Setting: After series
Genre: General/Angst
Rating: PG (may or may not change)
Summary: Four years is a long time to be missing, but it doesn't stop Barnaby from trying to find his partner, Wild Tiger, who went MIA those four years ago. By chance, a man of strikingly similar warmth crosses his path; he is everything that Kotetsu was, but at the same time everything about him is wrong.

Once Lost Yet to Return

He didn't think spending just an hour and some minutes with a "friend" could make one feel so high and jovial and just ridiculously happy all in the same frame. Akira hummed softly to himself as he walked back home from work, hands fishing into his coat pocket for the keys once he got close to the house. Lately they had been meeting up at a little restaurant nearby the school, since Akira didn't have a long lunch break, but the mood from those little meets lingered throughout the rest of the day. No wonder William was always out socializing even at odd hours in the morning – if you could feel this happy without harmful substances, having a friend was definitely the best choice. Akira closed the front door, dropping his keys into the basket before reaching to unwrap the dark-coloured scarf from his neck, working on shedding his winter coat.

"Enjoy your little meeting with your Hero today?" a snide voice startled him. Amber brown eyes looked over to the couch, seeing Will leaning over the back a scalding frown on his face. The mood dampened a little, Akira's smile disappearing from his face.

"Is there a problem with that?" he asked in an empty tone. William only stared at him, before shrugging turning his attention back to the TV.

"Look, I know I'm always telling you to make friends, but this guy doesn't count," he said with a curt tone. Akira didn't say anything, pulling his coat off and folded it over his arm; he crossed the room towards the stairs, ignoring the invisible daggers stabbing him in the back as he passed by the couch. William only shouted after him as he climbed up the steps, "What are you going to do when he finds out who you are?"

Akira froze half-way up the stairs, not daring to look back down to the man glaring at his back; he didn't say anything, continuing on up blatantly ignoring the string of profanities the other was cursing at his back. William watched as his housemate disappeared to the upper landing, letting out an aggravated growl as he ruffled a hand through his hair. He picked the remote up and began surfing through channels, not really looking for anything, but just wanting a way to calm down for when the other man reappeared. Akira took the remote out of his hand, putting it on the coffee table in front of them before sitting down in an adjacent arm chair.

"I know it's a bad idea to be buddies with a Hero, but I'm keeping a good distance between us, all right?" Akira started. "I'm not letting him in any more than I already have."

"…And if he just happens to find out? What – you think he'll just let you off the hook just because you're the best of pals?"

"If he somehow manages to figure out who I am – which he won't – I'll just do what our code tells us to do," Akira closed his eyes for a moment, hands folding across his lap before he opened them again. "I'll just kill him." William sat quietly, gazing at the older man with a serious look, watching those typically warm, honey-glazed eyes turn cold and listless behind thin framed glasses.

"…You sure you can do it?"

"I'll mope, whine and cry about it for a while, but I can – and will if it comes to it," he simply answered, leaning back in his seat. "Besides – my relationship with Barnaby isn't affecting my work."

"That – shit, you're a freak, Akira! You could be nursing a baby and not miss a single shot, for Christ's sakes!" William groaned, burying his face in his hand. There was an odd flicker of light in honey-brown eyes, before a faint ghost of a sad smile appeared on angular features.

"Yeah… I know…" he answered softly. There was a heavy weight hanging between them as neither men said anything more; after a few more minutes, Akira stood up and mumbled something about curricular planning or other disappearing back upstairs to his room. William only watched his back, dark-eyes following him with a mix of apathy and… fear. He would never admit it out loud, but – Akira scared him sometimes. Not in the sense of skill or talent as far as handling a gun was concerned, but his attitude.

There was not a single assassin in their organization who didn't feel some sort of guilt or remorse over the targets they've killed; those who did enjoy killing usually didn't last very long, as they were careless, messy and easily got caught by the police. Even Will had a few victims he regret and wished he hadn't been the one sent to kill them, but Akira… he was different. He had never sympathized once with any of his victims, and the switch between his normal, everyday kind-hearted self and the professional, elite cold-blooded killer was almost just as chilling. It never ceased to awe William at how easily the man could change – it was as if all he had to do was simply flip a switch and he transformed into a completely different person.

Despite having been partners for a little over two years, he still couldn't get used to this aspect of Akira – the fact that this man could so easily throw away his human emotions and yet still act and function like a normal, passionate being. He sat frozen in his seat for a few moments, before taking a deep breath, reaching out to where the auburn-haired man had put the TV remote down and started searching for something interesting to watch. He needed a good distraction right now; he couldn't do anything about Akira's relationship with Barnaby, so he'd just have to hope the other would remain firm in his resolve.

