Chapter 1: In Which Nights Are Ruined
"Good job, Byakko." Hibiki pats the warm flank of his demon and sweeps his vision across the area for any stray demons still lurking around. The rooftops are empty and there's no sign of any hostile demons in the night sky. He's done his job well tonight. "I think we can wrap it up for the night. Let's head back."
He urges Byakko towards home as they leap through the sky together, quickly and quietly to avoid anyone catching sight of them. Hibiki leans forward against his demon, resting his tired body and letting Byakko do most of the work to get them home. It feels like he's just closed his eyes when his back cracks against a cement roof and his body throbs in pain.
The second he recovers from the shock, he's scanning the area for his demon, spotting him growling several feet away. "Byakko!" Hibiki dashes towards him, prepared to cast a quick Dia for recovery when he remembers the threat. The bunny ears of his hoodie whip around as he turns to face their assailant.
Hibiki can barely make out the shape of a man in the dark of the night, but he can feel the piercing glare boring into him, both from the man and the Cerberus tensed to pounce at his side. "Who are you?" His assailant demands in sharp tones.
"What?"
"I said, who are you?" He takes a step closer and Hibiki can make out his dark clothing and pale, almost silver hair. "What are you doing out here?"
"Getting rid of some troublesome demons."
"Who authorized you to do so?"
Hibiki blinks in confusion, he wasn't aware there were people policing those who fight demons, "Authorized?"
"We can't have rogue demon tamers out here doing as they please. Do you attend the school?"
"Maybe." He's hesitant to answer that, the last thing he needs is his night time activities discovered and tracked back to him.
The disapproval the other male is giving off is palpable in the air as he takes another step closer and Hibiki shrinks back, turning his face slightly for coverage in the shadows. "Then you're a rogue. How did you get access to the app? You're coming back with me."
That simple statement made by someone who doesn't sound like he has any doubt his orders will be obeyed is all Hibiki needs to jolt him into action. Throwing a leg over Byakko, he simultaneously casts a Force Dance spell to cover his exit and without waiting to see if the stranger can dissolve it fast enough, he urges his demon off the roof and recalls him just before they hit the ground.
Quickly ripping off his bright, white bunny eared hoodie, he balls it up in his arms and shifts himself into the shadow of an alley, hoping the location and his darker clothing will make him impossible to spot by someone in a rush. He barely dares to breathe as the shadow of a large demon passes overhead in search of him. A shaky breath escapes him as his heartbeat finally slows down to a normal pace after five minutes of tense waiting.
Who…? Hibiki stumbles out of the alley and glances at his phone. It's late enough that all the trains have stopped running and it's too risky to summon Byakko or any other demon again. His best bet is to head home on foot.
Silently cursing his situation and the stranger who caught him off guard, he starts the long walk home, on guard for any surprise attacks. The guy had such a powerful demon that there's no doubt he was either a teacher or a student from one of the higher ranked classes at his school, but he's not exactly eager to show his face around there and find out which. For now, he'll just have to play it safe and perhaps put night patrol off for a few days, long enough to get the stranger off his trail. Besides, it'd be nice to get a full night's sleep for more than one night in a row. He'll need it after the way this evening just ended.
~~~~~
Yamato glares at the mountain of paperwork on his desk, it always seems to be unending. He needs a second assistant, someone who's also reliable. Even Sako, his second in command, can only do so much. He taps his pen agitatedly against his desk with an exhale, the more important thing he needs to focus on is who that person yesterday night was.
It was so dark he couldn't make out much other than pale skin and a white hoodie before the rogue tamer had escaped behind a wall of powerful wind, gone by the time he'd dispelled it. He quickly types out a few words on his keyboard and nods, just as he thought, no one on record having a Byakko as part of their normal stock, so who was he? He would absolutely know if there was someone with that level of power and control of such a high level demon anywhere in his vicinity and since no teacher has reported a student at such a level, his first instinct must have been correct. He's a rogue. And that will not stand.
