So…I live in another country now.
The stress of moving completely stagnated any and every creative faucet I have, but now that we're settling down I finally have enough time to relax and write/draw.l :D I decided to start with my one-shot collection to get the juices flowing.
Also apparently Natsume is Izuho's first name, not Izuho like I originally thought…though for continuity's sake I'll keep referring to her by her last name (also I'll get confused as hell trying to proofread, so…)
Rating: T for "Traffic" (And also a bit of swearing at the end)
Summary: Poor Kitora has a rough day babysitting one of the most (surprisingly) accident prone agents in all of Border.
"So…" Izuho said, "…noodles."
"No," Akane replied sternly, "don't say it."
Chika cocked her head to the side, not following. "Huh?"
"But if noodles—"
"Stop," Akane pleaded.
"…but then what are girls?" Izuho finished, "We need to make this analogy work!"
Oh. "Um…" Chika murmured, thinking for a moment. "…wouldn't we be the bowl?"
Akane and Izuho stared at her, making her feel self conscious. "You know…since you put the noodles in the bowl…?"
"I'm just going to stop this conversation right here," a third voice declared, promptly sitting down beside Chika. "I thought we were over that—besides, I don't want to feel weird eating again."
"…Kitora-san?"
"Don't give me that look," Kitora mumbled, flipping through the menu. "I swear you're going to ruin noodle dishes for all eternity with these conversations you have."
"So this is going to be a thing, huh?" Akane asked, desperate to change the subject. "I mean, at this point we're going to end up as regulars!"
"Their food is good," Chika agreed, "and it's fun hanging out with you guys."
"So Kitora-san," Izuho said, finally dropping the subject of noodles, "anything interesting happen today? The rest of us had a boringly normal day..."
"Today was pretty standard…" Akane mumbled, "nothing out of the ordinary here…"
"Well…" Kitora crossed her arms with a sigh. "I've had to basically babysit Arashiyama-san all day, which was stressful."
"What do you mean by 'babysit'?" Izuho asked, "Isn't he like, twenty or something?"
"Nineteen," Kitora corrected, "and it's more or less Jin-san's fault-he told me to 'keep an eye' on him for the day since he was about to have a bout of 'bad luck'."
"That sounds...ominous…" Chika said, now worried. "What happened?"
The way Kitora sighed in exasperation was answer enough.
"He tripped down a flight of stairs, got a door slammed on him three times-it would've been seven if I wasn't there-almost got hit by a car twice, and got shot with a trion bullet in his normal body!" the ace ranted, putting her face in her hands. "I swear if I hadn't followed him around literally everywhere but the bathroom I'm pretty sure he could've died today! And I'm not even done yet!"
"Wait there's more?" Akane asked with a wince, "That must really suck for Arashiyama-san…"
"Oh he keeps smiling and laughing everything off," Kitora mumbled, "even when he got shot he managed to stay conscious enough to laugh it off and forgive that stupid B-Rank before passing out…"
"How'd that even happen?" Chika asked, shuddering at the thought of being in the captain's shoes. "Why wasn't Arashiyama-san in his trion body?"
"We had just finished a team exercise," Kitora replied, "we were all still recovering Trion when this idiot that got promoted yesterday tried to look cool with his new gunner trigger-it hit Arashiyama-san right in the chest."
The other three girls winced in sympathy.
"Don't worry, that kid got demoted instantly when Shinoda-san came after hearing Arashiyama-san's initial screams," Kitora added, though her face looked just as pained as Chika felt. "It was hard to watch…"
There was a somber silence between the four of them, before Chika decided to break it. "Where is he now?"
"Oh he should actually be walking in here any second now," the ace answered, checking her phone. "I wanted a break from babysitting him and came in beforehand. Jin-san said that here would be the most important place to watch out for-he mentioned that Arashiyama-san's life depended on it."
"Yikes," Akane grimaced, "that must be rough…"
"Well you have us to help if something goes wrong!" Izuho exclaimed, "right guys?"
Chika stopped listening as she watched a familiar, blue-clad agent with rice crackers in his hand walk into the restaurant. "Jin-san! Hi!"
The other three girls looked up just in time for Jin to smile and wave as he made his way over to them. "Hey Amatori-kun and company," he greeted, stopping in front of their table. "Kitora already told you about Arashiyama-san?"
