Retracing Steps : 1 — Connection Successful


"Ichinose-san, I'll be leaving these over here."

Hiroto grunted in response, her fingers tapping along the keyboard in an incredible speed as her eyes stared deep into the monitor. A yawn escaped her lips before her blue eyes left the screen for a moment to glance at the documents the subordinate so kindly left beside her. Her vision broke away from the sheet after taking note of the lengthy text that seemed to go on for another five pages.

She stretched her arms up in the air before allowing them to drop again back to her sides. The blue uniform she was wearing was a definite change from the high school uniform she wore only six months ago. Luckily, she was not faced with the issue of wearing such a short skirt like the lieutenant had to. A modest pair of shorts and knee high boots was her ensemble and she was glad.

Though, she had found herself slightly regretting leaving school as the workload she received after getting promoted was a real pain. The amount of papers she had to sign as well as the programming she had to do as a higher up member was tiring. Her work mainly consisted with information managing, software and server programming, analyzing online data, and the shadiest one; hacking.

"Ah, Ichinose-san, the research data have just arrived!"

Hiroto sighed tiredly.


Her father tried contacting her again when she was at the dorms.

She was head deep in the papers and surrounded by hologram touch screens, all filled with never ending codes running down. Hiroto did not have any time for him. She ignored the phone call and continued to work.

She had to keep busy.


"Ichinose-kun, there's something I would like to discuss with you." Munakata had called her to stay behind after the meeting. She turned to him, eyes staring into his violet eyes expressionlessly. He made no comment about it and continued to smile at her. Munakata moved to sit down behind his desk and motioned for the girl to come closer.

"You see, there is a rather unique individual hoping to join Scepter 4 and I wanted to hear your opinion about the matter." He began, leaning his elbows down on the table and watching her from behind his joint hands. Hiroto raised a brow at her king. This was unusual indeed. He was not one o consult with her when it came to recruitment.

"I doubt I'll be able to offer any assistance but I'll try to help." She said as firmly as she could. In all honesty, she really did not want to. There were still documents piled up on her desk in the programming room.

Munakata's smile did not waver, "Ichinose-kun, from what I have heard you may know this man." Hiroto's blue eyes continued to stare at him, waiting for him to continue.

"It looks like he attended the same middle school as you. Though, that isn't really the reason as to why I wanted to talk to you about him." Munakata looked like he was watching her reaction carefully. "The real thing about it is that he was previously involved with the red clan, led by the Red King, Souh Mikoto."

She could not help it this time and her eyes widened in surprise. Why was a red clansman trying to become a member of the blue clan? It was beyond strange. Could it be there was a type of conflict inside the group? How interesting.

Hiroto closed her eyes before opening them again to face the dark blue haired man sitting in front of her. "So, this guy defected?" She asked and Munakata replied with a nod.

An unpleasant image of her brother's face flashed in her mind and she almost frowned.

"Apologies, I really don't have any comment about the matter."


She had not seen Yata or Fushimi in the six months of her employment at Scepter 4. She definitely was not avoiding them, Hiroto was just stuck with busy hours after a terrible decision to procrastinate the first three weeks. She had planned to schedule a time to tell them about the whole ordeal with her dropping out of high school, but work caught up with her even after she got back on track.

Yata still messaged her at times, asking her about any new restaurants she visited so he could check them out. He had not changed at all. Fushimi still answered her messages to but whenever she mentioned Yata he would close the discussion as quickly as possible. Yata would do the same whenever she mentioned his best friend.

Something was going on but it wasn't any of her business so she kept out of it.


For the first time in six months her mother had attempted to communicate with her. Hiroto who was not expecting a call at the time accidentally picked it up without reading the caller id, expecting that it was someone from Scepter 4.

"Hiroto, we just received some information on your brother."

She patiently listened as her mother explained how a government worker had provided them the information from about three years ago regarding how a family member's name had been legally changed. The black haired girl stood silently whilst her mother continued. So that was what happened.

Hiroto found herself tuning out of the conversation when she had realized everything. The reason why her father tried to call her and why her mother was relaying the information to her. They were expecting that she was going to help them.

"I can't find him."

"Hiroto—"

And then she hung up.


Hiroto leaned back on her desk chair, arms folded as she stared blankly at the massive monitor in front of her. Her subordinates all sat around in different stations around her, typing the day away on their keyboards as she sat there on the grand chair lazily. Her saber was by her side, leaning against the leg of her chair.

She continued to watch as text scrolled down her screen in a fast pace before swiftly tapping a button to stop the movement. Raising a hand, she rubbed her eyes tiredly hoping to bring back the moist in them before a voice called out from behind her.

"Ichinose-san, I've got a message from the Captain!" It was Hidaka jogging through, waving a hand to grab her attention. She spun on her chair to face him, "What is it now?"

Hidaka straightened his posture and nodded at her in respect before continuing. "He wanted you to meet the new recruit." He replied as he watched the teen stand up and slip her arms through her dark blue trench coat. She scratched her head tiredly, messing her black hair up even more before moving to leave without a reply back.

At least now she could have an early break.


[ connection half way complete… ]


Yata sometimes found himself worrying about Hiroto. It was not because he did not trust her or anything but it was more so because she was quite withdrawn and strange. They had met properly in middle school after Fushimi introduced her to him. At first he was on edge talking to her but later on grew to relax and get used to her presence after a few months.