The rogue tamer is either an enemy or someone who needs to be brought into their school and onto their side, either way it's in his best interest to have him close enough that he can keep a sharp eye on him. But first, he'll have to locate him.
"Chief?"
He glances to see his second in command, Makoto Sako, standing at his doorway. "Come in."
"Here are the reports you asked for," she steps forward to hand him the folder, eyeing the precariously stacked papers already on his desk. "Do you need assistance?"
"No," Yamato waves her concern off, "You have enough to do. I can handle this." He hesitates for a brief moment before dismissing the thought, finding the rogue tamer is something he needs to take care of himself. It's important enough that he wants it taken care of right the first time.
He trusts Sako, but this may require greater strength of will if it comes to a battle. The tamer has already eluded them this far, who knows what tricks he may have up his sleeves.
"Well, then, sir, the meeting starts soon."
With a lingering look at his computer, Yamato stands and follows his subordinate out, trying not to dwell on the amount of things he could be finishing rather than sitting through a pointless meeting. He follows Makoto down the hall surrounding the first floor arena, from their position on the fifth floor he has a perfect bird's eye view of the training.
The students seem to be improving, but not by much. The school has a strict 'If you have any magic, you're required to enroll policy.' It often leads to many students with such a miniscule amount of power never making it past level one. If he had his way, some degree of skill would be required for enrollment, but even being the head of JPs and making a majority of the decisions on tamers, his authority isn't absolute. The other leaders also have their input and he was overruled.
Forcing through his preference was a possibility, but it would only have fueled the other leaders with resentment and made his job harder down the line. At the very least, the level one's could always be used as a distraction. "Sako, have any of the students been reported to have a Byakko in their possession?"
"Byakko? No, not that I've heard of. We have some advanced students, but none at that level as of yet."
"Hm." As of yet? No, they'll likely never reach that level. Power like that isn't so easily hidden, if someone had it, they'd know.
If they were here, that is.
He takes a seat next to Makoto near the head of the table for another trivial meeting he has to sit through about running the school. The school's daily activities are of little concern to him, he only cares for how ready the student's are and management of demonic threats. Increasing the number of tests or creating more classes fits into neither of those categories.
Instead he begins mentally rearranging his schedule to give him free nights, the best time to catch the rogue tamer, and a bit later mornings to recover from the late nights. It might take him a while, but one thing he's learned is that they all eventually screw up and when this tamer does, he'll be right there waiting to drag him in.
Because there's no doubt in his mind, he will find him.
~~~~~
Hibiki wakes up late, exhausted and miserable after dragging himself home in the early hours of the morning, just long enough to snag a few hours of sleep. He makes a mental note to avoid traveling so far that it takes him hours to get home by foot while haphazardly grabbing his belongings for school. He catches a quick glimpse of himself in the mirror on the way out the door and it's not looking good, heavy bags under his eyes and paler skin than usual.
It's going to be a long day.
"Man, what happened to you?" His best friend, Daichi, greets him once he arrives to their level one classroom. "You look like death, late night again?"
"Something like that," he yawns.
"It's a wonder you haven't been kicked out yet, showing up like this as much as you do. You remember we have a test today, right?"
Hibiki curses quietly, he had forgotten all about that. Today's one of the worse days for a test, he's too exhausted to deal with being tossed around by demons.
Io gives him a sympathetic look when she catches sight of his expression, "I'm sure you'll do fine." They both know that won't be the case. All three of them may be level one, but in everyone's eyes he's the lowest between them. In fact, Io and Daichi might just move up today and if he's lucky they'll just kick him out. Then he can do what he wants with his time.
"Line it up!"
They quickly take their places in the queue and Hibiki feels his gut tighten as every classmate that finishes brings him closer to the front of the line. When it's his turn, he pulls out his usual low level Kobold and Pixie before bracing for the worst. His opponent attacks and he's purposely slow pulling up a counter offence. He gets off a snipe just as fire dance incinerates his two demons, both struck down by having the same weakness. Then he's left to take the remaining damage, ending with him sprawled on the floor and a wound to the head.
