This is a fanfic. BUY THE FUCKING MERCHANDISE!
Ryobi folded her arms, cupping her chin in one of her hands as she contemplated the situation in front of her.
The sun was beginning to rise up, that fact was evident due to the bits of light slipping through the cracks of the blinds on the window. She had to admit, with these small lines of light creeping into the library portion of the building, it brought a slightly warm feel due to the wooden interior. Though as her head scanned the area, the brunette's gaze fell upon one single person and it brought her back to reality.
On the red couch that sat in a corner of the room closest to the entry door laid a single male. Akira Kurusu… a figure that apparently was close to Miyabi's family. One could easily mistake that as false information though judging by how terse he would act around the white-haired female. A teenager with quite the impressive firearm collection, even if they were all airsoft, she had to admit.
A boy who she was apparently in charge of protecting for the day with another one of the renegade shinobi.
It had not even been a single day since their arrival and yet the decision was made, by Miyabi no less. Ryobi's eye twitched at the memory of the order. But still, she had to do what she had to do… Even if it would end up being boring. Just having to go around, keeping an eye on a civilian. Well, VIP would probably be more of an important title in this situation, not that she cared or that it made a difference. But it was unfortunately an order by her supposed leader.
Reaching into her pocket when her mind breezed past the one who she was currently under, Ryobi pulled out a small, circular object. Pressing the top of it, it opened up. Tracing her thumb around the interior and pausing when it reached a certain spot, she sighed and stared. Her other hand came up, cupping the trinket she was holding as she held on tightly, not wanting to let go. Not wanting to let go of her family.
"Ryobi-chan! Have you woken Kurusu-san up?"
Ah, speaking of family…
Turning around while closing and pocketing the item, the brunette looked at her blonde sibling, Ryona, who jogged towards her from the end of the corridor. As the latter approached, Ryobi's eyes couldn't help but drift the slightest bit down due to seeing movement where her sibling's chest was. Her eye twitched again at the sight of the bouncing.
"Does that look to be the case?" Ryobi would ask in irritation, gesturing to the unconscious form that still laid asleep on the couch without even looking. "Use your eyeballs, idiot." She would snap her hand upwards, smacking the side of Ryona's head.
As expected to the brunette, there was pleasure instead of pain. "I'm sorry!" Ryona would exclaim, but her tone of excitement betrayed the words of regret. Rubbing the spot with playful sheepishness, she looked towards Akira. "But why haven't you though? Miyabi-san told you to do so."
"I've been thinking. Something you clearly are not doing." Ryobi snapped.
"What is there to think about?" Ryona inquired.
"How to wake him up." The brunette stated, turning back to the sleeping male. "I want to give a good, first impression. But I'm just struggling to think of a way to do… so…"
The trailed off, slowly speaking as an idea came to mind. Looking towards Ryona, the blonde shinobi tilted her head while having a confused, innocent look. "Hm?" The larger chested twin hummed. "Do you need something, Ryobi-chan?"
Reaching a hand up, Ryobi placed it against the back of her sibling's back softly…
Snapping her other hand up, the brunette grabbed the blonde's hair and pulled them down so that she would be shoving Ryona's chest right into Akira's face.
"..."
It only took a couple of seconds for the prone body to start thrashing around. Ryobi grinned at the sight of not only one body struggling to breathe, but two actually as Ryona's face was planted right into Akira's stomach. While Ryona squirmed instead of struggling, Akira's arms on the other hand were furiously patting around him, clearly trying to find the source of his suffocation.
As Ryobi felt Akira's hands manage to locate her arms, furious tapping followed soon after as if this were a wrestling match and he was signaling his surrender. After a few seconds of contemplation, she eventually relented and pulled Ryona back up.
It was music to Ryobi's ears seeing the black-haired boy shoot up, his hair even messier as he gasped for air. Hearing him pant, a slight grin appeared on her face. That look only grew as Akira slowly turned around to see her and she drank in the sight of the look of panic he wore.
Watching him look up and down to gauge what had happened, she waited for his reaction. The boy swallowed, still trying to fill his lungs with air. "As much as I wouldn't mind being put down like that, Ryobi-san, I'm a bit too young to die right now." He remarked while scratching his cheek and chuckle, causing Ryobi to raise an eyebrow.
Okay… weird response. A bit too patient for her liking.
