Child in the Moonlit Snow
The break period until the next B-Rank War match was almost over. Most squads were still figuring out plans on what to do for their next matches, or practicing more for said matches.
One certain Border agent was doing no so such thing.
I'll have to thank Suzu for giving me a recording of Ho-chan singing. Although she's still going to get punished for getting my sweet little sister to do such a thing.
Tsukiko Yuki continued to hum to the song that was playing on his phone. This particular song was sung by his younger sister after she had been tricked into singing on a stage for a park concert near his branch office.
He was glad to have such a thing from her (the song that is), but he did not like having her wear such an outfit in public.
He has already had to threaten multiple guys who ask been asking around for her. Some even went so far as to ask him if they could go out with her.
Those ones were never heard from again.
There's also the fact that because of her, Wakamura had the balls to ask her out. I'll have to talk to him about that later. There's no way he will ever be good enough for her, so I might as well put an end to this before it goes any further.
While he thought of such things, the agent with a sister complex had something else to do before that.
He was in charge of multiple things concerning the newly made Yagura Branch of Border and needed to help his boss and teacher, it was his job. What was more was that he also needed to keep an eye on his older sister and younger brother so that the two would not go around and do something that could end badly.
To sum it all up, he is always kept busy now.
The main issue with all of this was the fact he was sick.
He had some kind of illness that had appeared after a certain incident with a certain former A-Rank agent. That meant he had to take things easy at times and not push himself too hard. He had been told this multiple times by multiple people, but has yet to completely heed those words.
This was one of those times.
Instead of relaxing with the free time he currently has, he was out and walking around, looking for certain people.
Kou said he would be in Tetsu's operating room. I might as well see if Haru and Minoru can meet us there. No need to walk around pointlessly if they can't come in the first place.
Yuki sent a linked message to two of his other best friends as he made his way to the third one.
As he walked through the halls of Border he could not help but to think about the reason he needed to see the three of them.
Yuki was once a captain for a high ranked B-Rank squad before he had disbanded the squad for his own selfish reason.
The three other Combatants had not taken kindly to the disbandment but their Operator was well prepared for it. In the end, the three had proven that they were a mess without him there to guide them around like a parent and his children.
One beating and talking later, the three were back to working like a well oiled machine, if not far better.
At some point they had added a new member to their squad, who happened to be Yuki's younger her sister. He had been fine with this since he knew that the squad would not treat her badly.
Now a new issue had come up.
One of the squad members had asked Yuki for help so he could get better for the B-Rank Wars.
That by itself was not anything much. The main issue was that Yuki had this strange parental feeling towards all of them and now wanted to help out the whole squad.
He had suggested that the squad go up against another squad they had not yet faced off against. The suggestion was agreed upon by the captains of the two squads, but he felt like even that was not enough. He wanted to do more for them. To help them out as much as he could.
Maybe it was guilt or regret that caused him to feel this. It could have also been just general love for his former squad.
Whatever the case, he was now determined to help them to the best of his abilities.
That was why he needed to ask his three best friends for their assistance.
Could I be going too far? Meh. I could just say I'm do this so that Ho-chan doesn't have to deal with a team that can't keep up. Granted... Those three may end up steamrolling others if they get any better... Wait...
Yuki stopped in his tracks as a heavy atmosphere started forming around him. He quickly broke out in a nervous sweat and started shaking.
None of this was from his sickness.
"I-if those three a-are going to l-learn anything else f-from me or Mei..."
The image of a completely destroyed Mikado City appeared in his mind. In the rubble of the destroyed city stood four figures. He could see a few green orbs, two small green blades, something that looked like a gun and what could be called ribbons of light.
Each one of the four figures had a sinister smile as the wind blew their clothes.
"NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO! That's can't happen! I refuse to let that happen! Border is suppose to protect Mikado City, not destroy it until there is nothing left up the memories of the city! Those four would destroy everything before a single Gate would even open up! It would end up worse than any invasion before or after it! And Mei wouldn't even try to stop it!"