Their professor stands over him with his now more than familiar disappointment and annoyance, "I know they say any talent needs to be brought here, but I really wish they would reconsider. Sometimes nothing is better than wasting time and resources on someone who never improves. Kuze, see the nurse."
Gladly.
Hibiki grabs his bag on the way out the door with no intention of coming back down here the rest of the day if he can help it. "Otome, I've been hurt!" He calls out before flopping down on one of the infirmary beds with a groan. "I think I may have a concussion."
She spins her chair around to face him, "What happened?" Otome questions just as Makoto corrects, "Yanagiya-san."
Hibiki sits up with a blink, surprised to see the other woman in the room. He hadn't even noticed her presence when he walked in.
"Have some respect, Kuze."
He grins, "Ah Makoto, I didn't see you there."
"Sako."
"Sorry, Sako-san, I didn't realize you were in here."
"Clearly," she mutters back. "Or you would have at least pretended to respect the relationship with your seniors. I suppose I'll finish my discussion with Oto-"
"Yanagiya-san," he corrects.
Makoto gives him a stern look, "Shouldn't you be in class, Kuze?"
"I'm injured."
"Aren't you always?" She responds with a disapproving look.
Otome looks to him with a smile, "I'll be right with you, Hibiki."
"Must you encourage him, Otome? We can finish later, I know you hate to leave a patient unattended."
"No, it's fine," he's quick to reassure. "I'm in no rush, you can just wake me up right before lunch."
Makoto shakes her head, "We'll take later, Otome. Nothing from you, Kuze."
Hibiki laughs as Otome slides over to him, "What happened?"
"Got injured in the test today. It's because I had a late night."
"I have a feeling you'd have been hurt either way." She raises an eyebrow and he shrugs.
"If only knowledge could be put into practical use, hmm?"
"If only." Otome casts a quick Dia over his slight injuries before gesturing him over to her computer. "Come help me look at this since I'm sure you're fine." He comes to stand behind her, peering over her shoulder at the screen and taking in her notes.
"I agree that if we had tamers with these demons, the teams would be evenly balanced, but it's assuming too much that all of them would be able to control both their demons at that level. Those who are already experienced might be able to pull this off, but with so many tamers on the field, it could easily turn into chaos."
Otome nods in agreement, "That's what I thought also, but the chief thought we should aspire to have an emergency team with these specifications."
"The chief." Hibiki grimaces. "He who never shows his face and has no tolerance for any weakness."
"Oh, he's not that bad, Hibiki."
"He once said those he deems to have no value to society should be purged!"
"Yes, but he's looking at it for the greater good of society, not the individuals. Which is not to say I agree with him," Otome hastily amends. "Only to say, he views things in a very different light."
"Either way," Hibiki huffs, dropping back onto the nursing cot. "I don't agree with him, maybe the 'greater good' would be better off with someone else running the protection of the country."
"Is that why you feign weakness?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Hibiki replies curtly, yanking the blankets up to his chin. "My head wound is acting up, I think I need to rest."
Otome chuckles lightly, "If you say so and although I may think he's a bit harsh, he produces consistent results and I don't think we've ever been safer."
He pulls the blanket over his head and forces his eyes shut, unwilling to engage in an argument that they've been over several times by now. Yes, the chief may be startlingly efficient and excellent at protecting Japan, but should that come at the cost of people who aren't as able or strong as he is?
If the Chief had his way, he probably wouldn't even be here. The entire level one class might have been put out, even those who were making small gains. Hibiki still holds out a bit of hope that they'll eventually dismiss him from the school for lack of progress.
He can't support the building of a world that leaves the weak to fend for themselves. Protecting the country on his own is how his strength is best utilized, whether that classifies him as rogue or not. He'll keep protecting, but he'll just have to do a better job of avoiding that hostile tamer from last time. Because something tells him, the other male won't forget quite so easily.
