Author's Note: This chapter is happening at the same time Mushashi is driving over to enchanted skyscrapers to fix their ceilings…. That's a really strange thought. I'm a little disheartened by the lack of reviews, but that's okay, I'll live. Extra thanks to those who did review.
The Story So Far: In the last chapter we had some bad people plotting terrible things for Hiruma Youichi and Mushashi works for one of these people! Gasp!
Hidden
By: Bar-Ohki
Chapter 6: Hidden by Hesitation
Mushashi had been gone all of five minutes when Hiruma's next distraction arrived. This one was in the form of Mamori walking into the clubhouse and starting to clean before the door had finished shutting.
"Fucking manager." Hiruma stated his nickname for her to get her attention.
"I have a name." Mamori reminded him grumpily as she continued her vigorous sweeping.
"Tch. Make yourself useful and get me a coffee." Hiruma ordered her, not moving from his position. Mamori rolled her eyes and swept her way over to the coffee pot. Once she arrived there, she began making coffee.
"...Where's Mushashi-san?" Mamori asked after a long silence. She had noticed that something was slightly amiss with the room, just a moment ago she realized that Mushashi wasn't there asking her how she was feeling.
"Working." Hiruma did not elaborate.
"…Here's your coffee." Mamori walked over and set the mug down next to Hiruma's right arm. Casually, Hiruma picked up the mug and sipped it once. With a small nod, Mamori went back to her cleaning in silence.
"Is there anything else I need to do?" Mamori asked when she finished cleaning. To her surprise she heard Hiruma shut his laptop.
"No." Hiruma stood up and gathered his things.
"You usually stay later." Mamori commented carefully, wondering what was possessing Hiruma to behave strangely. Hiruma glanced at the calendar, looking at the next day. The team was going to Oujou High School to infiltrate and crack the secret behind the mysterious play called 'Ballista'. He didn't say anything, but Mamori understood well enough.
Tomorrow was the day with all the work, nothing more could be done until then.
"Aren't you leaving?" Hiruma asked her as he opened the door, his back to her.
"I have to check the locker room." Mamori answered truthfully. Hiruma said nothing as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He took one key off the chain and threw it backwards at Mamori. She caught the key deftly.
"Normal time." Hiruma told her and left.
It took Mamori two minutes to check and see that the locker room was orderly. She took another two minutes to pack her things and leave, locking up behind her. She hurried off the grounds and onto the street, not wanting to be out in the chilly evening air any longer than she had to.
To her surprise, she could see Hiruma up ahead, gun slung casually over his shoulder.
'He must be tired if he's still in sight.' Mamori mused.
With a gasp, Mamori clutched her stomach as her gut clenched hard. She blinked twice and snapped her head around, trying to find the source of her discomfort. Her magical senses sensed a hostile presence nearby. Mamori quickened her pace as she began to understand what her senses were telling her. Three men in front of her, all clad in purple suits, emitted the most hostile magical auras she'd ever seen. They were not powerful, but they had murderous intent.
'Well if they aren't after me, what are they after?' Mamori looked around carefully, trying to the focus of their intent. It wasn't very hard, all three men were glaring in the direction of their victim: Hiruma Youichi.
"Hiruma?" Mamori's eyebrows shot up in surprise. All three men froze, then snapped around to look at her. Because of their charmed clothing, Mamori could not see anything distinguishable about them. It did not take them very long to realize that she was a Mage.
"Stay out of this." One of the men ordered her.
"…I'm not going to sit here and watch you mess with my friend." Mamori glared at the man, her protective instincts kicking in. She gathered her magic within herself carefully, trying to not show these men just how powerful she was.
"You want to fight bitch?" Another man asked, cocky.
"Let's take this to the alley." The last man suggested. All four walked into the dark alley. The three men made a point to put themselves between Mamori and the exit.
Mamori raised her hands to make a small triangle between her fingers. She opened her mouth and said one, strong, hard syllable.
The men's mouths slammed shut. All three made distraught noise as they tried to force their mouths open with their hands. Mamori said another syllable and all three men found themselves on their backs, on the ground, stuck.
"You will stay there, unnoticed until sunrise." Mamori told them simply and walked away.
-break-
Hiruma's eyebrows raised up in mild surprise when he found the clubhouse door open. He had just arrived at school his usual ten minutes before everyone else.
"Are you trying to appease me by showing up early, fucking manager?" Hiruma asked her with a smirk.
"I wanted to talk to you." Mamori explained, choosing to ignore his last comment. Hiruma raised an eyebrow at her, mildly curious.
"You should be more careful going home." Mamori told him a matter a factly. Hiruma's expression turned angry.
"I don't need you mothering me, manager." Hiruma growled. "I am more than capable of taking care of myself."
"…Just be extra careful, please." Mamori hopped he would understand. In the culture of the magical world, it is rude to expose someone as a Sensitive or Mage without their permission. It was obvious to her that Hiruma didn't have any magical senses, he would have commented on her being a Mage (because he was rude enough to not care about cultural 'do's and 'don't's). And he had a magic sucking ability (which was still an ability, even it was strange), which meant that he couldn't sense.
"Go step up the ladder and the cones." Hiruma ordered her as he walked into the locker room. Mamori quietly watched him leave the room.
"You don't listen, do you?" She whispered to herself. With a sigh, Mamori began hauling the equipment out onto the field.
'He doesn't understand the danger he's in.' Mamori thought to herself sourly. 'I should report this to someone….'
"Is everything okay, Mamori-san?" Mushashi appeared seemingly from nowhere (in reality he'd been approaching her but she was too busy thinking to notice).
"Ah-! Its nothing!" Mamori waved her hands frantically to try and demonstrate that Mushashi didn't need to worry.
"You're flustered." The kicker observed.
"…." Mamori looked away and choose not to say anything.
"…Does it have to do with Hiruma?" Mushashi hazarded a guess. Her flinch told him he guessed right.
"…It wasn't anything you need to worry about." Mamori assured him and plastered a fake smile on her face. "Let's worry about the game instead."
"…Did he kiss you or something?" Mushashi wondered, guessing that the event had been a bit personal.
"No!" Mamori screeched, turning into a red tomato.
"If you say so." Mushashi shrugged, not having intended to fluster the girl.
"Old man! Quit attempting to flirt and start your laps!" Hiruma yelled as he ran by kicker, already in uniform.
"Yeah, yeah." Mushashi waved it off and headed to the clubhouse without another word or thought for Hiruma.
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