A/N: *Drowns in all the essays and homework due Monday that I forgot about until Sunday night* I think I might be subconsciously stretching things out as far as I can so the story won't end soon or something, because once again the chapter didn't leave off where I thought it would. I'm trying to make them about 2,000 words each, just so I don't have any huge differencs in chapter length like in the beginning. Anyway, this chapter focused more on Rindo, and how I think he would react in the situation. There is also a bit of Kido playing dirty, since we all know he can be a nasty person when he doesn't get his way. I hope this isn't too bad, since I haven't been able to get a good understanding of Rindo as a character, since he doesn't have much screen time. That aside, sorry for any typos, errors and just overall crappy writing. Enjoy the chapter and I'll be back next week with another.
The next morning, Yuma was still laying on the couch watching television when Jin came into the room. He was dressed in his normal Border uniform, blue Tamakoma jacket, boots and all. His sunglasses reflected the light that shone through the window. His hair was neatly combed back like always, not covering his face. It was all the same as usual, except Yuma noticed a few things that were off. Jin looked a little paler than usual, and he seemed just a little bit thinner. The area under his eyes was light lilac, and his eyes themselves weren't as bright as they usually were.
"Jin-san, so you feel okay?" Yuma asked, tilting his head slightly to lock eyes with his superior. Jin nodded and gave the young Neighbor a smile, but Yuma could tell that it was a little more forced.
"Yeah, I just have a little bit of a headache," Jin said simply. Yuma stared into the icy blue eyes of the older teen, and his Side Effect told him that Jin was not lying. Even so, it's didn't seem like 'a little bit of a headache' would make Jin seem this much different. Despite that, Yuma knew his Side Effect was never wrong, so he decided to buy the explanation. After all, he could just be imagining things. The Neighbor returned his eyes to the television, but his focus was still on the other Border agent in the room.
He heard the sound of boots against the floor as Jin walked to the kitchen, the sound pausing as Jin opened the refrigerator and gazed inside. The sound resumed as Jin shut the refrigerator and walked back to the living area, returning to Yuma's field of vision holding two apples. He offered one to the white-haired teen on the couch, and Yuma took it, nodding in thanks. Jin nodded back, then sat on the couch opposite Yuma's. The two teens ate their breakfast whilst watching the cheesy romance show that had marathoned over the past twelve hours. Yuma found it boring, but it had at least been something to do all night. It had for the most part kept his mind off the assassin, giving him a little bit of a break. Though just because he didn't think of a problem didn't mean it wasn't there.
Not too long after Jin came downstairs, Rindo came down. He had a small duffel bag slung over one shoulder, and a sleepy Yotaro in his free arm. Yuma glanced at the time and saw that it was almost 8am, a bit early for a five year old who stayed up late. No wonder Yotaro was still tired. When Yuma had been younger, about Yotaro's age, his father would sometimes let him sleep until at least 9am. That was only on occasion though. With all their traveling, Yuma was usually woken even sooner. Even so, Yotaro usually slept until about 9:30am, so the earlier time was probably a bit too soon for him.
"Jin, Yuma, I'm going to Yosuke's. I'll be back within the hour. I'm going to go drop off Yotaro," Rindo said, readjusting Yotaro so he wouldn't fall. Even though Yotaro was pretty small, he wasn't very easy to carry. Rindo glanced around, looking for one last thing. Rindo walked behind the kitchen table, then set Yotaro down on the reddish-brown capybara that was behind it.
"We'll be here," Jin said over his shoulder to his boss as Rindo headed to the door, Raijinmaru behind him with Yotaro on his back. Rindo waved at the two in the living area, then disappeared down that hallway. Seconds later, Jin and Yuma heard the sound of a door opening then closing before the room was silent, bar the quiet voices from the TV. Jin and Yuma once again returned their attention to the show that they were half-watching as they waited for the rest of Tamakoma to wake up.