~~~~~
Despite itching to get back out into battle and eliminate some demons, Hibiki is cautious. He skips the next night and the two after that. Only when he deems it long enough for the strange male to perhaps have lost his trail does he resume his night time escapades. Unfortunately the first demon he encounters on his night back is Legion and all hope of a quick and quiet battle flies out the window. He summons Byakko to exploit Legion's thunder weakness and Jack Frost to defend against it's ice attacks. Even so, it's a tough battle on his own and when he casts the final spell, Hibiki's almost at his limit and his magic is next to nothing.
He drops to the ground in relief, finally free of the abnormal mismash of a demon. Forgetting the other threat for a brief second, Hibiki lets his eyes close for a brief second and that's all it takes to sense the subtle change in his surroundings.
"I found you again. You've been hiding."
Hibiki's eyes fly open and he futilely scoots a few feet away, the other man's eyes tracking him the whole way. "Yeah, well, you weren't exactly friendly last time. You attacked me, in case you've forgotten."
"I haven't forgotten. However, you didn't do too bad on your own."
"Well, if you were there the whole time, you could've stepped in and lent a hand."
"Why should I have? I have no obligation to help a rogue. You chose to fight alone, had you died, it would have been due to your own irresponsibility."
"Aren't you a charmer?" Hibiki quips back, leaning against the wall.
Ignoring him, the other man studies him silently for a bit, "I am impressed by your skills. With more training, you could be an even greater force. Why are you not a student of the school? It's the law."
"No thanks," Hibiki shrugs. "It's not for me."
"You'd be doing the same thing, but with more support."
"I'd be a supporting an organization that dismisses the weak as unnecessary," Hibiki responds firmly.
"Ah, and what is so wrong with that? They serve no purpose."
He shakes his head in disappointment, "I can clearly tell you're part of the school, but I'm not interested." There's a brief sigh before the other male finally steps out of the shadows and Hibiki gets a good look at him.
Calculating violet eyes bore into him, framed byshoulder length silver hair, and set in a pale face. The other male is attractive, but he knows that should be the furthest thing on his mind when he crosses his arms, tightening the calf length black jacket he wears. "Whether you agree or not matters little, I'll drag you in if I must."
Hibiki forces himself back to his feet and grins, "Try it."
"Cerberus!"
The silver-haired male strikes first, barely giving him a chance to roll out of the way and summon Byakko again. If you ask him, the other male is playing dirty, attacking when he's still weak from the previous battle instead of at his full strength. An underhanded tactic for someone who dismisses the weak.
As expected with his already exhausted demons and depleted magic, he doesn't last more than a few rounds against his opponent's relentless assault before he's back on the ground, heaving in exhaustion, even if he did manage to do a little damage. That last blow has his head ringing and he briefly wonders if his recent head injuries will cause him any lasting damage.
Hibiki glances up when footsteps stop next to him. "Impressive, you managed to last that long with such depleted reserves."
"So you knew I was already weak."
"Of course, you had just finished a rather long battle. If you were at your full strength, you might have been a challenge for me. You'll be quite an asset."
"I may have lost, but you can't make me fight for you," Hibiki responds with a glare up at his opponent.
"You're quite stubborn."
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have made it this far." Hibiki rests his cheek against the wall and lets his eyes fall shut, secure in the knowledge that if the other male was going to do something, he would have already.
Silence falls between them for a few minutes and he can almost hear the plans being formed behind those violet eyes. "You won't fight for the school, but you still want to protect. I'm sure we can come to an agreement." Hibiki scoffs. "You've run out of options. I will give you an assignment and you will complete it."
Blue eyes blink open in distaste, "I can pick my own battles and handle myself just fine on my own."
"This is no longer negotiable. You agree or I'll bring you into the school right now and perhaps have you arrested for breaking the law."
"Fine," he reluctantly agrees, seeing no way out of this other than agreeing to the compromise.
"We will meet at this location for your assignment. It would be in everyone's best interests for you to show up."
"Can't you just text?"
"I'm not giving you my personal number, we will meet in person. Right here."
Hibiki groans before forcing himself back to his feet. He'd demand a ride back to his house considering Byakko's energy is completely spent, but he really doesn't want to spend a minute longer here or have the other male know where he lives, so apparently he's walking again.