"Can you please stop yelling and come in already? You're freaking out passing people."
"Eh?"
Yuki turned his head to the side and saw Border's #4 Attacker and his #1 best friend standing in the doorway of what he guessed was Arafune Squad's operating room. His mind was still jumbled up from his thought.
Murakami Kou only looked at his friend with a slightly raised eyebrow.
He watched Yuki slowly turn his head to face him with a cold sweat running down his body. His eyes quickly filled with worry, thinking that Yuki was out when he should not have been and needed to get to bed.
He held his arm out to put his hand on the other's shoulder.
"Kiyo-"
"KOOOOOOOUUUUUUU! We need to make sure they don't destroy Mikado Cityyyyyyyyy!"
Murakami was surpsied when Yuki sudden leaped forward and wrapped his arms around his neck, crying the whole time. All he could do was stare, wide-eyed as Yuki started rambling on and on about something he just did not understand.
He turned his head towards the room while slowly backing up and dragging his friend inside. Using his foot, he closed the door before moving over to take a seat.
Yuki had always been an odd person; he use to be rough and had no filter, yet always had a sister complex, never saw Murakami as anything more than a classmate until around two years ago, would never show any emotion except anger and irritation, and always had on a smile as a mask recently. Seeing him like this truly was astonishing and concerning.
The other two in the room seemed to think so as well.
"Has he decided to switch personalities again? That's a bad habit I suggest you get out of right now."
"Hey, Tetsu, would you like one of those dumbells to end up right on top of your feet?"
"Doesn't seem to have changed at all to me."
"Continue talking. See what happens when you're finally done with it."
Already knowing how this would turn out, Murakami pushed Yuki off of him and went to take a seat.
Yuki let out a small sigh as he too got comfortable in the room.
"So, what did you want from me?"
"You don't have to out it like that. It sounds like you don't like doing any of the favors I ask of you."
"To be fair..."
"Only three times did you get screwed over because of me. Don't start saying that I'm the cause of everything you've been through."
"..."
"Anyways. I'll tell you when Minoru and Haru get here. It's something I have to ask the three of you. By the way..."
Looking over at the two with a good amount of muscle, Yuki let out a sad sigh. He turned to Murakami and looked as his arms before clicking his tongue.
The other three in the room looked at each other in confusion before turning back to him.
Yuki turned his head to the side with a distant look in his eyes. He didn't seem to be speaking to them specifically, but his tone was definitely one of great sadness and defeat.
"Man... It must be nice to have even some muscle... Thanks to a certain someone...I'm stuck with these lanky arms and skinny legs... I'm pretty sure that even Hoshi and Takeshi have more muscle than me... Being around these guys just makes me feel worse..."
Arafune walked closer to the saddened A-Rank with a raised eyebrow.
"What are you talking about? Last time I checked you had a good amount of muscle on you."
"His illness is to blame. He can't really go around working out, so he started losing those muscles."
Murakami was the one to explain it, but he said it with a bit of uncertainty.
"Let's see if that's true."
Both Murakami and Arafune turned to Hokari, who was getting up and walking towards Yuki. His hands were a bit outstretched, but no particular expression could be seen on his face.
Deciding that they were a bit curious themselves, the other two of the same year turned to Yuki and started walking forward.
In unison, the three of them said,
"Just stay still and make this easier for all of us."
"What could he want~? What could he want~? I wonder~"
Minoru looked over to his best friend with a questioning look.
The two of them had been messaged by Yuki to meet up with him and Murakami at Arafune Squad's operating room. They hadn't been given a reason as to why, but they were both free at the moment, so it was decided that they would go.
Ninomiya had given them both an irritated look when he was told that they would both be leaving to see Yuki. The reaction was expected.
Knowing that he would have to make it up to his boyfriend later only Minoru turned his attention back to his best friend.
"Haru-chan, why are you so happy about this?"
"Because~ Kiyo doesn't usually ask things of others~ Even before the incident with Ninomiya-san, he would make sure not to ask much if others~ Only Murakami has been asked to do things before~"
The incident involving Yuki and Ninomiya.
