This story was done as a response to a challenge prompt by Peacewish, whose story, "Scattered Blossoms," showed me that a good fic could even surpass the original in depth in addition to making Touya my favorite character in the series.

Challenge: A Different Point of View
Title: On the job
Setting: One year post original.
Pairings: Not unless you squint

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"Rin-san, it's started to rain."

"So it has." Even before my junior co-worker informed me, the sporadic sounds of raindrops tapping against the roof of the nondescript sports utility vehicle had already alerted me to the change in weather. I lifted the binoculars to my eyes and looked out the passenger side window, scanning through the misty rain at the front of the elementary school about sixty meters away where my charge was supposed to be waiting. Sure enough, there she stood under the overhang, amidst a colorful mass of shifting umbrellas and raincoats alongside her best friend, Sakura Kinomoto.

Besides me in the driver's seat, Ayano, dressed in the standard dark blue suit and skirt, leaned towards the rear seats for several umbrellas. "I will go and retrieve the young mistress now."

"Wait…" A few minutes later, I spotted the person I had been waiting for: a tall, dark-haired young man dressed in the uniform of the neighboring high school, Touya Kinomoto, Sakura's elder brother. He walked under a large dark umbrella, carrying an extra one with him, which he raised nonchalantly in response when his sister spotted him and began waving happily.

Moments later he arrived at the entrance to the school, where a small bit of confusion seems to have risen due to the fact that the extra umbrella he brought, one with yellow flower patterns, was too small for both Sakura and the young mistress. The brother appeared miffed at what I presume was the mistress' smiling suggestion that he take the small umbrella and neither of the siblings seemed enthusiastic about sharing one with each other, and so it ended up with Sakura by herself and the mistress walking with Touya.

I placed the binoculars aside and tapped my earpiece twice, bringing to attention the rest of the team that was on shift this afternoon. "Attention, survey group B, survey group C, this is group A. The mistress will be walking home with Cherry Blossom and Peach Blossom, alert the mansion to expect them in twenty-five minutes and then lay off on the tail, we'll do the follow up."

After end of communications, Ayano started up the engine just as the trio was about to turn a corner. "Rin-san, did you know that Peach Blossom was going to show up?"

I strapped on my seatbelt as I replied. "The rain was not in the forecast this morning, so neither Cherry Blossom nor the mistress remembered to bring rain gear. On days like these, he usually comes to get them."

"But why does the mistress bother waiting for him when we could just pick her up?"

"Because we are to be as little obtrusive as we can when we are guarding her, and also…" Better to walk home chatting with friends than have us quickly whisk her back to a large, empty mansion. "… Never mind. Keep a good distance away from them so that we're not noticed."

The rain continued to fall as we tailed the group discretely, Touya's large silhouette contrasting starkly with the mistress' smaller one. It soon became apparent that his broad shoulders made both keeping himself from bumping into the mistress, who was walking besides him, and staying entirely out of the rain difficult. He ended up getting wet.

"Quite the gentleman isn't he, Peach Blossom." said Ayano as she leaned forward upon the wheel, a small smirk appearing on her face. "And a handsome fellow too, I rather fancy types like him myself, even if he is a few years younger."

I chuckled. "Keep dreaming, girl. Even if it wasn't against protocol to date the mistress' friends, I doubt he's the type to go for women six years older than him." Ayano sighed wistfully and we continued to follow.

A few minutes later, a figure clad in bright green rain gear ran… no, hopped down the street towards the direction of the walking three, requiring me to stop my less experienced co-worker before she gunned the engine towards the possibly hostile suspect. The green-clad figure threw her arms around Touya's neck from behind and when she pulled back her hood, long blonde strands fell back to reveal the assailant's identity as a none other than Akizuki Nakuru. "Relax, that's another of the mistress' acquaintances. We call her Bouncy."

Presently, Nakuru began to rub her moistened face vigorously against Touya's, using his dry body as a towel in the process, much to his dismay and the two other girls' bemusement. I raised an eyebrow when I realized Ayano was glaring at the beautiful brunette, but said nothing before my cell-phone began vibrating in my breast pocket—the call had come. "Good afternoon, mistress. What can I do for you?"

"Good afternoon, Rin-san." I could hear the smile in her voice and the excited chatter (a cacophony of flirtful banter and annoyed grousing) in the background as my charge glanced towards our direction. "Touya needs to dry off his jacket, so I'll be having them stay for tea when we get home."

"I'll let the staff back at the mansion know."

"Thank you. You and the rest of your team can have the rest of the afternoon off."

"I understand, please enjoy yourself." I replaced the cell phone and leaned back in the leather seat, taking off my sunglasses as I did so. "We can stop following them now, Ayano; Mistress' orders."

The girl next to me began pouting as she blew up absently at the auburn bangs hanging in front of her visage. "Hmph. Bouncy certainly has got a lot of cheek, throwing herself at Peach Blossom like that. I don't see why he puts up with it."

"That's just the way they are. I actually think they have pretty good chemistry." I nearly smiled when I saw how Ayano's brows continued to furrow grumpily, and reached over to pinch her lightly on the cheek. "Come now, cheer up. There's a shop nearby which serves up a devilish chocolate mousse cake, my treat."

A loud sigh escaped the girl's lips as she restarted the engine, which rumbled back to life. "Plenty of fish in the sea is what they say, but all the good ones are either gay or already claimed…"

End.