A/N: Don't you just love Tuesdays? I don't like the school part of Tuesday but that's about it. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter. I made it a longer one again, and I hope to make sure the rest of the chapters in this fic are around this length, though I can't make any promises since I never know what I'm going to be doing each week. That aside, sorry for any typos, errors, OOCness and overall crappy writing. Enjoy the chapter and I'll be back next week with another one :)
Reiji jumped from rooftop to rooftop on his way to his junior's house. He didn't like the idea of leaving his post just to check up on someone, but given the current situation, he decided it would be best. Plus, while Rindo had said Osamu had forgotten his scarf at Tamakoma, Reiji knew for a fact that then teen had been wearing it when he left. There was something going on. Besides, Kyosuke and Konami could handle the Forbidden Zone fine by themselves for a few minutes.
As Reiji neared Osamu's house, the red haired man dropped to the ground and started walking. He would run, but he didn't want to alarm anyone who might see him. If a civilian saw a Border agent with an activated Trigger running down the street, they may panic. After all, the Second Invasion and Rad issues hadn't been long ago. The last thing he needed was to make people think Gates would be opening in the city again.
When the man reached Osamu's house, he saw no one. That left him with two options. Go knock on the door to see if Osamu was there and get his mother worried if he was not, or go back to defense duty under the assumption that Osamu was on his way to Tamakoma. The agent weighed his options, though he never made his decision. The glint of sunlight on metal caught him eye, and Reiji walked over to the source in confusion. He bent down and picked up a phone that he recognized as Osamu's. Why was Osamu's phone just laying out on the ground? Did he drop it?
Suddenly, the hair on the back of Reiji's neck stood up. The agent was wary of something evil nearby, lurking and waiting. With his Trigger held tightly in his fist, Reiji spun toward a dark alleyway between two houses. There was no threat. Instead, there was something much worse.
Osamu lay face down on the ground, his limbs sprawled out around him. He wasn't moving, and Reiji couldn't tell from where he was standing if the teen was breathing or not. Reiji's eyebrows flew up, his eyes widening a fraction. The agent sprinted toward the teen on the ground, kneeling down next to him.
"Mikumo-kun!" he hissed, quiet but stern. He didn't want to alarm anyone nearby with any yelling. Osamu didn't respond. Reiji rolled the boy onto his back carefully and quickly, then put a hand on Osamu's chest. He felt a steady heartbeat. Osamu was alive.
"Mikumo-kun, wake up," Reiji ordered quietly, shaking the teen lightly. Osamu could be injured, so he didn't want to be too rough and accidentally hurt the boy. Reiji shook Osamu once more, then stopped when the teen's face scrunched up slightly. Osamu cracked his eyes open, blinking once or twice. His leaf green eyes stared at Reiji in confusion.
"Reiji..senpai?" he asked in confusion. Osamu seemed to be barely conscious, his tired eyes not opening more than a fraction. Reiji slapped Osamu's cheek lightly to try to wake the teen up, but only succeeded in causing him to wince. Then, Osamu blinked a few times before his eyes shut again, not opening back up. His head lolled to the side. Reiji dug around his pocket for his phone before remembering that the battery was low. He didn't want to use it in case something came up. Kyosuke and Konami wouldn't know how to reach him if his phone died. Slightly frustrated, the man opened Osamu's phone and called his boss.
"Oh, Mikumo-kun, did you g-" Rindo began, only to be cut off.
"Rindo-san, it's Reiji. I found Mikumo-kun. His phone was laying on the sidewalk, and he was unconscious in an alley between two houses. He woke up, but only for a few seconds. He wasn't totally conscious either. Someone, or something, attacked him," Reiji reported grimly. Normally, interrupting his superiors wasn't something Reiji would do, but now seemed like a time when that kind of thing was necessary. There was a moment of silence on the other end.
"Jin told me he foresaw that just before I called you... Bring Mikumo-kun to Tamakoma. I'll have Kido send an agent from the infirmary over to check on him. Once your done, get Chika and walk her here," Rindo ordered, speaking in the tone he used when someone was annoying him or making him angry and he had to stay professional. With a 'yes sir', Reiji hung up. He stuffed Osamu's phone into his pocket before looking down at the teen in front of him. Sighing, Reiji put one arm under Osamu's shoulders and the other under his knees before lifting the boy up. Osamu was pretty tall, though he wasn't too heavy or awkward to carry since Reiji was a pretty big guy. The red-haired Border agent jumped up onto the roof of the nearest house and ran for Tamakoma, attempting to avoid as many eyes as possible.
Half an hour later, Yuma ran into Reiji and Chika on his way to Tamakoma. He instantly noticed that Reiji had a small frown on his face while Chika looked very upset.
"Chika, why are you upset?" Yuma asked, not beating around the bush. Chika looked over at him, violet eyes landing on red ones. She quickly averted her gaze to the ground.
"Something happened to Osamu-kun...," she said simply. Yuma stopped walking, his eyes widening. A theory instantly formed in his mind, and he was sure it was the same as what had actually happened. The Neighbor quickly recovered from his surprise though, and he began walking before Chika and Reiji asked any questions.