Only a handful of people who what had actually happened during that incident, Inukai and Murakami being included in that. Surprisingly enough, Minoru was not one of those people.
He had asked Ninomiya, Inukai and even Yuki about it before, but given all the same answer.
"Never bring that up. Ever."
He had thought about asking Mei about, since she had known Yuki the longest, next to Murakami, Kageura, and Akasora, but figured that she would either give the same answer or just tactfully move around the subject.
She was just that good.
To this day, no one really knew what happened before the current A-Rank and the former A-Rank.
Shaking his head a bit, Minoru focused back in on Inukai.
"Let's see~ Knowing Kiyo like I do... Something to do with Hoshi-chan? Mei-san? Maybe it's just that he needs to get some stress out with a fight or two. Yeah. That makes sense. What do you think?"
Minoru gave a hum.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. It could really be anything."
"You kinda sounded like Suzume there for a second."
Inukai put his arms behind his head as they continued walking.
"But having a Side Effect like Mei-san's or Jin-san's would be nice right about now. Either see what he wants or calculate it to perfection. Man~ Those two are so lucky."
"There are drawbacks to both of their Side Effects, though."
"Guess you're right~"
Minoru could only let out a sigh as Inukai continued to grin.
Is getting asked a favor from Loki that important to him?
.
It didn't take long for the two to reach the B-Rank operating room.
Once they were in front if it, Minoru knocked on the door before opening it.
"Hey, we're like you-..."
The sight the two came to was an odd one that neither expected.
Although...
"Suzume's gonna love this~"
Inukai quickly pulled out his phone and started taking picture after picture.
"Are we...interrupting something...?"
There, in front of the two, was Yuki, on the floor and without a shirt, being held down by Murakami and Hokari while Arafune sat on his chest.
Overall it was a scene that brought a lot of questions to mind.
Arafune was the first to speak between the four on the floor.
"It's not what it looks like...?"
Not sure what else to do, Minoru simply walked out of the room and closed the door.
He waited a few seconds before opening it again to see Yuki with an irritated expression while putting his shirt back on. In his hand was Inukai's phone.
Off to the side, Inukai, Murakami and Arafune held their heads while Hokari looked like nothing happened.
"Before you say anything, there's an explaination."
Minoru said nothing and waited for Yuki to continue.
"Those three idiots wanted to see if I really had any muscles left from before I got sick. Like I would let them do what they want, so I fought back. Of course I really couldn't do anything with the three if them being jackasses and working out."
"Why would they care about that? You don't need muscles to-"
Before he could finish talking, Minoru had to duck as something went flying over his head.
He looked up to see Yuki glaring down at him.
"I don't want to hear this coming from the jerk who shows his own muscles for his uniform..."
Once the fuming A-Rank was calm, the group went out for something to eat.
That got quickly replaced with going to an ice cream parlor because Yuki didn't care about what the others wanted.
So here they were, staring at the amazing sight of Yuki devouring the ice cream in his hand before moving over to eat the Popsicles nearby. To finish it off, there was even a large bucket of ice cream that he had bought from the parlor after begging to have it.
What the hell am I even watching...?
Murakami let out a sigh as he shook his head. Being one of the two people who were use to seeing this, he knew that there was nothing he could do to stop this from happening.
Inukai, being the other person who was use to this, simply recorded the whole thing with his phone.
Yuki had given it back to him after deleting the pictures.
"So," started Minoru while trying to look away, "what did you need from us?"
"What's with you guys and putting it that way? You swear like I'm asking you to kill someone."
"To be fair..."
"Tetsu, please be quiet."
Yuki let out a small him as he finished the ice cream on his spoon.
The others could only think one thing,
Is he really sick?
Once he was finished with all the ice cream, while the others were still trying to finish their own, he patted his stomach with a content sigh.
"Anyways. I was going to ask you three if you could help me out in a fight. Kotowari Squad and Tamakoma-2 are gonna have their practice match soon, so I thought I could join in on the fun. I want to see how much better they have gotten up close. I figured you three could help with that."