"You're finally awake, good." The brunette would simply reply back, earning a bit of an exasperated look from Akira. "I will be following you for the day along with the black-haired renegade with the eyepatch." She made her explanation brief.
Akira blinked a few times, probably trying to process what she had just said. Ryobi assumed that she had deprived his brain of so much oxygen thanks to her prank and now he was rather slow at the moment. "Ahh, you mean Mirai-san." He idly said in realization. "Perfect actually." The boy swung his feet off of the couch and looked around. A second later, he reached down to grab his pair of glasses that had fallen in the middle of the struggle.
Now that caused Ryobi to blink. "And why the hell would that be the case?" She inquired.
"Were you the one to take a look at the model gun that was stolen and figure out that it was fake?" Akira asked back to answer her question. "I'm guessing since you were the one to bring up the topic as well as the one who was holding onto it. To the point that I'm willing to stretch that you at least have an interest in firearms."
Ryobi tried not to show it, but she was caught off guard by Akira's observation and thought process. "I at least know how to operate a gun." She stated, not wanting to delve deeper into the topic. She was here to complete her goal, not get all chummy with her charge.
"So I'm correct." The brunette felt a bit annoyed that Akira came to such an assumption and that he wasn't entirely wrong. "Mirai-san's quite the firearm enthusiast as well, so I thought it would be a good idea for you both to interact and bond over such a topic."
Ryonbi's gaze went flat during Akira's explanation. "We came here to keep an eye on you, not make friends."
"True. True. That is true." Akira nodded in agreement, making the brunette roll her eyes. "But if you make a bond with someone, your performance can possibly improve as you grow closer with them."
"..." She stared, processing Akira's words that he had come up with rather quickly for a high-school civilian. "How the hell does that even work?" Ryobi questioned, giving him a weird look. "On second thought, don't answer that." She cut him off upon seeing Akira open his mouth. "Just shut up and come down for breakfast already."
"Will do. Just give me a quick moment to clean myself up." He nodded as he turned his head slightly. "Though I need to ask, is she going to be okay?"
Turning her head to see where Akira was looking, Ryobi saw that Ryona's eyes were slightly rolled back with her mouth agape, drooling in bliss.
"She'll be fine." Ryobi waved off his concern, getting Akira to blankly stare back at her. "Just go clean up and go down. Miyabi-san's probably already got breakfast ready for everyone." As Akira nodded his head and started to walk off, the brunette sighed and shook her head.
This was going to be a long day, wasn't it?
SmokeBombBreak
Sometimes, she hated being right.
The boy was in the middle of school. Freaking school. It had completely slipped Ryobi's mind that Akira still had to attend because he was still considered a civilian at the end of the day. With how important he was held, she expected some kind of home tutoring.
The hours of just staying perched on the roof of a building next to the educational complex was such a waste in the sniper-shinobi's opinion. All she and Mirai had to do was just watch the boy scribble away in a notebook during lectures. One shinobi was more than enough to keep watch in a situation like this. Besides, Yoma weren't just going to attack a random school in a random town.
"...So are we going to keep silent or should we at least try talking about something?"
Ryobi's head hung down as she bit down the urge to groan. Turning her head, she saw Mirai with her head tilted and leaning against the edge of the building. The brunette could tell that the renegade had reached and probably passed the line of boredom long ago and was finally wanting to try to find a way to pass the time now.
Though Ryobi had to admit, with how she's been looking grumpy for most of the day, she may have been hard to approach. Maybe she should have at least lightened up so they could strike up a talk and pass the time… Though that would play right into Akira's hopes of bonding.
…Why did it feel like Akira knew this was going to eventually happen to her and Mirai?
"If you can think of anything to talk about, be my guest." Ryobi sighed, rolling onto her back and not bothering to watch any longer.
"What the hell does your sister eat and drink that you don't for her to grow a chest that big?"
Ryobi immediately snapped her head over with a glare upon hearing the topic of having her chest compared to Ryona's. Though her exasperated expression dropped slightly when Mirai sported her own annoyed look. "Why do you care?" She scoffed.
"Because you have a flat chest as well despite your genetics." Mirari shot back. "Why is your sister so lucky?"
Ryobi was about to strangle Mirai for that first sentence. In fact, she had already shot straight up and was about to do so. But then she paused when the renegade had grumbled out her question. "What, you jealous?"