When the three reached Tamakoma, Yuma and Chika ran inside. There was no one downstairs, so they ran upstairs and noticed that the door to one of the extra rooms was open. They found Rindo, Jin and Tachikawa standing around the room's bed talking to a young woman who carried a black bag. When Rindo noticed the two teens who had just entered the room, he thanked the woman, who nodded before heading for the door.
Yuma and Chika walked up to the bed. Osamu lay completely still on the soft surface, bar the slight rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. There was a bandage on his cheek, as well as one wrapped around his head. The Tamakoma-2 captain also had his left wrist wrapped up, and likely had other injuries that were covered by his clothes and the light blue blanket that had been spread over him. His glasses were folded up neatly on the nightstand next to his bed, and the lack of them on his face made him look oddly like Kyosuke.
"I ran into Kuga-kun on the way here with Amatori-chan," Reiji told his boss as he walked into the room behind Yuma and Chika. Rindo nodded.
"Thank you for getting Chika-chan here safely. You can go back to defense duty now, if you'd like. Just make sure you stay safe, Reiji," Rindo thanked, sending the red haired agent on his way. Reiji nodded and left without a word.
"Is Osamu-kun okay?" Chika asked, breaking the short silence that had settled over her. She looked up at Jin and Rindo. Rindo sighed.
"He got a little beat up. His worst injury is a minor sprain in his wrist. He seems to have gotten hit pretty hard in the head, but thanfully no concussion. His ribs were also a little bruised, but nothing that won't be okay in a day or two. He'll be just fine, thankfully," the man explained. Chika nodded. Yuma, on the other hand, was staring at the ground. His bangs hid his eyes from sight, and despite his small size, the vibe he was currently giving off made him intimidating.
"The assassin did this, didn't it," he accused, saying it more like a statement than a question. His voice had taken on the seemingly emotionless low tone he used when he got mad. This time, Tachikawa gave a response.
"Kido looked into it, and we can't be sure, but the residual Trigger energy is one not in Borders records. Since we don't have a confirmed reading from another area where the assassin's Trigger was used offensively, we can't tell if it was the assassin," the young man reported, though he seemed to be talking more to the whole group rather than just Yuma.
The white haired Neighbor went completely still for a second, then he suddenly turned toward the door.
"Don't, Yuma."
The familiar voice of Yuichi Jin, who had been strangely quiet throughout the whole ordeal, rang clearly through the room. Yuma stopped, but he didn't turn around.
"If it was the assassin, then attacking Four-Eyes was a way to lure us out. The assassin wants us to be angry, to draw us out to the place with favorable conditions to take out who ever it's after. You know that," Jin continued. Yuma sighed and turned around, his face clear of emotion.
"You always know what others are thinking, don't you," he said, once again stating his questions more as statements. His 'angry Yuma' tone had for the most part disappeared, now taking on more of a serious tone. Jin shook his head, his expression the same as Yuma's.
"I know what you and that assassin are thinking because I think the same way. I want to fight this assassin so it will leave my kouhai alone, though I know that this is bait because I do the same thing, just in a different way," he explained. Yuma locked his ruby red eyes on Jin's icy blue ones, and the two stared at each other for a moment before abruptly ending their silent conversation.
"If you're all good here, I have to go report to Kido-san," Tachikawa suddenly said, heading for the door. Everyone watched him go before turning their attention back to Osamu. Things were getting worse.
When Tachikawa got back to HQ, he headed straight for Kido's office. The man was waiting, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.
"It happened, just like we thought. With that energy signature...even Jin is sure that this was the assassins way of luring its target out. Yuma was about to take the bait, but Jin stopped him. Yuma isn't stupid, but he knows that he's the target, and I have no doubt that should something like this happen again, he'll act. He won't let the assassin hurt his team again," Tachikawa reported. Kido nodded.
"Will Mikumo-kun be targeted again?" he asked. Tachikawa shrugged.
"It's possible, though Chika Amatori is also a possible target. It's no secret that Yuma cares about her, and wants to protect her. She may be a bigger target, since the assassin will expect us to guard Mikumo-kun more," he explained. Kido sighed.
"We need to continue keeping tabs on this. Also, I think this recent attack is evidence that I need to have a meeting with Shinoda, Rindo, you and Jin. That will be in four days, which should be enough time for Rindo to sort out Mikumo-kun. For the next few days, neither your squad or any Tamakoma agents will have defense duty. Keep a close on Yuma, make sure he doesn't get himself killed. If we're somehow wrong about the assassin just wanting Yuma, then we can't afford to lose a skilled agent. That's it for now," he finished. Tachikawa nodded, then left his boss' office. Once outside, he let out a sigh. This assassin business was giving him and everyone else each a killer headache and a base case of paranoia.
The agents all hoped the exaggerated 'killer' part would not become less of an exaggeration and more of a reality any time soon.
A/N: I know I updated two whole days ago but I just fixed some typos I completely missed. Sorry about that