"Aw~ Is Kiyo-otou-san worried about his kids~? How adorable. Well, Otou-san, I think you should know that one of your kids is dating someone~"
"Tsk. Don't remind me. I still need to talk to Hoshi about that."
"Oh, no, no, no. Not Hoshi-chan. I'm talking about Toby. He's been hanging around wth this girl for a while now. They really look like a couple to me."
"Good for him. I'm sure she's a good person if he chose her."
"Hey, hey, hey. That's a bit unfair, isn't it? How come Yuki-otou-san is fine with one of his kids having a girlfriend but not with his sister having a boyfriend? At least put them on equal ground."
"I have to agree with Kiyo-otou-san on this one. Hoshi is not ready to have a boyfriend yet."
"And here comes Kou-oji-san! Wow~ Just missing Mei-okaa-san now~ Want me to give her a call!? I'm sure you'd love that!"
Minoru and Hokari continued to just watch the odd conversation continue while Arafune added his own two cents front time to time. It was rather difficult to interrupt the three, though, since it all seemed to continue too smoothly.
Once it got to the point of Yuki looking ready to choke the Shooter, the others decided to enter in and stop it.
Yuki settled back down and gave a huff.
"So, about what I'm asking. Will you three help me out or not?"
"You ask as if I have a choice in the matter. Besides, it'll be good practice since we're going up against Tamakoma in our next match."
"That's the spirit. Use what you can to your advantage. Now, Haru? Mino? Are you two joining in?"
"I don't see why not. I'm fine with it."
"I'm cool with it~ It sounds pretty fun~"
Yuki nodded his head.
He pulled out his phone without looking at any of them.
As he typed away he spoke up again.
"Alright. Let me just get our Operator then. She should be fine with helping us with this."
"Who is it?"
"Kimura. She was my former Operator when I was still on a team with Mei."
Three of the other five shared confused looks while the other two simply nodded their heads, already knowing that fact.
Kimura Kawaguchi was currently an Operator for a B-Rank squad. The connection she had with Yuki and Mei was most likely enough to gain her assistance, but if not there were other options.
Overall, this makeshift team was set and ready to join in the battle between the two B-Rank squads who would fight each other.
Arafune, after finish his own treat, turned to Yuki with a bit of a confused look.
"Out of curiosity, why ask these three? Couldn't you ask the ones from your branch? Your siblings may be a bit much, but what about Tenryū and his friends? Wouldn't that be good practice for them too?"
"How do you even know about Shobu?"
"Hanzaki and Sasamori have spoken about him before."
"Makes sense. Well, Shobu is the only one of the three that could probably keep up with them. Ame and Kaze are still getting up there. We do have Futo and Bōdō, but they are...special cases. I wouldn't feel comfortable with them joining in."
"What about that big guy who is usually there?"
"Pyrínas isn't a part of Border. He's just...someone who likes being at our branch. I want these guys' help because I known they'll be helpful. That's not mentioning the fact Haru got his ass kicked by Kotowari Squad already and Kou got his ass kicked by both squads already."
"Hey!"
"Rude."
Yuki ignored the two he just insulted and continued to look at Arafune.
"Why? Are you jealous that I didn't ask you? It's fine, it's fine. I understand that you must really want to get taken out by Suzu or Toby."
"Wow. Could you sound even more like a proud parent? You're taking this too far now. Is this another growing complex you have? How many is that now? Five? Seven?"
"I'm pretty sure it's ten at this point."
Yuki glared at the two Snipers from the same squad before letting out a huff and falling flat on the table.
This got a few questioning looks.
It was really starting to make him feel like he would be questioned for everything he did or said at this point.
Maybe I'm just not being too clear with my words and actions. I can't be blamed this time.
"Out of steam?"
He turned to Murakami and gave a small nod.
"I guess that's to be expected. When was the last time you got some actual rest? Have you taken your medicine today? Do want me to take you back to the branch office?"