"Uh, yeah." Mirari stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
She stared, processing Mirai's response. "..." Ryobi slapped a hand over her own face and dragged it down. "I hate how he was right and yet I can rub it in that he was wrong…" She sighed, sitting back down, causing Mirari's hostile look to change into confusion.
SmokeBombBreak
"...You've been wearing that grin ever since we left your school. Wipe it off your face, it's absolutely creepy and disgusting."
Ryobi snapped at Akira who was wearing such an expression while still talking to Mirai. As they walked down the sidewalk, she fully turned around to point at the boy's face to help emphasize her point.
Still, it didn't deter the boy as he simply raised his hand to hide his mouth. Such movement only helped emphasize the amusement sparkling in his eyes. It only annoyed Ryobi even more that it was evident that despite no words being spoken, the message he was sending was extremely clear.
Told you so.
So what if she and Mirai shared a common interest in hating large chests… and firearms… Small, cute things too like animals (cats or dogs, it didn't matter)... Ryobi started absolutely fuming at how she realized that the list could actually go on.
"Hey, Kurusu-san, where exactly are we going?" Mirai's voice broke Ryobi out of her thoughts, causing her to look at the renegade. "Do you have another place to be besides… home?" The black-haired girl seemed to struggle coming up with the word for some reason. "We've been taking a different route for the past few minutes."
Watching Akira lower his hand, Ryobi at least appreciated that the grin was now gone… Unfortunately for her, it was replaced with a small smile. "Simple. Since I saw that this is the start of a great friendship between you two, I thought we should go to a place and celebrate!"
"...You're kidding." Ryobi deadpanned.
"Nope… Why? Does it look like I'm joking?"
Ryobi's eyes twitched at Akira's joke. Taking a deep breath, she put her hands in her pockets and gripped the insides. "...Fine, whatever." She looked down and sighed, knowing that she was technically powerless to do anything at the moment. "We can go to… wherever place and do whatever you have in mind."
Due to facing the sidewalk, she bumped into something. It was kind of a solid surface, taller than her and decently sturdy. Stepping back, her head snapped upwards in order to identify what said object or wall was. But her eyes would see both Akira and Mirai having turned around and stared at Ryobi.
Their expressions were something she immediately identified and did not like. Too many times she had been on the receiving end of such looks. Not that she was undeserving of those kinds of eyes during those times. But right now was not one of those moments.
"...If you really don't want to do anything, all you have to do is say so." Akira suddenly spoke, simply bringing Ryobi back to the moments she was reminded of. "It's just an idea of mine, not some kind of activity I'm forcing onto you guys." He then turned his head over to Mirai. "This extends to you as well, Mirai-san. Is this something you want to do?"
"...Uuuhhh…" Mirai dumbly got out, slightly hesitating as she was suddenly put on the spot. Her head swiveled back and forth between the male and her new associate. "While I think the gesture is appreciated, Kurusu-san, I think it would have at least been a good idea to ask both Ryobi-san and I first. I probably would have been fine since - well - this is you we're talking about. But if she says no, then we probably shouldn't."
"..." Ryobi sighed, shaking her head and folding her arms. Great, now she was seeming like the bad guy in this situation. Well, she was an evil shinobi now so it was hardly a stain on her reputation. "What exactly did you have in mind as an idea?"
"A shooting bar slash cafe." Without missing a beat, Akira responded.
Both girls immediately wore looks of disbelief.
"..." Mirai and Ryobi looked at each other. "No?" Mirai asked, shaking her head.
"No." Ryobi confirmed, mimicking the renegade's actions.
"No." Both shinobi then said at the same time.
"Don't get me wrong, the place sounds pretty fun and I would like to check it out. But perhaps another time would be better." Mirai then clarified with Akira, nodding towards Ryobi, who nodded back as well.
"...Very well." Akira shrugged his shoulders. "Let's start heading back home then, shall we?" With a disarming smile, he stepped forward. "Excuse me." The boy slipped right between Mirai and Ryobi and started to lead the way again.
Both shinobi looked at each other. But soon started to follow the boy. Though they made sure their pace was slightly slower. They still wanted (had) to keep him in sight but they wanted to be able to hold a private conversation… At least Mirai did. Ryobi would have been fine with silence, but the renegade seemed to wordlessly insist on the opposite.
