Hi there! Itsyoursis-Artemis here! Sorry about the delay, I was having fun writing chapter 13 and 14 that I completely forgot to proofread and publish chapter 9. Chapter 13 and 14 are going to be interesting, because *teaser* it consisted of the ten year bazooka and a present and TYL counterpart switching, with some insights about the future.

If I have any grammatical mistakes please let me know, I'll fix them right away!

Please review review review I want to know what y'all thinking.


"Here are the minutes of the meeting from yesterday, as you requested."

The fearless Ayano handed Hibari pages of the printed transcript from a significant meeting he missed due to endlessly working through stacks of paperwork that were left by his absent secretary.

The two seemed to be on a neutral term after the Nicolaou girl apologized last week. In fact, after that day, Hibari acknowledged that she was harmless and obedient; therefore, he didn't need to worry about her creating any trouble. He'd admit occasionally that his boredom could use some quick battle of wits with her. Sometimes, he would find a few of her comments to be quite amusing.

For instance, he overheard her one day saying that the point of playing golf was to play as little golf as possible, and that thought was allegedly "mind-blowing." At first, he ignored the herbivore's enthusiastic claim. Two minutes later, while walking, the skylark finally had an epiphany and realized how correct her statement was. Amusing, he thought.

Kusakabe barged in with more paperwork that came from the teachers who requested to put their failing students on academic probation. His eyes widened in surprise upon seeing a certain girl in the disciplinary room with Hibari.

Are they in better terms? he thought. His thoughts were interrupted by the girl's comment.

"Kusakabe-san, it looks like you won't be going home with so much paperwork today," Ayano chuckled.

Kusakabe simply nodded in agreement. "I'm afraid that will be the case."

He approached his senior and broke him some news. "It seems that our secretary is still very ill, Kyoya-san. I visited him in the hospital this morning, and his conditions were worse than before."

The long-haired girl realized that she was not supposed to be in the room while they conversed about a seemingly confidential matter.

"I'll leave so you can talk in private," she motioned, and excused herself.

"Stay."

Ayano halted her steps. One simple word from Hibari made not only her whose command was directed at, but also the vice-chairman of the disciplinary committee, to jolt. She turned around with a puzzled expression. What could possibly be the reason why her presence was needed by a certain chairman?

"He should be healing up, not getting worse," the skylark asserted to his vice-chairman while shuffling the papers in front of him. "And he got hospitalized? I don't need such a weakling in my committee," he scoffed. "He's fired."

Kusakabe let out a sigh, as he couldn't really argue with his chairman. "I see. Who will replace him?"

Hibari paused for a moment. He closed his eyes as a sign of collecting his thoughts. After what Ayano thought a painful minute of silence, he opened his eyes and directed his gaze at her.

"Her."

Kusakabe's jaw opened in shock. The girl, on the other hand, slightly tilted her head in question.

"Excuse me?" Ayano challenged.

"You don't fear the committee, which means you're mentally strong enough to be in one," Hibari immediately retorted as he resumed his paperwork.

"But you're forgetting that I'm already in the student body government," she pointed out.

"And? You're a historian. Your position does not have any power."

"I do get to vote which is itself, a power. Besides, I supervise the yearbook club."

"And? The council can function without a historian."

"Even if that's true, why choose me, Hibari-san?"

"Because you crowd yourself with the members of the disciplinary committee. It's almost as if you are obsessed with us," the skylark smirked.

"Except that I am not, obsessed with the committee. Besides, I only talk to you and Kusakabe-san, I don't know any other members," Ayano answered confidently.

There's the quick exchange of wits that for some inexplicable reason, the skylark quite enjoyed.

He was going to appoint someone else from the committee for the secretary position. However, he recognized the long-haired girl's diligence despite of holding a useless position in the student council.

A featherless bird trying to grow her feathers, he thought.

He has heard of the stereotype (and might have believed in it) that orphans grew up to become "broken"; not having a parental figure and being passed around like an object would have a negative impact on their personalities and behavior. Thus, he commended the metaphorical small animal with her strength and sense of independence without the experience of being raised by her biological parents.