"Don't you think you should let him answer one question before asking another ten more?"
"I'm just tired right now. I'm trying to less the load for Sensei as much as I can. It doesn't help that we are constantly getting reports and forced to write apologizes for Kushi, and sometimes Muku. Even Nakagami and Futo have caused some sort of issue that we had to get involved in."
Inukai gave a hum as he swayed a bit in his seat.
"Now that you mention it, your siblings have been coming by the operating room quite a bit lately. They usually go to bug the others. Well, Kushikage-san does at least. Mukuro just ends up sleeping around Tsuji most of the time."
"Taka's been complaining about your sister every once in a while."
"Sorry about that. We really can't control that woman. Muku doesn't usually cause too much trouble, but he ends up following Kushi, so he gets caught up in the trouble."
Murakami and Arafune, the two who were sitting next to Yuki, could only pat his back in pity.
Hokari seemed to want to ask some of his own question as he moved his cub to the side.
"Can't the other branch members help in that at least?"
"The younger ones don't really know how to deal with that kind of stuff. Although Shobu helps out at times. Arisa at least tries to keep Futo and Nakagami under as much control as possible. Pyrínas is able to hold that woman off for a while, but that's only when Michelle and Mitsu don't stop by to play with him."
"Ah. That would be on my part. Michelle just likes going over there so much."
"It's fine."
Yuki let out a sigh.
"It just really sucks to be sick. That just adds another burden for Sensei to deal with."
"What even is your illness?"
Instead of an answer there was only awkward silence.
Yuki closed his eyes with another sigh while Murakami and Inukai seemed uncomfortable with the conversation all of a sudden.
It didn't take a genius to understand that this must have had something to do with the certain incident involving Yuki and Ninomiya.
Feeling that the awkwardness was far too oppressive, Minoru clapped his hands and gave his best smile.
"Well, you can just message us when it is. Unless you already know what when it's going to be."
"I'm not sure. I'll have to get back to you on that. Thanks for the help, though. I really appreciate it. As both a friend and their former captain."
It was a bit surprising to see Yuki give such a sincere and gentle smile.
They could only think one thing at the time,
Even this guy has his moments, I suppose.
Once they were all done with the ice cream parlor, Inukai and Minoru took their leave so they could go to their respective significant others.
That left the group with the two older snipers from Arafune Squad, Border's #4 Attacker, and the sick agent.
They had decided to just walk around and talk about this or that. Nothing particular came up, but that was fine with the four of them.
The sun had started to set a bit over the horizon, making the four think it would be better to just go back to the base.
"By the way, Hanzaki had said you owe him and Hiura a trip to get some ice cream. Do you plan to hear him whine about how we went without them?"
"Hey, I never said when we would go. I'm fine to go get some ice cream at any time of the week."
"True. With your addiction to it-"
"Not an addiction."
"-I wouldn't be surpsied if you went tomorrow to get some with them. How much of your money do you even burn through going there, anyways?"
"Not much. I get good discounts because of how many times I go there."
"Sadly, they all know him quite well by now. It doesn't matter who has what shift since he goes there constantly."
"Well jeez, Kou, if you say it like that-"
"It is most certainly an addiction."
"Better that than drugs!"
"And he didn't deny it this time around..."
The four let out laughs at the odd, yet fun argument.
None of them had any malice to their words, so they were all fine with this kind of conversation.
Although it did remind them all of how things were around two or so years ago.
Warning: A Gate is opening. If anyone is in the Forbidden Zone, please leave at once.
The four looked around to see if they could spot the Gate opening up.
None of them were on duty at the moment, but they figured there was no reason to not help if it was nearby. It was still a part of their job after all.
Two Gates quickly opened up in front of the group. The one closer to the ground had two Marmods come out of it while the one higher in the sky had a Bander appear out of it.
Arafune, Hokari, and Murakami all pulled out their Triggers.
They were ready to fight.
"...!"
But they had no time to do so.
Before they could even enter their Trion bodies, something sped passed them and ran through one of the Marmods' eye.