"Right… So…" Mirai lowered her voice so that the boy wouldn't be able to listen in. "I get that Kurusu-san can be… extremely weird as a first impression. Don't get me wrong, he really is strange - oi, let me finish." She snapped as Ryobi started to give her a flat expression. "But he really is a good guy."
"A good guy? Really?" Ryobi raised an eyebrow while deadpanning. "Pretty sure that kind of description has been used in our line of business for a very long time. People described as such turn out to be the complete opposite."
Well, with the exception of a handful.
"All I'm saying is… just give him a chance. He's managed to get along with all of the Crimson Squad." Mirai attempted to reason. "You've already seen what kind of characters we are. I'm sure you guys can find common ground after some time. It's hard at first, but if you open up to him…"
"..." Ryobi blinked, giving Mirai a blank look. Hands still in pocket, she traced her thumb around the circle that sat inside the storage while keeping her grip on it. Slowly, she looked towards the back of Akira's head, who showed no sign that he was hearing what they were saying as he seemed focused on walking. "...He's a civilian. Someone who I was assigned to guard." She eventually responded, turning back to Mirai but slightly averting her gaze down. "We're shinobi. What does it matter that I try to be friends with him? After this entire ordeal is over, there's a chance I'll have nothing to do with him. Hell, sooner or later we're going to kick the bucket. Wouldn't it make him sad if I did get so close to him?"
"...Ryobi-san-"
Before Mirai could say anything, a chill went down both of the shinobi's spines. Quickly whipping her hands out with blinding speed, Ryobi grabbed the back of Akira's collar and yanked the boy back. Not caring about the choked sound he made, the brunette pulled him behind her and Mirai. With the civilian at their backs, both girls looked around to try and find the cause behind their sudden alertness.
"Whoa! Akira coughed out. "What's going on?"
"Shush!" Ryobi hissed, eyes narrowing and darting around.
"There!" Mirai pointed.
Snapping her head back and forth to glimpse at Mirai's hand, she read where the finger was pointed and looked. In what looked to be an abandoned parking lot, grotesque creatures were creeping and crawling out of reality itself. Thankfully (by some miracle), there seemed to be no one around.
"Kurusu-san, go in the opposite direction, away from here. The farther the better." Ryobi commanded. Reaching both hands underneath the back of her shirt, she pulled out two weapon pieces; the stock of a sawn off sniper rifle and some kind of long rod. Twirling both items in her grip, she slammed them together with accurate precision, the rod actually being the barrel of the weapon.
"...How far-"
"Far enough!" Ryobi snapped, not having time for Akira's joke. Bringing the sights of the gun up to her eye, she didn't even aim for a split-second before pulling the trigger. The bullet flew and Ryobi knew she had hit her target judging by how one of the monsters staggered. It made her mad though that it was still alive and kicking. Wanting to keep them in the small parking area rather than letting them have more of an area to maneuver in the streets, she charged right towards them.
"Stay safe, Kurusu-san!"
Hearing this while Mirai caught up and was unleashing a bullet storm, the brunette assumed that the black-haired boy had at least heeded her advice.
Either way, this was the perfect opportunity to blow off plenty of steam that had been building up.
SmokeBombBreak
Ryobi slammed the butt of her gun and panted as the fight was over.
Well almost over. The squirming Yoma underneath her weapon finally died when Mirai put the monster out of its misery with a pull of the trigger.
Watching it disintegrate into ash, the two shinobi refused to collapse despite their legs screaming out to do so. Ryobi may be considered an elite to Hebijo, but she preferred to be a sniper first and a close combatant second, no matter what her ninja arts would present. Stamina was not her strong point. Judging by how Mirai was panting just as heavily, the renegade was in th4e same boat as her.
"I…" Ryobi gulped. "I can't believe we actually managed to do it… We actually took down a couple of Yoma on our own…"
"Yay us…" Mirai wheezed. "I'm… I'm just going to stand here for a small bit… Maybe even just lay down… Could you… could you please check on Kurusu-san… Reassure that we're okay?"
"He's a civilian that we're protecting." Ryobi sighed, slowly hiding her weapon back on her person. "We should be concerned about him, not the other way around. Besides, if you're so concerned, why don't you do it?"