Furthermore, Hibari couldn't explain how—in a span of less than two months—he became tolerant of the female herbivore. There was something pleasing about her presence. Although, he strongly refused to consider it as attraction. It was such a naive idea. But again, he couldn't explain it. For now, Hibari regarded it simply as an acknowledgement of her existence.

Meanwhile, the vice-chairman who was left speechless finally snapped out of his frozen zone. Kusakabe observed how lenient his chairman was around the Nicolaou girl, how he opened himself up to an innocent quarrel with her, and how he acknowledged her, in general. The hopeful assistant realized how beneficial this "development" was: he thought that Ayano might be able to talk his chairman out of his future unreasonable decisions.

"Nicolaou-san, you can still keep your student council position while being in the disciplinary committee," Kusakabe advised.

The head of the disciplinary committee glared at his assistant. "Kusakabe Tetsuya, your input is not needed."

Did Kusakabe-san just imply that he wants me to accept the offer? thought Ayano.

"Even so, don't you think holding two positions puts too much on my plate?" claimed the female teenager.

"Nicolaou-san, in this case, your secretarial duties will prevail. You wouldn't need to attend the student council meetings but at the same time, you get to keep your position as a historian," Kusakabe reiterated.

"Vice-chairman, I'm warning you, I do not need your opinion," Hibari growled.

I was just trying to help you, Kyoya-san, Kusakabe sighed mentally. His chairman was obviously bad at convincing her to take the offer.

"Perhaps you are afraid of holding a legitimate position," Hibari questioned the female student. "Or, perhaps you aren't confident of your own skills?" The skylark mocked in a challenging way.

He's challenging me? Ayano was a little bit alarmed and confused about the situation. Just two weeks ago, Hibari loathed her presence. And now, he suddenly offered her a position that required her to work with him side by side: a complete about face.

I can't figure him out.

She thought she solved his character puzzle already.

She thought he was an introvert who disliked attention.

She thought he was a power-savvy who sought to dominate.

She thought he was a sensitive person who resorted to violence when offended.

Did I miss a piece of his puzzle?

There was only one way to find out. Fujioka-san didn't raise a coward, she reminded herself.

"Fine. I'll do it," she conceded. "But I will not wear the black jacket as a uniform."

She immediately walked out of the room as it was getting late. She needed to go home and mentally prepare herself for the weekend. How do I break the news to Mina-chan? Ayano mentally groaned.

The skylark stood up from his seat and approached his assistant. He placed his tonfa-wielding left arm across Kusakabe's chest, as if he's threatening a fight.

"I could've convinced her alone. I didn't need your help, vice-chairman. I won't hesitate to bite you to death if you disobey me next time."

"I deeply apologize, Kyoya-san. It won't happen again."

Kusakabe bowed as the skylark left the room. The vice-chairman could not believe that Ayano accepted the offer. Maybe something will spark in the future? Kusakabe amusingly thought.


The next day illuminated a peaceful Saturday morning. Fortunately, Agatha was off-duty. As a trauma surgeon, she would rarely receive any days off. Her presence was constantly needed for the medical emergency cases that would occur daily. Many times, she would be asked to travel to other hospitals affiliated with Namimori Hospital due to the lack of physicians in the surrounding cities. She was also the head of the intern team, overseeing and training the medical students on floor, which added more to her plate. Instead of using this precious day to relax, Agatha agreed to accompany her niece to a firearm range place called G.M.—if it was still on business.

The two Nicolaou were having a simple western-style breakfast that consisted of toasted, cheesy, scrambled-egg, croissant paired with a glass of orange juice and a small bowl of blueberries. They were conversing about their plan for the day. According to a simple internet search, G.M. still existed. However, the information about the place was ten years outdated. This meant that either: they were still on business but never updated their information online, or they were out of business and forgot to close their website. If the first scenario was correct, then Ayano would proceed to sign up for a weekly gun training to emulate her mother's past behavior, in hopes that it would produce a clue about her whereabouts. If the second scenario prevailed, the two Nicolaou would simply spend the rest of the day in a nearby zoo.

"Ayano, do you have your fake ID with you?"

"Yes, I do, thank you for reminding me aunt Agatha."

