain it brought, Kikuchihara was unable to react, almost as if he were frozen to the spot.
"I didn't want to kill you, but we can't have people knowing the mastermind behind the destruction of Border. At least, not yet."
Despite his enhanced hearing, the words barely registered in Kikuchihara's mind. The knife was quickly pulled out, and the man's grip on the teen was released. Shiro stood there for several seconds, simply staring straight ahead until, suddenly, he collapsed onto the ground, landing on his side. Although pain was flooding his entire body, it was quickly becoming numb. He could feel the sensation of something sticky pouring down his back, but his mind was moving too slow to realize what was going on.
The man said something else, but Kikuchihara couldn't hear what he said. He watched with unseeing eyes as the man retreated farther and farther away until, within moments, he had finally succumbed to the darkness.
Author's note:
Hey guys, thanks for reading! This is just an idea I had, so I'm not sure if I'll continue it. Let me know what you guys think though and if it should be continued. Thanks :)