-8-

The work hours were finally over; training at the gym had been vigorous, but oddly revitalizing as the day drew to a close. Ivan and Karina had left early today – something about catching a movie and most likely leading to a dinner date after that. Pao-lin was still sparring with Keith when Barnaby bid them a good day's work, receiving quick, short responses in return from both parties. He only smiled as he watched Keith only barely dodge the kick the teen swung at him. He's been noticing that two had been exceptionally close lately, the wind wizard always helping the lightning Hero with her workouts and agreeing to be her primary sparring partner. It wouldn't surprise Barnaby if they started dating soon; though confessions were long far from happening in the near future. What with Keith's natural air-headedness and Pao-lin's lack of confidence in her own femininity – especially in recent years as her body started to develop more.

"Good work today as always, Handsome~" that playful, flirty voice spoke up from behind. Barnaby glanced over his shoulder to the fiery Hero approaching him.

"Ah – good work today."

"Heading home already~?" Nathan asked with a flirty grin.

"Not yet, I was going to stop by the academy to check up on Kaede."

"Oh my, you've been spending so much time with her lately – it's making me jealous~" the pink-haired man teased with an airy tone. Barnaby only smiled at the tease, spending a few minutes to talk with the other. "You've been quite perky these days, my dear~" Nathan commented, giving the blond a warm smile. Barnaby frowned at the choice of words, eyes shifting to the side as he answered.

"So I've been told… was I really that bad before?"

"Oh honey – anyone could tell you were depressed; someone special lighting up your life?" he prodded playfully, surprised to see a light tint of pink colour the fair skin. Barnaby quickly cleared his throat as he looked away, shaking his head.

"No, nothing like that – just… a really good friend," the blond answered hastily. Finely shaped brows rose up in curiosity, Nathan refusing to let his junior escape without getting any juicy details of this "friend" the younger seemed to have acquired. He was not at all offended by the visible shudder as he draped his arm around the slender shoulder.

"Really now? Finally coming out of that protective shell of yours and reaching out to people, hm?" oh how he loved to torture this poor soul. Barnaby only made a strange noise, trying to wriggle free from the hold. Even if Kotetsu had managed to make him more open with the rest of them, his sense of personal space was still just as narrow as it had been when he first debuted as a Hero. While under normal circumstances, Nathan would respect that space, there were moments when he just had to invade – if only to gain the satisfaction of seeing the man squirm under his touch.

"You're going to make us feel left out with Kaede and this new stranger taking up your time now," Nathan mocked whined. "So – who is this darling that's garnered your attention?" he asked, finally releasing the poor man trapped by his arm. He resisted the urge to giggle as Barnaby let out a sigh of relief at finally being released.

"Do you remember the elementary school hostage situation? The teacher who was taken captive?"

The other stopped to think a moment, trying to recall the event the blond was talking about, before letting out a noise of recognition. "Ah, yes I remember now – oooh, you have certainly picked yourself a good one, Handsome~ Does he have a name?"

"Ah, Akira – we've… bumped into each other a lot before the whole hostage thing." There was a minute pause of silence from the flamboyant Hero that didn't go unnoticed, but Barnaby didn't say anything seeing the smile light up even more on pink-coloured lips.

"Sounds like fun, dear," he answered cheerily – but something about the tone seemed off. Well, off from the typical flare the eccentric man always had. Barnaby didn't call him out on it though, noticing the time as he glanced down at the wristwatch; he bid the other a good day's work before heading off to change out of his workout clothes and swing by the academy. Nathan only waved at the other's back, watching the man disappear through the sliding doors, before the smile dropped from his face into a blank expression.

"…Why didn't you say anything?" a deep rough voice spoke out from behind. Antonio stepped out from his hiding place, having heard most of the conversation.

"And tell him what? That his new BFF technically doesn't exist?" Nathan retorted, looking to the man behind him.

"We don't know who this guy really is, and – I'm not really sure I can trust someone who hides their identity."

"There are plenty of reasons why someone would want to hide themselves – some good, some bad," Nathan countered, folding his arms across his torso. "Besides – Handsome hasn't been this happy in four years, so I think it's safe to assume that this man is harmless for now."

"For Barnaby's sake – he better be…"

-Chapter Ten/End-