"I'll go and sign us up Tachibana, don't go wondering off now."

Midori's tone was playful but his eyes were deadly serious as he scanned the crowds of people around them. He could sense the anxiety radiating from the small girl as she tried to make herself as small as possible. Clearly, not participating in any tournaments for well over a year had definitely had an impact on her and impacted her confidence drastically, he could only hope that once she got stuck in, she'd be back to her normal self.

Patting the top of her head, he trailed his fingers from the top of her scalp down and slid his grasp down her silky hair, it was secured in a tight ponytail that sat high on her head. Just the way he had requested, at least he knew she listened to him. He liked a woman that knew when to obey him.

A visible shudder ran down Tachibana's back as she stared up at him with wide eyes. Words left her mouth but her voice was soft and quiet, he struggled to hear her over the noise of excited people passing them by. Leaning down slightly, his cheek was almost flush against hers as he tried to listen to her.

A healthy pink blush was now covering Tachibana's cheeks at how close Midori had come and her olive eyes were facing down, fixed on the floor, instead of on her partner for the day.

"Don't be long." Shocked at her vulnerable tone, his hand moved on its own and settled on her face, cupping her heated cheek. It was warm to the touch and soft as silk. Midori knew what women felt like, he'd held many in his life but never before had he gotten this excited over such an innocent caress.

He felt like he was going to break through the zipper of his trousers, why did she have to be so damn cute.

"Stay right here, I'll be back before you know it." Winking at her, he could sense her nerves settle slightly and she nodded with a small smile yanking at her plump lips. The urge to steal a kiss was becoming stronger and stronger the more he stared at her.

"Any teams who have not registered, please make your way to the kiosk at the entrance, the tournament will begin in 15 minutes."

A loud tannoy announcement was the bucket of cold water he needed to pull himself away from the siren song that Tachibana just naturally exuded. With a final stroke of her delicate cheek, he turned away and made his way swiftly to the registration desk.

As the women sorted out their paperwork and team sashes for the two of them to wear, Midori glanced over his shoulder to look for his little bunny. She was still stood where he had left her, looking sexy as sin. The outfit he had gifted her with was identical to his, bar the fact that hers fit her like a glove.

The black material was like a second skin, fitted enough for him to see all the contours of her body but loose enough that she would be able to maneuver with little to no resistance. He was sure they would look deadly together. Catching her eye, he gestured to the onyx sash that hung loose around her neck and encouraged her to secure it around her face.

The finished image was something that he mentally captured and secured deep in his mind, something he might revisit when he was feeling a little lonely at night…

Midori's eyes narrowed as someone wearing a familiar gas mask and suit approached her. Haruki was easily recognizable, he was drawn to Tachibana like a fly to shit, some things would never change. He couldn't see through his mask but Midori just knew that he was eating up the sight of her alluring body, the thought made his blood boil.

"Sir?" Slipping his black sash across his face, he snatched the bandana's from the woman's hand and stormed over to Tachibana's side. Her eyes lit up when she saw him approaching but before she could greet him, he tightly grabbed her wrist and dragged her away from Haruki.

"Now now, I leave you alone for two minutes and you're already fraternizing with the enemy."

They were deep into the wilderness of the arena now, away from any other players and hidden from sight. Midori eyes were burning as he moved his bruising hold up from her arm to her neck and secured the team bandana there.

"A makeshift collar, it suits you." Slapping away his hand, she scowled at him and poked his solid chest.

"I am not your property and I'm certainly not your pet, you will never get a collar around my neck."

Tilting his head to the side, his hair hung loosely across his glowing eyes. Pulling down the material mask that covered his mouth, he couldn't stop himself from nuzzling his nose up the side of her neck.

"You will be, enjoy your freedom while you can." His lips felt like they were burning her skin, she couldn't breathe let alone move.

The buzzer indicating that the game had begun wasn't even enough to break the spell the two of them were very much under. "It's time Tachibana, let me see your battle face." Glancing at her neck, his eyes were sparkling with pleasure at the deep purple mark he had left on her skin, he had branded her as his own now.

"Don't touch me again or I'll break your damn nose." Sputtering out a laugh, he re-covered his face and held his hands up in mock surrender. "I can't promise, you look almost edible in that outfit."

Tachibana swiftly pulled her gun from it's holster and slid it up the side of Midori's face, the cool metal tickled his skin and for a second, he felt a shiver of fear, what she was going to do?

His eyes widened as she pulled the trigger and a disappointed voice behind them shouted. "Hit."

Her reaction time was insane, even he hadn't noticed the presence of an enemy player nearby, maybe that was proof that he was much more affected by her that she was him. That just made the whole thing a lot more enjoyable for him, the chase was where all the fun happened.

Midori wouldn't have been interested in her if she gave up to him that easily, it was part of her appeal. Slipping on their goggles, the two stood back to back and prepared for battle.

"Let's see if you've still got what it takes to be considered my rival Tachibana. Don't let me down."

A barrage of butterflies danced around in his stomach as she flew in action and darted past him, into the fray of the fight.

'Let me see those eyes that are swimming in blood lust.'

Letting out a loud laugh, Midori pushed himself forward so he was running side by side with her. They were quick to rid the surrounding area of any enemy players, he was mentally praising the vast improvement in Tachibana's technique, despite the fact that she hadn't played in a long time, her accuracy had actually improved.

She was hitting her targets first time and even if she missed, Midori was there behind her with his Winchesters, ready to shoot any down who dared to try and take them on.

The feeling he got playing with her was a lot different to how he felt when he was playing with Ichi and Fujimon. The protective nature was the same, he never wanted to see a member of his own team go down but he felt like he was going one step further with Tachibana.

His hawk eyes were scouring the surrounding, he could see a lone male was dashing towards them with two pistols aimed at their heads.

Extending his arm out, Midori pulled her tight against his body and swung them behind a tree, the bb bullets that were meant for them hit the wooden trunk of the tree and fell uselessly to the floor.

"Don't move, do you trust me?" Pressing herself tight against his chest, she nodded her head and waited. Midori was waiting for any indication that the enemy was on the move, the crunch of a leaf being stepped on, the sound of a snapping twig.

Inhaling deeply, the sound he had been waiting for finally came, throwing his body out with Tachibana still tightly in his embrace, Midori flicked his large gun up and hammered the enemy with a kill shot.

The boy dropped his gun into his holster and ripped his mask off. Tachibana inhaled sharply and stuttered out a name. "Haru?"

The boy smirked. "Hit." The feel of a bb pellet hitting the back of Midori's neck stung, it was bittersweet. Tachibana let out a loud groan and rubbed the back of her neck, she had obviously been hit in the same place. The duo held their hands up and said in unison. "Hit."

The tournament was short and sweet, but it was enough for Midori to see Tachibana's raw talent was still very much there.

"I can't believe we got knocked out so early on, did you see who shot us?" The two were now on their way home, the sun was just setting and Tachibana had been yawning continuously for the past ten minutes. Midori reached behind his seat and pulled a checkered blanket that he kept in there for emergencies and placed it on Tachibana's lap.

She stared at it like it was some foreign object that she'd never seen before in her life.

"I have no doubt that it was your little gas mask friend, try and get some sleep. I'll wake you up when we arrive at your complex, unless you'd rather keep me company for the night?" Glancing sideways, he was shocked to see that she was already deeply asleep with her face pressed against the car window.

Rubbing his face with his free hand, Midori's eyes were drawn to her sleeping face every couple of minutes, each time he looked, the more his stomach became unsettled.

"I'm in serious trouble."