The female adult screened her niece's outfit of the day. She admitted, she wished she had Ayano's sense of fashion. Her niece's talent was something that the teenager didn't inherit from her missing mother.

If Agatha remembered correctly, her half-sister had a terrible sense of fashion. Being an architecture student, Yoshino spent most of her time in the architecture studio, sketching projects upon projects. Many times, she would spend the whole night in the studio building a mini-model of an architectural project. By only receiving 2-3 hours of sleep and not wanting to miss her core classes, Yoshino stopped paying attention to her appearance. She went to classes in sweatpants and sometimes, in her pajamas.

How did Agatha know this information? During their college years, the two siblings had a very close relationship, offering each other emotional support as both the field of their studies were stressful. Agatha had hoped that their relationship would stay intact, not until Yoshino started behaving oddly on her 5th year in college.

"Is there something wrong?" Ayano blurted out to her spacing-out aunt.

"Nothing, let's go."


About an hour later, the two ladies arrived in front of a very long, one-story building plastered with "G.M" graffiti which gave the place an abandoned vibe. Oddly enough, the neighborhood around the place looked calm and safe, despite the lack of presence of human civilization. Suddenly, a lady exited the building.

"Are you perhaps lost?" asked the lady who was wearing a uniform that resembled a typical hotel receptionist.

"We're looking for a firearm training place called G.M." responded Agatha. "Are you guys still on business?"

The lady widened her eyes in surprised. "Yes, our business is still open. Would you like to come in?"

The two Nicolaou glanced at each other, telepathically giving each other a high five. Upon entering, these two couldn't help but gawk: the indoor appearance resembled that of a normal hotel lobby! They were definitely fooled by the outside appearance of the building.

"So, how can I help you?" initiated the front-desk agent.

"We are looking to sign my niece up for a weekly firearm training," answered Agatha.

"Sure, I can do that for you. Is she underage?"

"She's not."

"May I see an ID that proves you are 18 or above, Miss?"

The front-desk lady faced the younger-looking female whom she assumed was the "niece". Ayano was wearing a maxi long dress with the top part being black while the skirt part having a repeated chevron pattern of colors beige, black, gray, and soft rose (a dress she sewed herself). She paired this up with a sun hat and sandals with low heels. With this outfit, she could definitely pass as a twenty-year old young adult.

"Here you go," Ayano handed her fake ID. It was a resident ID stating that Ayano was 18 years old and that her name was "Fujioka Ayano". The receptionist looked at the ID, then at Ayano, then finally nodded as she handed the ID back to the teenager. She then gave the her an application to fill out. Once the application process was completed, Agatha took out her credit card to finally pay for the fee of the weekly class.

"For how long do you want to take the class?"

"She'll try for two months, then we'll let you know if we want to extend," answered the aunt.

"Awesome. After I transact your payment, my boss will come out to give you a tour," the receptionist beamed. "Your card will not be deducted until next week, when your niece starts her first training."

Fifteen minutes passed, and an old man wearing a bandana covering his whole head appeared. The two Nicolaou's wondered if this was the "baldie-san" Yoshino talked about in her diary. "Never mention Nicolaou, we don't know if it will be helpful or detrimental to our mission," whispered Agatha.

The man talked to the receptionist before the latter pointed at Ayano, which made the man to approach them. "Welcome to G.M. My name is GM, you can address me how-ever you like, I don't really care," he happily remarked. "Let's start the tour, shall we?"

The tour was very short. GM explained the rules and regulations, the dress code prohibiting skirts and slippers for safety reasons, emergency procedures, etc. After the short tour, the two went home feeling a sense of accomplishment. The teenager felt that there was finally a development in her quest to find her mother. The adult, albeit feeling the same way, was slightly worried about the act her niece had to put for the next two months.

She hoped that her decision would not put her precious sister's daughter in a dangerous situation.


Please review :)

Pretty please.

Not that I'm promoting my side blog but I do posts teasers and character tags of Safe and Sound in my tumblr blog. The url is khr-safeandsound . tumblr . com (remove the spaces) if you want to check it out. You can ask me questions there if you have any, and I respond fast. sooo...

I'll see you in 3 days!

Artemis out.