She was kind of like a female Fushimi but a lot nicer and approachable which he was absolutely glad for. Sometimes during middle school he would find them chatting about stuff he had no clue about like softwares and programs. Yata was just glad in a way that she was a bit more talkative and friendly. Sure, she was brutal when it came to sarcasm but Hiroto was cool to hang around with.

He took another step before stopping to look at the ramen sign standing to his left. It had been a while since he had met up with the girl. The last time was probably when she went to compete in her final kendo match at the end of the previous year.

The thought that he went with that bastard got him riled up. With a growl in irritation, he stomped into the ramen restaurant.


Damn that monkey!

To think he would even betray Homra after everything Mikoto had done for them. He was a real bastard in Yata's opinion. Now, he going to go join the blues? Fuck him!

Even if he lost one friend, he still had plenty around him.

He still had Homra and Hiroto.


"Ah, how was that girlfriend of yours, Yata-chan?"

The red-head almost spat out his cola at the question and began to choke. He coughed loudly before quickly responding. "H-Haah?!" His face was a mix of embarrassment and confusion. Kusanagi raised a brow in amusement as he continued to wipe a wine glass clean.

Before Kusanagi could talk, the doors of the bar opened and Shouhei came walking in with a friendly smile on his face. The new member was already feeling at home in the clan and came to visit almost everyday. The blond bartender greeted him as he sat on the stool beside Yata.

"So, what's up?"

"We were talking about Yata-chan's girlfriend."

"O-OI! K-Kusanagi-san, stop it! I don't have o-one!"

Yata wanted to smack that wide grin dancing on Shouhei's face. The red-head could practically feel the hidden smirk behind Kusanagi's gentlemanly smile. Shouhei turned to Kusanagi, "Hey, so what's her name?"

"Ah, I'm pretty sure her name was Hiroto-chan?" Kusanagi replied thoughtfully. Yata jumped up from his seat in a split second, slamming his hands down on the bar, his face completely red. "She isn't my g-girlfriend!" He almost screamed back in defense. Hiroto was his friend! There was a difference!

"Hiroto?" Shouhei blinked a couple of times in confusion. Kusanagi ignored Yata and turned to the pale brunette again, "Unique name for a girl, ain't it?"

"Kusanagi-san!"

The older blond chuckled as he placed the wine glass down on the bar. He looked at Yata over his sunglasses. "Anyway, how is she going? It's been a while since I've heard about her." Kusanagi said. Kusanagi had never met Hiroto before and Yata was kind of glad about it. If they had met her then the teasing would have been relentless.

Yata let out a breath before leaning back and rubbing his neck. "I haven't really met up with her in a while. She's been busy, I guess." The red-head answered, trying to remember the last time they spoke face to face. "What school does she go to?" Shouhei asked, including himself in the conversation. He looked pretty interested along with Kusanagi.

"I think it was an international academy?"

"Shizume International Academy is the closest one around here," Kusanagi whistled in appreciation, "Yata-chan, you've got a real smart one."

"K-Kusanagi-san!"


He almost forgot that Hiroto was super smart. She never spoke about her grades so it often slipped his mind. In middle school he could remember how she often got in the top ten during tests and how he would rarely find her below that. Yata could remember that one time when he was trying to do his homework, Hiroto had appeared behind and answered every one of the questions on the page before promptly leaving.

Yata wondered if she was still in the top ranks even in that academy she was attending. She was already doing great in her fencing club and from what she just told him she had gotten a job a few months ago. He really could not help but wonder how a lazy person like Hiroto could accomplish that much in such a small amount of time.

He whipped out his arm to check his watch. He clicked on the button near the edge and a screen popped up. Yata flicked across and found Hiroto's number before tapping it and calling.


[ connection complete. ]


She stared dumbstruck at the male in front of her whilst he did the same. The shock was unreal to the point she was able to ignore the vibration coming from the right hand pocket of her coat. Fushimi was standing there, wearing the same uniform she was with an equally shocked expression on his face.

"Now, this is certainly interesting, isn't it?" Munakata's amused tone snapped the two teens out and drew all their attention to him. Hiroto looked at him blankly, "Ban—Sir, is this a joke?"

The King shook his head, smile still present on his face. Hiroto shifted her attention back on Fushimi who also turned to her. "Fushimi-kun, what exactly do you think you're doing here?" She asked, monotone laced all over her voice. The male clicked his tongue in annoyance, "I could ask the same thing."

A chuckle broke the judgmental glare Fushimi was sending the black haired girl. "Now, now, Ichinose-kun, I called you over here for a little favor." Munakata began. He was planning something, she could tell. Hiroto raised a brow at him, "What is it?"

"Fushimi-kun will be working here at your department for the time being. Please make sure you teach him all about Scepter 4 during his time with you."

Hiroto really could not believe it.


Yata watched as the call disconnected. That was different. Hiroto usually picked up whenever she got calls. He shrugged his shoulders before dropping his skateboard onto the ground and skating away.

She must have been busy.


A/N: yes hello it is i!

thank you for the amazing reviews! i honestly wasn't expecting anyone to review but this is great!

i do hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for reading!

and regarding the part in which Hiroto says 'Ban-' before quickly changing to sir... she was actually going to say the word 'Banchou' which is Japanese term which pretty much means gang boss.

REVIEWS ARE SEXY.