The object that had ran through the eye was a gray rod with two blunt ends with one side having two smaller rods sticking out of it. It looked to be around Murakami's arm length.
As the first Marmods fell to the ground, a body appeared in front of it, grabbing the gray rod.
"One."
The body was Yuki, and the gray rod was his specialized Trigger known as Idōgetsu.
Before either of the other three could enter their Trion bodies, Yuki had gone into his and launched an attack that took down the Trion soldier in a single hit.
As if saying they were not needed, Yuki turned his wrist and pulled Idōgetsu out of the Marmod from the side.
On the end of Idōgetsu was a blade shaped as a crescent.
He turned on his heel and easily sliced through the second Marmod with ease.
In the same motion he was able to land a cut on one of the Bander's legs.
"Two."
With a quick glance up, Yuki disappeared from his spot on the ground, only to reappear in front of the Bander's face.
"Three."
Once again, with one motion, he was able to cut the Trion soldier's eye and take it out.
He landed calmly on the ground while the Neighbor fell to the ground in front of him.
He turned back to the other three as he put away Idōgetsu.
"Well, that was boring."
The other three could only smile or shake their heads at what they saw.
Arafune walked up with a small smile on his face.
"See? You don't need muscles. Your fighting style doesn't rely on muscles, so there's no reason to need any."
Yuki said nothing as he got out of his Trion body. His back was turned away from the other three, so they were not able to see his face.
They saw his shoulders shaking a bit.
Thinking that he was laughing, the three walked towards him. He continued shaking, but for a completely different reason.
They saw his face and quickly started to panic a bit.
Blood could be seen coming from the edge of Yuki's mouth while his face was scrunched up in pain.
"Kiyo-"
That's when it happened.
Yuki quickly fell to the ground in a fit of coughs. Each cough was filled with blood that splattered on his hand as he covered his mouth to keep it from all falling to the ground.
It didn't take long for him to start falling forward with his eyes closed.
Luckily, Murakami was quick enough to catch him before he fell face first onto the ground.
He turned to the two snipers and said, "I'll take him to the branch office. He'll probably be fine after taking his medicine."
The other two could only nod as their friends left.
The first thing Yuki awoke to was a hand in front of his face.
He turned his head to see that the hand belonged to his best friend, Murakami Kou.
Then he noticed what was in his best friend's hand.
Without a single word, he rolled over and off the sofa he was on. There was no way he was going to deal with that thing again. Not after how bad it left his tongue last time.
Before he could get far, a foot landed on his stomach. It wasn't pushed down or anything, it was just...there.
Murakami looked down at his best friend while holding the bottle of medicine in his hand.
"Where do you think you're going? You know you need to take your medicine. Don't make me get Kushikage-san in here to help me with this."
Still saying nothing, Yuki groaned and opened his mouth.
As if having done this multiple times (which he had), Murakami poured some medicine in the cap of the bottle before pouring what was in the cap into Yuki's mouth.
Yuki gave a look of disgust and got up from the floor once Murakami took his foot away.
"Bleh! Thanks for the help, but no thanks for the disgusting medicine. I'm going to be stuck with this taste for the rest of the night. What's worse is that I can't wash it down or cover it up since I can't eat or drink anything for the next hour or so."
"No problem. It was my pleasure, really."
"Tsk."
Yuki let out a sigh as he sat down on the sofa. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked over to see Murakami take refuge on one if the recliner chairs nearby.
"So, do you know where everyone is? Was anyone even here when we got here?"
"Pyrínas-san had just left when we got here while Sensei is in his office. I think he's just relaxing in there, not doing work. As for your siblings... They weren't here. Same goes for Hiinu Squad, and Tenryū Squad left with Pyrínas-san."
"Ah~ That's nice~ No one else is here to annoy us. So nice~ Thanks for the help by the way. I'll buy you something pretty later. Just remind me."
"It's fine. No need to spend you money like that. Besides, you need to use if for the medicine anyways. If anything you still have it worse for even having to take the stuff. That taste is still burned in my memory."