"Yeah…" Akane said, "'Bad Luck Jun' is what I'd call him if I was older… 'Arashiyama' doesn't really have a ring to it."
Kitora snorted. "He probably wouldn't even care at this point," she muttered, "Fangirls call him by his first name all the time, so I'm sure he's used to it-besides, he'll just laugh it off as usual."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Jin commented, quieting the table instantly.
"...w-what do you mean by that?" Chika stammered, eyes wide with worry.
"This isn't gonna be like the 'bitch' incident with Mikumo-kun, is it?" Kitora asked, putting her face in her hands. "I cannot handle that right now…"
"Well you probably should've walked him here, to be honest," Jin said, which elicited a gasp from the girls. "Oh, don't worry, he's going to be fine, if not a bit disgruntled."
The girls let out a sigh of relief. "Good," Kitora stated, "There's only so much more of this I can take…Jin-san?"
Chika looked back to the power elite, who looked to be deep in thought. "...yeah, he'll be fine," he said, "just be ready to call an ambulance…"
That previous sigh of relief was immediately sucked back into a gasp of fear.
"What?!" Kitora demanded, "What's going to happen?! Jin-san-!"
"Oh!" he exclaimed, cutting off the ace "Waitress-san?"
A waitress appeared out of nowhere, holding a tray of drinks. "What?" she asked, most likely annoyed at Jin's nickname.
"A cup of water over here please?" He asked politely with his usual easygoing grin.
Whatever irritation the waitress had must have melted away at his smile. "Here," she said, giggling as she put one of the glasses on the table. "Enjoy~!"
"Thank you very much!" he thanked, bowing his head as she practically floated away.
"Witchcraft," Akane murmured, eyes trained on her phone.
"Jin, what the hell-?" Kitora tried again.
"Here he comes!" Jin said cheerfully, and with another smile briskly walked away. "Bye~!"
The four girls stared with dropped jaws at the power elite practically fled the restaurant.
"...I do not want to deal with this," Kitora whined again, "Ugh…"
"I'm wondering why Jin brought food into a restaurant," Izuho muttered, "isn't that rude?"
"I think there's more pressing matters," Chika pointed out, "like how Arashiyama-san is walking over here right now."
Kitora cursed under her breath. "Act natural," she commanded as he strode over, classic smile still in place.
"Oh, Kitora-kun," Arashiyama greeted as he approached their table, "you had the same idea, huh?"
"I told you I come here often," Kitora muttered, "don't act so surprised."
"Hi Arashiyama-san," Chika greeted, "Kitora-san told us about what happened-are you feeling better?"
"Oh I'm doing fine," he replied, waving a dismissive hand. "A little thing like being shot won't stop me!"
"How did that feel, anyway?" Izuho asked, cocking her head to the side. "Other than it hurting like heck?"
"It was pretty similar to a normal bullet," Arashiyama answered, "blinding pain, and then you slowly start to go numb until you pass out."
"Wait a second," Kitora interrupted, eyes narrowed. "How do you know how a real bullet feels like?"
The captain laughed good naturedly. "Don't worry about it," he replied vaguely, making Chika more than a little worried.
"You must've had quite the day," Akane commented to change the subject, "I would've given up and gone home by now!"
"As great as that sounds, I have paperwork to do," he replied with a nod to the messenger bag Chika belatedly noticed he was carrying, "but I'm sure I'll-"-he was cut off by a yawn, which made Chika notice something odd.
"Why are you still in your trion body?" she asked, "I mean, you're done for the day, right?"
Arashiyama blinked, glancing down at himself as if just noticing his uniform for the first time. "Oh, I guess I was so distracted that I didn't notice…" he answered sheepishly, pulling out the trigger from his pocket. "Trigger, off."
He let out a sigh of relief when his trion avatar vanished...
…only to double over and slam his face onto the table, his entire body limp as it slid and fell to the ground with a thump.
The entire restaurant gasped in shock as Kitora scrambled out of her seat to her captain's side. "A-Arashiyama-san!?" she asked worriedly, eyes wide with terror. "What just happened!?"
At first Chika assumed he was out cold, but luckily she was proven wrong when he shifted with a groan. "S...sorry…" he murmured, turning his head away and coughing. "...oops…"
"I-is that blood!?" the ace nearly screamed, "H-how-!?"