Within the hour, the others came out of their rooms. Reiji was the first to come out, having woken up only a few minutes after Rindo left. Kyosuke emerged from his room soon after, followed by Osamu and Shiori. Chika and Konami were the last to join everyone in the living room, the latter still looking half asleep.
As every one got settled on the furniture in the living area, they glanced at what was on the TV. Osamu raised an eyebrow at Yuma and Jin, who both shrugged.
"Konami, your hair is sticking up," Kyosuke said from where he sat in a chair by himself. He had his left leg crossed over his right, one elbow balanced on the arm of the chair to prop up his head. Konami, who sat on one of the couches next to Shiori, went wide eyed before putting her hands up, combing her thin fingers through her perfectly straight strawberry blond hair.
"Konami-senpai, your hair is fine. It wasn't sticking up at all," Osamu pointed out from across the coffee table on the other couch where he sat with Yuma and Chika. Konami froze, her face going pale. She then suddenly jumped up and lunged across the coffee table, locking an arm around Osamu's neck in a headlock before messing his hair up.
"You tricked meeeee!" she screeched like she always did in these types of situations.
"Karasuma-senpai tricked you, not me!" Osamu said, sending Jin and Kyosuke a desperate look as he attempted to pry his senpai away. Jin chuckled, then took pity on his kouhai.
"That's enough, Konami-chan," he said. Konami narrowed her eyes at him, but released Osamu and returned to her seat. Chika giggled when she looked at Osamu, who frowned sadly as he tried to fix his now sticking up, messy hair.
Everyone fell into a relaxed silence as they watched the cheesy show on the TV, no one scheduled to work for the day.
At around 9:30am, the door to Tamakoma opened, then was pulled shut. Everyone looked in the direction of the door as Rindo came into view.
"Did you get Yotaro dropped off okay?" Jin asked. Rindo nodded.
"Yeah, I did. Yosuke didn't ask any questions, thankfully. The assassin matter is classified, so he doesn't know about it. If had asked questions, I might have ended up either explaining everything to him or returning with Yotaro and Raijinmaru," the man said, running a hand through his hair, a sign of stress. He walked into the living area and sat down next to Osamu on the couch.
*As Rindo approached the Yoneya household, he began feeling a bit uneasy. Would Yosuke ask questions? Rindo was good at deception, just like any other high-ranking Border agent, but Yosuke worked with the quiet, moody, brooding ball of rage that was Shuji Miwa. If there was anyone who could pester someone relentlessly with never-ending questions to get even a little bit of information and not get tired, it's was Yosuke.
Brushing his thoughts aside, Rindo rang the doorbell. There were light footsteps in the house for a moment before the door opened to reveal Yosuke, who wore black jeans and a purple t-shirt.
"Hey Yotaro, Rindo-san," he greeted. Rindo gave the teen in front of him a smile, then watched as Raijinmaru walked right into the house, Yotaro still on his back. Rindo pulled the small light duffel bag off his shoulder and gave it to Yosuke.
"I just put enough clothes for a few days in there, as well as a few other things. I'm sorry for asking you to watch him on such short notice," Rindo apologized. Yosuke took the duffel bag and chuckled, shaking his head.
"It's fine. Border is busy work," he said, his words coming from experience. Rindo smiled again and nodded.
"Well, thanks again. If he gives you too much trouble, just give me a call. Things should die down within the next few days, and everyone's assignments should be wrapped up quickly, so I'll be back then to get Yotaro," he explained. Yosuke gave the man a nod, then turned toward Yotaro and Raijinmaru, shutting the door behind him. Rindo turned and walked away from the house, his smile fading, replaced by a grim frown. Things had gone well here, but there was no telling if Tamakoma's situation would be good as well.*
Tamakoma fell into silence, everyone fixated once again on the TV. That is until Rindo's phone went off. The man frowned as he looked down at it. He was relieved to see that it wasn't Yosuke calling, since that could mean Yotaro got himself into trouble. However, the fact that the call was from Shinoda was very confusing. The meeting concerning the assassin was happening in three days, and Run so couldn't think of a reason why he would have been contacted before then. The Tamakoma Director stood up and walked into the hallway before taking the call.