He'll be back here tomorrow night though, because there will be hell to pay of he doesn't keep his word. Without a backwards glance, he exits down the fire escape, leaving his new 'boss' to the night.
~~~~~
Yamato brings the chopsticks to his mouth and can't help the small smirk that's been flirting with the corners of his mouth since the lunch meeting started. Lunch meetings, by nature of their job require secrecy, so rather than a restaurant, their lunch is catered inside one of JP's many conference rooms. He's gotten a few inquiring looks, but no one would be so bold as to ask him what he finds so amusing, even Makoto shifts uncomfortably in her seat at his rare expression of amusement.
Some of them are probably offended, thinking that he's subtly mocking them. In truth, his mind is once again on far more important matters. He turns away when it looks like one of the board members might speak with him and faces Makoto instead. On a normal day, she wouldn't be here, but today she is perfect for a diversion. Rather than focus on him, instead the other members try to hide their looks of disdain at her presence.
It's still glaringly obvious.
When the day comes that he no longer has to put up pretenses, it'll be a worthy accomplishment. Yamato studies his next piece of sushi critically, letting the conversation and Makoto's careful replies fade into the background. So far that rogue tamer he found is exceeding his expectations.
Every other night, they meet on the rooftop of that particular building and he hands off the assignment which the other male accepts with no small amount of reluctance. The next time they meet, the tamer gives him a hastily scribbled report detailing that the demon has been taken care of. That's all, barely a word exchanged between them, although the results speak for themselves. It's extremely gratifying to have another person he can rely on, even if they don't see eye to eye.
It would be best if he could bring the other boy into the school, but he'll bide his time until he can have him and his strength at his side. "Chief?" He glances over to see Makoto looking at him in concern. He deposits the piece of sushi into his mouth and arches an eyebrow to indicate he's listening. "Ah, the other leaders were just talking about a situation a few hours West of here that there's concern about."
"Go on."
Increasingly aware of all the eyes on them, she slides the file closer to him and points at the demon, "This is the one we need taken care of to protect the citizens in that area. He only comes out at night."
Yamato frowns down at the picture in front of him, Chernobog. That's a challenging one, he may have to go with the rogue this time. It's better to be cautious. After all, it would be a shame to lose such a strong potential ally. Although, technically he could also assemble a team to take care of it. Either way, he'd still need to be there to ensure nothing went wrong. Might as well save himself some stress and go alone.
"Chief?"
Violet eyes flick back over to Makoto before tucking the file under his arm, "I'll take care of it." He stands and gives a curt nod, using the objective as the perfect excuse to escape.
Later, that night, Yamato stands on the rooftop impatiently with a car and driver idling below when the other male shows up, stopping before him and holding out his hand. "I'll tell you on the way."
"What?" He pauses and takes a step back, "You're coming too?"
"Yes."
"No," he groans dramatically. "I'm fine on my own, let's keep our original arrangement."
Yamato frowns at his exaggerated display of discontent, "This demon may prove to be more difficult and it's safer this way. I would feel personally responsible if I let you go alone and something were to happen." He receives a skeptical look in response and the other male pulls out his phone, no doubt to summon Byakko, but Yamato stops him with a hand to the wrist. Ignoring the look of surprise, he continues, "It's far, I've brought a driver."
He's rewarded with another look of ire, but there's no protest as he leads the way back to the street and into the backseat of his waiting car. The other boy drops his bag between them and sticks close to the door as they speed off. Yamato scoffs lightly at the display, if he really felt there was something to be feared or that he would have a reason to jump out of a moving car, he never would have followed him.
"Why do you have a driver?"
"Because I can't drive."
"No, why do you have a driver?"
"It's an organizational benefit and we're on official business."
"You seem kind of young to be given that kind of responsibility, especially as a student."
"I never said I was a student." Cerulean eyes glance at him inquisitively, but he doesn't elaborate further. He might actually jump out the car if he finds out who he's been helping all along. Instead he pulls open his laptop and taking the cue, the other male, of all things, pulls out a handheld video game and produces earphones from somewhere in his ridiculous bunny eared hoodie. They lapse into silence the rest of the car ride.