"Aw, come on… It's like I said earlier… Just… open… up… Hoo, don't tell Homura about this…"
With her final words, Mirai dropped onto the ground, exhausted.
"...For the record, I hate you right now." Ryobi deadpanned, looking away with a smirk when Mirai flipped her the bird from the ground, face first. "Alright, I'm going. I'm going…" She rolled her eyes and waved, slowly regaining her breath and slowly walking back towards Akira.
Walking, she took in deep breaths to regain some energy, straightening her posture to hide her exhaustion. Meanwhile, while walking in the general direction she expected Akira to be, she mentally scoffed at Mirai's words.
Open up? If only it were that simple, especially to a complete stranger. What the hell was so special about this Akira Kurusu anyways? He was just a normal guy. No wait, scratch that, he was weird. Still, that didn't answer her question. If you were to open up to someone, they would have to be people that you have been friends with for a while or… family…
Putting a hand to her head, she began to feel mentally exhausted as well as physically. Shaking her head in exasperation, she kept on walking. Her own steps clicking against the sidewalk instead of silently, another sign that the fight had tired her out. It helped show how empty the streets were and how alone she was in her surroudings.
Looking up from the sidewalk and her thoughts, she wondered how much further she had to go until she had reached Akira. To her relief, he was within sight. To her shock, there was something else about the scene…
Ryobi say the boy leaning forward against the railing of an overpass, looking forward towards the grand view of a sunset slowly sinking down. With his back turned to her, Ryobi rubbed her eyes to make sure that she wasn't seeing things.
Next to Akira, slightly embracing the boy, was a familiar, tall figure. A bit… brighter than they usually were, but Ryobi could recognize those features anywhere. Beautiful, black hair, almost like a princess from a fairy tale. A lovely blue dress. The clothing was trimmed with black and gold. On top of her head though it was different from what Ryobi remembered… a halo…
When the figure turned their head, Ryobi couldn't really see well due to the sun glaring in her eyes. But the brunette could manage to make out that she had been spotted by this apparition of sorts. Raising her hand to try and block out the sunlight, she gasped when she saw the figure smile at her.
Breaking into a sprint, Ryobi ran as fast as she could despite her fatigue towards the figure and Akira. But in the middle of her running, the sunlight got in her eyes once again. Within that blinding moment, by the time she had got close enough, they had disappeared. But now that she was close enough, her footsteps must have alerted Akira as he turned around.
Ryobi's eyes widened when she saw what was in his hand. Reaching into her pocket, she felt around and realized that the item that she had been holding onto was missing. It must have fallen out of her pocket when she went to grab Akira!
"Sorry, Ryobi-san," Akira's voice caused her head to snap back up as he handed her back the item. "It was already open when I saw it on the ground." He seemed a bit sheepish about the situation.
Her hands lunged forward like a cobra. But instead of snatching it, her fingers stopped for a quick second. Gently, she took the locket from him. As he claimed, it was already open so there was no point in trying to hide it.
Looking down, she traced her thumb gently over the picture inside the locket. Her and Ryona, embraced by the figure she had seen next to Akira earlier. No halo in the picture though. This was a memory from the past, when…
"...You have something to say, don't you?" Ryobi closed the locket, speaking in a monotone voice to mask how she was feeling. Pocketing the accessory, she eventually looked up towards the boy. "Just say it already…"
"..." Akira stared. To be honest, it unnerved her slightly. It was as if he was analyzing her. "I don't really have anything to say."
"...Hah?" Ryobi blinked in surprise to Akira's response.
"Judging by dear you're treating the locket and how you've been acting, I can only assume. But your reaction may be proving my theory correct." Akira explained. "Hence why… I can't really say anything. It's something that I don't think anyone can really have the right words for. At the end of the day… It's all up to you."
Ryobi silently just kept her gaze locked onto Akira. "..."
"Finally… made it!"
Before she could speak, the brunette looked over to see that Mirai had finally managed to catch up to her, looking half dead. "Congratulations, you managed to walk after being so tired." Ryobi deadpanned.
Mirai slightly glared at Ryobi as she shuffled over to Akira. "Kurusu-san…" She let out a whine, tugging on the bottom of his uniform. "Piggy-back…"
"Alright, alright, you do seem like you earned it." Akira chuckled, squatting down so the renegade could wrap her arms and legs around his body from his back. "Hup! Right, shall we start heading back home again? I think you girls deserve some rest!"