"Hello?"
"Rindo, it's Shinoda. Kido asked me to tell you that there was a report of a Gate opening a few cities away. We were planning on sending Kazama squad, but Kido wants to keep them around in case another Gate shows up. He decided instead to send Tamakoma-1," Shinoda explained. Rindo did not reply immediately, his brain processing what he had been told.
"Doesn't he realize I need those three around? If Tamakoma gets attacked, it's them, Yuma and Jin who'll have to keep Mikumo-kun and Chika-chan safe. As good as Jin and Yuma are, I'm not sure that they could handle things themselves, and I can't do much to help. I haven't used a Trigger in years. We don't know the ability of the assassin's abilities, except that it was able to take down Mikumo-kun before he could even activate his Trigger. If I send Konami-chan, Kyosuke-kun and Reiji out to investigate this Gate, we could end up with more than a mild injury or two," Rindo hissed, keeping his voice low so those in the living area wouldn't hear him. There was a sigh on the other end.
"I was against sending them too, but Kido-san was pretty adamant. He said something about it being better to make sure our problems stay in Mikado and don't spread to other cities. Also, Tamakoma-1 will only be gone about a week," Shinoda said, trying to find some sort of silver lining.
"Are you sure Kido won't change his mind?" Rindo asked, a plan to argue with his boss until he complied forming in his head. Shinoda paused for a moment.
"I spent and hour talking to him about it. This is just like the Black Trigger Retrieval Mission though. He won't back down," the man said. Rindo sighed.
"Tamakoma-1 works under me, so they don't go unless I tell them to," Rindo pointed out.
"True, but Miwa squad works under Kido, who is willing to give them time off so Yosuke can spend more time around Yotaro. However, if Tamakoma-1 isn't sent out, things could change. We both know Yosuke doesn't know what's going on, so he won't know not to leave Yotaro alone. At least, that's the point Kido-san made," Shinoda said, his voice somewhat cold. Rindo's eyes widened. Was Kido trying to threaten him? Why was the man so admant about sending Tamakoma-1 to investigate the Gate? Was it in a major city, or did they just need a skilled team? Or maybe Kido hoped that by sending away some of Tamakoma's defense, it will be easier for the assassin to take out its target and finally get out of their hair.
Both men were silent for a minute as Rindo looked at his dilemma. If he went through with Kido's plan, Jin and Yuma would still be at Tamakoma. It might even be possible to get Tachikawa or Kazama to act as an extra guard. Also, Yosuke would be able to keep a good eye on Yotaro. However, if Rindo refused, while Tamakoma would be safer, Yotaro would be in more danger. He could just go get Yotaro back from Yosuke, but then the teen would be confused and rumors could start, making things turn sour. Plus, Tamakoma still wouldn't be as safe as Yosuke's house. The decision had to come down to the people though. Sending Tamakoma-1 would be better for the civilians in the area where the possible Gate was. Civilians had to come first, that's how Border worked. Rindo sighed, making his decision.
"Alright, I'll send them. This isn't over though," Rindo said icily before hanging up. The man looked back the way he had come, his eyes landing on the agents in the living area as he wondered if he was making the right decision or if he was just acting on emotion.
A/N: I'll be keeping the poll up for the main character of my next story. I know I won't be starting another multi-chapter until Black Trigger is finished, but I might sneak in some one-shots. I can't do any this week unfortunately because three of my teachers have a big test in their classes set for tomorrow (help). Also, I finally started writing down the prompts I've been given by you guys in a notebook, so I should be able to make a few one-shots out of some of those. Anyway, thanks to everyone who voted on the poll, and if you haven't and you want to, just go to my profile and it should be at the top of the page.