When they arrive, Yamato gives the driver instructions to wait for them out of harm's way before heading further into the night. They don't have to walk far before the whispers of the Chernobog that's been terrorizing the town reach them. Following it's gravelly voice leads them to the underground cave where the demon has made its home. He hears his companion take in a sharp breath as they step over the human remnants that litter their path to the cave. Apparently he's never run afoul of a flesh eating demon yet. The smell alone is enough to make his eyes water.
This one, in particular, is pretty nasty, a God of death. He keeps a close eye on the other boy as they wind their way farther into the dank cave, avoiding the wet walls and deep piles of thick black goo on the floor. They reach a cavern and abruptly the whispers stop and Yamato has barely a heartbeat to yank the other boy back by his hoodie before a scythe comes slashing down in their previous spot.
"Weak to fire and blocks electricity, Byakko will be useless." Yamato informs him while simultaneously pushing the other male behind him and against the wall as Cerberus shoots back an Agidyne. "Tell me you have other demons."
"Y-yeah," he mutters, fumbling for his phone and summoning a Suzaku. Yamato breathes a sigh of relief, he won't be doing this alone after all. The other male cautiously moves to stand next to him and they face Chernobog down with alternating fire spells until it pulls back with a growl and several demons a few levels lower take its place. "What should we do? It's escaping!"
Yamato thinks quickly, there are five of these demons, but Chernobog is down to it's last bit of health, running away in desperation. He doesn't feel secure in leaving the other boy to face these five alone, he decides. "You go after Chernobog and finish him."
"And leave you here all alone?" He questions, knocking two demons back with a well timed force dance.
"I'm more than capable of handling these myself. If you're so worried, why don't you defeat him quickly and hurry back. I'm holding you personally responsible if he escapes."
Mouth pressing into a grim line, he forces his way through with physical strikes and disappears down the hallway after the Chernobog without another word. Yamato refocuses on his own battle, dodging a slash from one of the numerous Pyro Jacks surrounding him. It was a good idea for him to stay, Cerberus can reflect fire while Byakko cannot, although he should be just fine against Chernobog.
He commands Cerberus into a multi-strike and takes the offensive as well, blasting out his own Bufudynes to supplement the physical attacks. Despite the amount of them, the Pyro Jacks go down with relatively little problem, serving their purpose as a distraction for Chernobog to escape. Still no sign of his unwilling companion as he heads down the corridor towards the sounds of battle. Suzaku is delivering the final Agidyne to Chernobog when he arrives and he's pleased that the other male was able to handle the end of the battle on his own. Reliability is a good characteristic to have.
A flash halts him mid-step towards giving his approval and he's immediately on guard, but nothing else happens other than Chernobog disintegrating away. "You did well," he states, only to have the other boy stumble into him, unfocused bright blue eyes flitting around the cavern uncontrollably. Ah, dizzy. He reaches out and steadies the black haired male with hands on his shoulders, ignoring the small frown that crosses his features. "Looks like his final farewell was a dizzy spell," Yamato explains, pushing him back towards the hallway.
"How long will this last? I can't focus on anything."
"Hmm...it fades after a while. I guess you'll have to rely on me for the time being," he answers, steadying him after he loses his footing on a few stray rocks.
"Great."
"It's not much of a inconvenience. All that's left is to exit the cave and return to the car. By the time we arrive back at the city, the effects should have faded."
"Since you were here, does that mean I don't have to give you a report?"
Yamato sighs, "Since you did well enough, I suppose I can let it pass this time."
"Yes!" He cheers, tugging on his bunny ears. "Small blessings."
"Turn left," Yamato directs with words and a squeeze to his shoulders. "I don't know why you're complaining, the things you submit can barely be considered reports and they're barely legible."
The other male makes an offended noise and shrugs his hands off, "I have a lot to do! Sorry if the extra work you give me isn't a priority."
"You could always use a computer to type them," Yamato murmurs back, grasping his shoulders again and holding on tighter to keep the other boy from running into a wall. "Don't be stubborn, you can't see where you're going."