Just...be ready to call an ambulance…
Apparently Akane had taken that warning to heart because she already had her phone in her hand. "Yes, h-he's still conscious-please hurry!"
"I...forgot…" Arashiyama murmured with a painful smile, "After lunch...got hit...by...car…"
Kitora let out an exasperated sigh. "Arashiyama-san, we've talked about this!" she scolded, "You can't just hide your injuries in your Trion body to procrastinate on getting medical attention!"
"Wait, has this happened before?" Izuho asked, laughing nervously. "Is he going to be okay?"
"I'll...be faaah…." the captain's eyes suddenly unfocused as his head lolled to the side, which resulted in Kitora taking the cup of water on the table and splashing it in his face.
"Don't you dare pass out on me!" Kitora hissed, "The last thing you need is to fall into a coma!"
Arashiyama in response, gasping for air. "S...sorry…" he murmured, groaning when he attempted to shift.
"Oh no you don't," Kitora said as she cradled the concussed captain's upper body in her arms, "One of you give me your jacket or something."
Chika compiled the fastest, taking off her uniform jacket and handing it to the ace, who gently dried Arashiyama's face. "Stay with me now," she murmured, voice surprisingly tender. "You'll be just fine…"
"Is this...why you...followed me...around…?" Arashiyama chuckled weakly, "Jin...probably…"
"Don't talk too much," Kitora ordered, "and yes, Jin-san vaguely warned me about today beforehand...apparently I should've walked you here too."
"Eh…" her captain huffed, "It's not…your..."
"Shh," Kitora hushed, "Look, the ambulance is here now, so you'll be fine."
Indeed the ambulance just pulled into the restaurant parking lot, sirens blaring as paramedics rushed in. When they did, Kitora gently handed him off to the paramedics. "I'm going with him," she stated immediately when one of them turned to speak to her.
"T-that's fine," he replied, "He seems to be in rough shape, but he should make it-several broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder, but nothing's poking anything important and that's what matters. Do you know how this happened as well as any family members that must be notified?"
"Good hell…" Kitora muttered, "He said he got his by a car, and I guess I'd call his parents…"
The paramedic nodded and went back to assisting the others, while Kitora turned to Chika. "Here's your jacket back," she said, "I'm gonna go...I can't wait for this damn day to end…"
"Thanks," Chika replied, taking the jacket. "And good luck-I hope Arashiyama-san gets better soon…."
"Tell him that we wish him well," Akane agreed, "and to take care of himself!"
"Yeah," Izuho echoed, "hopefully his luck won't be so bad in the future!"
Kitora smiled ever so slightly. "Fine," she conceded, "It looks like they just finished loading him onto the ambulance, so I should get going."
The three girls waved as the ace left, relief washing over them as the ambulance drove off.
"And we were complaining about having a 'standard' day…" Izuho sighed, "That was so nerve wracking…"
"Good thing Akane-san called the ambulance though," Chika pointed out, "it could've ended badly if not for you."
"W-well Jin-san warned us beforehand," Akane replied, face tinged pink. "I don't think I would've been able to act so fast otherwise…"
"Either way it must've really helped," Izuho insisted, "like Chikako said, things could've been so much worse…"
Suddenly there was a low rumbling sound, causing the table to quiet.
"Eh...we still haven't eaten yet, have we?" Chika murmured meekly, "We should order."
"Let's get some for Kitora-san too!" Akane exclaimed, "'Cause she left before eating and might be hungry!"
"Good idea," Izuho agreed, picking up the menu and flipping through it. "What does she normally get?"
"She usually gets the spicy noodles, right?" Chika asked, chin in her hand as she pondered the ace's taste in food. "I think Osamu-kun mentioned something about her really liking anything spicy."
"She's gotten them every time we've been here," Akane pointed out, "So I'm not surprised."
"But guys," Izuho whined, "There's like, seven different spicy noodle dishes..."
O-M-A-K-E
"Hi Osamu-kun!" Chika called out, catching the Megane walking towards the restaurant as the three girls were leaving.
"Oh, you're leaving already?" he asked, then noticing the bag in her hands. "What's that for?"
"That's for Kitora-san," Akane answered for her, "She had to go to the hospital before we ordered, so we're bringing her some."