Blinking, Ryobi wordlessly nodded her head.
SmokeBombBreak
Walking up the stairs, Ryobi took a look back to see if she was being followed. Seeing no signs of anyone tailing her, she opened the door to see the night sky. Stepping along the concrete roof, she glanced up towards the stars.
It was a halo that she had seen before, right? Did that mean that her Ryoki was in heaven? Should be a good chance that was the case. Her older sister was a very sweet soul and did plenty of good stuff… Was she perhaps really watching from Heaven right now? Or was what Ryobi had seen really just a hallucination from being so tired earlier?
Looking down, she saw that Akira was sitting on the edge of the roof, waiting for her as she had requested his presence before she would head off to bed.
"...I… have not been the most… social when it comes to our interactions." Ryobi opened up with. "Few could even say that I was… stubborn and frustrated when it came to talking to you. But…" She swallowed, not really have prepared for this when she should have in hindsight. "But Mirai-san suggested that we at least… sit down and talk… in a sense…"
Akira sat silently throughout the entire ordeal, the look that he had on the overpass now present once again in front of her. "Of course." He nodded his head, patting the spot next to him. "What would you like to talk about?"
"...I want an honest answer, Kurusu-san." She eventually said, sitting down next to the boy. "What… what do you think of me? After everything that has happened. After seeing how I had acted and treated everyone around me. What are your thoughts?"
"...You are a caring and loving sister, despite your rather odd ways of showing it." Akira closed his eyes with a small smile. "Though I find it unfortunate that you don't really show it off to others. You seem to refuse wanting to truly be friends, to open up, despite you also wanting to do so at the same time. But every time, you choose to hold back, especially with Mirai, balancing between the line on whether you want to be her friend or an acquaintance. But back to the sister part… You really care and love your family judging by your reaction to the locket."
"..." Ryobi glanced towards Akira before taking a deep breath. "You said that you can only assume what happened… When you handed back the locket… How would you feel if I gave some clarification? An explanation about me and…"
"I would be thankful that you would trust me so much with that information." He gently answered. "And I would understand if you don't want to say anything."
Ryobi sighed, reaching into her pants and taking out the locket once more. Her. Ryona. Both of them are pulled into a tight hug by Ryoki. All of them smiling, laughing in the moment, loving one another.
"She… Ryoki-onee-san had just become an elite shinobi. Immediately though, she was assigned to hunt down and exterminate a large group of Yoma with a team. She told me and Ryona… I… I don't know… I don't remember how it spiraled into it but… We got into an argument and… And I said some stupid stuff! Stuff like… how I hated her choice… That I was disappointed in her! And then… and then I told her… I told her that I hoped she would die!"
Rambling on and on and on, Ryobi couldn't help it. Everything that she had to contain in order to help look strong… To be strong… To not worry Ryona and take care of her… She didn't know what had come over her so suddenly. The brunette sniffled, already needing to wipe her wet eyes.
Feeling an arm drape over her back, she threw her own arms out in retaliation, trying to get it off of her. But it didn't budge. Slamming her limb down, she gripped the shoulder that was attached to the draped arm and gripped tightly. Snapping her head over, she raised her fist in anger to try and get the person who held on to let go. Though she gasped when she saw Akira. Gazing into a solemn stare that he was sending, his eyes were patient… kind… understanding… Just like…
Just like…
Throwing her fist forward with a scream, she grabbed Akira's other shoulder and headbutted his chest. Feeling herself be dragged closer, her wails were muffled. The dry surface started to become wet as she stained it. But it felt so warm and she didn't want to let go… Not yet.
"I didn't want her to die…" She sobbed. "I didn't want her to die!"
…Wow this went in a direction I didn't even expect to go towards. I'm… not used to writing stuff like this so it was… I don't know how to feel about this. Though that is my explanation of why this took so long (among other things).
Originally as well, it was supposed to be Ryobi and Ryona with Mirai and Haruka. But i realized that it would be tough trying to balance a proper spotlight for the sisters for me so… Bang, Ryobi. And boy was it tough trying to write Ryobi that way she should be but in a way that I was comfortable with….
And there we have it! Next up, the blonde! …Probably!
No flames please.