"Right~? That stuff's nasty. And you only had a little bit. How do you think I feel?"
The two laughed at the torture item known as medicine.
"Ya know... We really have issues, don't we?"
Murakami raised an eyebrow towards his friend.
It was nowhere near rare for the other to jugs change subjects on a dime.
If a certain topic was boring him then he would quickly to go another one.
That was something only a few people knew about. Most would assume that Yuki was the type to listen patiently and politely, when in reality he would want to change the subject.
That was the case in this situation.
"How do you figure? I mean, you of course have too many complexes. I'm fine the way I am."
"Ha! Anyways. What I meant is that we have issues when it comes to teams. We care for our teams, yet we are the ones being taken care of by them. Well, everything is pretty much past tense with me. But that's how things are."
"Hm. I think it's still that way now."
"Guess you're right. After all, Kuruma-san had to pedal through the rain because you were being such a crybaby~"
"Says the one who ended up having Misaki defend him from some grade schoolers because he didn't want to do anything to them."
"You're more of a dog than anything for the team. At least I made it as captain."
"Only because you ended up tricking those poor guys into believing you were an honest guy."
"..."
"..."
The two started laughing once again.
Even with those harsh words being thrown at each other, they took it as nothing more than playful banter.
Around two years ago they would never dare say such things to each other, more so out of respect than anything else.
Now, though, these words were nothing more than fodder for some humor.
"By the way, even after all of this time, you never told me one important thing. Mind saying it now?"
Yuki tilted his head to the side in confusion.
"You never told me why you picked those three to be on your team. As far as I knew, you just wanted to be on a team with Senpai and no one else."
"Ah. I see. Did I really not tell you that yet? Well, it's actually really simple."
Yuki paused for a moment.
He looked down at nothing particular.
Murakami wasn't too surpsied to see a kind and sincere smile appear on his face as he seemed to think back on the reason he had.
"Really, it was out of pity. At least for Take and Toby. Suzu was...well because she seemed like she needed it. I knew about Take and Toby's predicaments, so I guess I took pity on them. In the ended it felt more like I wanted them to feel like they were fine with us and that they had a home."
"..."
"Sappy, I know. But hey, look at things now. It seems they don't really need me. They get along well without me even needing to be there. They both have a good amount of friends, so of course they can do things on their own. Suzu was already pretty independent. I think that was really shown when I disbanded the squad. She was the one, besides Mei, who was least effected by it. She was mad, but she was still fine."
"Hm. Is Yuki-otou-san feeling like he's going to be out in a retirement home now that his kids are all grown up and moving on? Don't worry, I'll end up there anyways."
"Hm. Maybe. At least I don't have too worry too much about them. With the inclusion of Hoshi, they really don't be lonely. Birds of a feather, I suppose."
"Do you need a hug there, buddy?"
"When the heck did you get so cheeky?"
"You're not the best influence."
"Heh. Guess you're right."
As he spoke, Yuki let out a yawn.
He moved his body so that he would end up falling on the sofa with his legs on the end.
"Well, I'm going to sleep. If you want to stay then just ask Sensei where the blankets are."
"It's fine. I already know."
Yuki gave a hum as he started to fall asleep.
The break period until the next B-Rank War match was almost over. Most squads were still figuring out plans on what to do for their next matches, or practicing more for said matches.
One certain Border agent was doing no so such thing.
He was in charge of multiple things concerning the newly made Yagura Branch of Border and needed to help his boss and teacher, it was his job. What was more was that he also needed to keep an eye on his older sister and younger brother so that the two would not go around and do something that could end badly.
To sum it all up, he is always kept busy now.
The main issue with all of this was the fact he was sick.
He had some kind of illness that had appeared after a certain incident with a certain former A-Rank agent. That meant he had to take things easy at times and not push himself too hard. He had been told this multiple times by multiple people, but has yet to completely heed those words.
But none of that mattered at the moment.
Right now, Tsukiko Yuki was asleep.
He felt no pain and felt no stress from anything.
This was a peaceful moment for him.