Osamu's eyes widened in shock. "W-what!? Is she okay?"
"Oh she's fine," Izuho answered, "But Arashiyama has a concussion, some broken ribs and a dislocated something-or-other."
"Shoulder," Chika corrected, "He dislocated his-"
"How!?" Osamu demanded, "When did-!?"
"He said he got his by a car," Akane replied, "sometime around lunch I think-but he just kept in his trion body and didn't get medical help until just a little while ago."
The bespectacled brunette grimaced. "Mind if I come with you to visit?"
"Of course not," Chika answered with a smile, "I'm sure Kitora and Arashiyama-san would be thrilled to see you!"
O-M-A-K-E-II
"Ugh," Kitora sneered, "It's you."
"Hi Kitora-san…" Osamu replied uneasily, the other three girls waving in greeting.
The A-rank captain seemed better compared to when he was concussed in the restaurant, but he still looked worn out-his skin was a pallid color, a white bandage wrapped around his nose and an obvious bruise on his forehead partially covered by another bandage wrapped around his head.
However even with his injuries, he seemed as cheery as ever.
"Aw, don't be like that!" Arashiyama laughed, "I assume Chika told you about what happened?"
"For the most part," Osamu answered, "I also wanted to see if you were okay."
"Also we come bearing gifts!" Izuho declared,a grin on her face as she held up the plastic bag from the restaurant. "Shrimp dumplings for Arashiyama-san and some spicy beef udon for Kitora-san!"
"We noticed you never got to eat before you left," Akane added, "so we decided to order some food to go!"
Kitora looked shocked, eyes wide as she took the bag from the blonde. "...wow…" she murmured, "...thank you."
"Ooh, I can smell that shrimp…" Arashiyama said with a grin, "a welcome reprieve from that gross hospital smell…"
The ace rolled her eyes as she handed him the box of dumplings. "You wouldn't be subjected to it if you had gotten checked out earlier," she scolded, "so you shouldn't complain."
"True," the captain laughed, "but I wouldn't have gotten shrimp dumplings either, so it's a win win!"
"You literally had to get hit by a car to be in this situation," Kitora deadpanned, "That's not a win no matter how you look at it."
"Silver linings, Kitora-kun," he replied sagely, "always look for silver linings."
"Well you need look both ways before crossing the street," she snapped back, earning her a chuckle from everyone else.
O-M-A-K-E-III
After a while the four left, leaving Kitora and Arashiyama alone once again.
"He, Arashiyama-san," she said, "can I ask you a question?"
"You just did," her captain smirked, "oh don't give me that look, I was joking!"
Kitora rolled her eyes as she leaned back in her chair, searching for the right words to say. "You said you got hit around lunch, right?"
"Yeah," he affirmed, "well, technically right after-I was on my way back to HQ when it happened."
"But...you still came to defense duty after lunch," Kitora stated, "While you may have forgotten hours later, it was right after lunch."
"Yep," Arashiyama agreed, "In hindsight it probably wasn't a good idea, but I wasn't going to skip out because some jackass ran me over."
Kitora's eyes widened at the coarse language. Being the eldest of three as well as a celebrity had made her captain extremely mindful of what he says-the ace was pretty sure that was the first time she heard him curse.
"He even had the nerve to ask for an autograph while I was bleeding out," he continued with a snort, "If I hadn't had my trigger I could've died-hell, you saw me!"
"...Arashi-" she started, but he wasn't even finished.
"Still, being shot was probably the worst," he pointed out with a bitter laugh, "I really thought I had died then. As mean as it sounds, I'm glad that B-Rank got demoted-he clearly needed more training if he's treating a weapon like a damn toy."
This time the ace didn't even bother trying to interject as Arashiyama leaned back onto the bed with a pained sigh. "I promised to help Saho with math tonight too..." he murmured, "and it was my turn to cook...dammit..."
"Jun," Kitora stated informally, catching her captain's attention. "All you have to worry about right now is getting better. The world still turns without you, you know."
Arashiyama was quiet for a moment, then let out a chuckle. "You're right," he replied as his eyelids slowly closed, "Just...force of habit I guess."
His breath seemed to deepen, and Kitora figured he fell asleep.
So many O-M-A-K-E-S