He shrugs, "I'm surprised you care."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Don't crush my shoulders!" He exclaims and Yamato immediately loosens his hold. "I just meant that I'm surprised you didn't just leave me to here to wait it out because technically I'm useless while I'm affected with dizzy."
Yamato sighs again, "I'm not one to waste resources even those that are temporarily incapacitated, I'm not cruel. I look at the big picture, besides now you are in my debt." He smirks.
"Oh no, I'm not!" The boy turns around sharply, "I wouldn't have even been out here if it wasn't for you! If anything, you owe me."
Yamato continues forward, grabbing the other boy by his wrist, and dragging him along, "We'll discuss how you can pay off your debt to me later."
"I don't owe you!"
"Ah, here we are," they arrive at the cave entrance and Yamato lets him go, watching as he dizzily makes his way over to a spot free of bones to sit down.
"You're kind of an ass, you know that?"
He hums thoughtfully, "I think I've been told that before, never put as eloquently as you did though."
"You know sarcasm, I'm shocked! I thought you could only speak factually."
Yamato frowns, he's not used to this much social interaction with someone who is neither his co-worker nor his subordinate. None of them would talk to him so candidly. He tilts his head consideringly, he's unsure if he likes it or not. "You can remain here on your own then, I'll wait for you in the car, don't take too long."
He turns to go and the other male immediately scrambles to his feet, "Wait!"
"Wait? I'm not sure I know what that means." He sees it before it happens as the black haired male tries to catch up to him and inevitably trips on a skull. Instinctively he reaches out and catches him by the underarms before he can fall face first into skeletal remains.
"Uh...thanks?"
"I'm starting to think you're more trouble that you're worth." He summons Cerberus and hefts the boy onto its back. "Take him to the car."
His shoulders relax as he slips back into the familiar territory of solitude and he pulls out his phone to reply to any emails that have come through, letting his feet guide him back the way they came.
By the time he reaches the car, it looks like the other boy has recovered. He's sitting against the car trying his best not to nod off. Yamato glances at his phone as Cerberus returns, it's almost 2 am. This took far longer than he'd planned. Yamato nudges the boy aside with his knee and nods at the driver to start the car.
"You were just going to leave me out there?" He complains, buckling in next to him.
"I knew you wouldn't sleep through the sound of a door shutting. You were dizzy, not deaf." The other boy huffs and it's silent for a while until he rifles around in his bag and pulls out a container.
"Hibiki." He states, holding the container out to Yamato.
Yamato glances down to see it's filled with apple slices, "What?"
"That's my name." He shakes the container, "Want one? Sometimes the battle might take a while, so I like to be prepared with a snack." Yamato hesitates, he might not have much experience interacting with people his own age, but he's perceptive enough to know he's accepting something more than apple slices. "They're fresh."
He glances between the boy, Hibiki, and the proffered container, he supposes it wouldn't be too bad to see where this leads. After all, if they can build some form of bond, Hibiki may eventually come to see things his way. He accepts a single apple slice, "Yamato."
"Nice to meet you," Hibiki smiles, "Even if your values are terrible."
Yamato bristles, "Next time, I will leave you to fall into a pile of skeletons, Hibiki."
"Oooo, first name basis already, how forward," he teases.
"I recall that you only gave me your first name."
"Of course, it's safer this way. Can't have you trying to track me down," Hibiki responds, sliding another apple slice into his mouth.
"As if I would expend the effort."
"You say that, yet here you are every other night handing me assignments. If I didn't know better, I'd think you just wanted to see my face."
"Well, thank goodness for both of us that you do know better."
"Whatever you say, Ya-ma-to. Wake me up when we get back to the city."
He makes a noncommittal noise and watches as the other boy curls up against the door and sleeps. Rarely anyone calls him by his first name, but if it's anyone, it's fitting it should be someone who's near his own level in strength.
Yamato sits back against the seat with a slight smirk. Hibiki. Interesting, a bit of a handful, but definitely interesting.