This week had been a mess of a ride for the commander of the Magical Elite Corporation, Ren Yamashiro.
Infiltration, viruses, quarantine, life or death situations. You could name, it would be there; Roku Denki had been fatally injured, same could be said about a certain Azuma member, and her staff had to be placed on specific zones thanks to the regulations placed.
She couldn't finish jobs, couldn't start new ones.
A hassle.
But even on such a busied environment, she had found a way to add more fuel into the fire.
"Are you sure this isn't illegal, commander?"
Roku Denki and Ren Yamashiro found themselves inside a rocky cave right below the headquarter facilities. It was a place of darkness, zero light but the one magically constructed by the commander, and also a place practically no one but Ren, and now the janitor, knew about.
"Not s single thing I do is illegal" Ren replied nonchalantly, and Roku sweat dropped, feeling the condescending words on his core.
The dark haired powerhouse of a woman had spent the last ten minutes standing in the middle of the creepy cave with both of her eyes wide open and displaying Vairocana, the kanji letters in her purple orbs indicating as such. Books surrounded her body and pages scrolled every milisecond.
In front of her, a small wooden door kept getting constructed through her magic.
"I'm...not allowed to send you back through normal means to the human world. Only captains and exceptions are allowed; and the federals keep a tight watch on traversable portals in Japan" In a blink of an eye the door had been constructed and her eyes were back to normal, "But the government is not able to track portals randomly opened, only permanent ruptures. I promised you a visit to your family, and this is our way to get there" The door opened, and a black screen surrounded by mist blocked the view to the other side.
This was similar to the portal he took to get into Mato.
"I'm impressed, commander. You can even use teleportation..." Ren made a face and half attempted to lie and say she actually could, but no she wouldn't.
"It's only through specific runes that I can travel between the human world and Mato" She left it as that. Roku didn't need to know whether or not she could actually teleport.
The man hummed in response.
"It's still impressive. And, where would this lead us?" Roku for his part walked closer to the door and examined it.
How could magic create wood out of practically nowhere?
Ren snapped her fingers and a notepad appeared in her hands.
"...District seven, Hoshimura street. Right next to..." She had some trouble reading the name of the complex.
"Gateway apartments" Roku finished for her, demonstrating a perfect pronunciation. Ren internally nodded, colored impressed, "Have you been there before, ma'am?" The janitor questioned and she merely denied with her head.
"I can't say I have" And she didn't. Ren wouldn't really say it either, but she was never allowed around different districts than her own back when she was a child. Once she turned of age, all she got in mind were her position as a commander and Mato, so the real world had been left behind as just a memory for the dark haired commander.
Roku hummed in response once again and stepped away from the door, returning to the commander's side.
"Should I get going, then? You mentioned only a few hours..." He was right, she couldn't let the open for too long a time without anybody noticing.
"Like I said before, the law only lets you travel through portals on weekends per national agreement. I'll let you off early next week to compensate a little as well" Ren finished and frowned a bit. Maybe she was being too rough about this?
But Roku merely nodded once again.
"And I thank you for that, commander" He coughed, "Honestly, I only want to check up on everybody, maybe have dinner with them. Two hours or so should suffice"
Roku took a step towards the door only to be stopped mid track, with magic binding him in place for a second.
"I'm...actually coming with you" Ren confessed to her doings and let him go. Roku only turned to look at her, confused, "I-, well...you can't re-open the door on your own without me, so I'll make sure you get back here without issues" She managed, flustered.
"It's fine, I just thought you'd be extremely busy" He answered back and Ren denied with her head. On one hand, that was absolutely true.
On the other hand, she absolutely wouldn't let Roku wander around in the human world after such a horrific incident, more when his scar was still very much pulsing and bright red. In reality, Roku could walk through and come back with the door without issues, but Ren just couldn't for the life of her let him out of her sight for the time being. So she'd be there just in case anything happened.
That's what a friend would do.
For sure
"Two hours or so is nothing, don't worry about it" She finally said and took a step forward, walking closer to the door. Roku followed closely.
Stoping right in front of it, both of them took a second to look at the dark portal.
"Just one thing, commander" Roku interrupted, "I know I can't really ask for stuff to the head master of the corps but...And don't take this with any offense" The guy scratched the back of his head before continuing, "But could you not force stop my body's movement through magic? I feel a little scared every time you do it" He sighed, finally letting out his worries, "I just feel squished, as if I were to be splattered on the ground in a blink like a mosquito, it's a weird feeling..."
Ren took a step back, personally attacked. Maybe hurt? Her chest was tight, for sure. When did she ever give the impression? Make Roku feel threatened? She had assured him merely an hour ago, but he still thought this way?
"I'd never do such a thing", She tried, the hurt being replaced by a shot of ego-centrism, "Just for you to know, I've never dealt damage to any innocent person across my entire career" Or at least no significant damage, she thought, "That's not to say I can't do it, but I have a moral code and I abide to it; I'd never hurt you like that, less so kill you...R-Roku" She used his name and stuttered, still not used to it, "I can use this power on its wide variety without hurting people, and you'll have to accept that" She finished, with the initial issue long forgotten and blinded by her personal troubles.
Some seconds afterwards she realized, the words she used were probably not the correct ones, at all.
"...I understand, commander. Let's just forget I said anything. Besides, you've only done this like twice or thrice, so maybe I'm just being paranoid" Roku nodded and turned around, his eyes turning into sharp and cold needles. Ren's gut made a movement, suddenly appearing right in the middle of her throat.
The janitor stepped into the portal and disappeared. The commander took a big gulp.
Gods.
She had fucked up.
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"Have you seen Roku?"
"Average height, dark eyes?"
"You seen this man around?"
Yakumo Ezo found herself in a situation. One moment, Roku had gone to see the commander for their briefing, and next thing she knew, neither the janitor nor the commander were anywhere in sight. She knew better than to enter the room uninvited (sometimes) but once she did, no one was home! She'd been right at the exit probably for an hour (it was only about fifteen minutes) and then they just disappeared!
Unfair!
"Hey! Have you seen our janitor? He looks like this" For the fourth time, she took hold of a staff members attention, pulling the little woman to the side to ask her about Roku.
Yakumo showed them a picture she had secretly taken of Roku to boast around her team chat before.
It was him concentrated on cleaning the public onzen, a few days ago. He was wearing his white clothes and bandana, with his tongue poking out in concentration to the task. As the chief came to learn, Roku took his and any other job very seriously.
The little staff member remained silent for a bit, with her face turning red and angry.
Uh-oh.
"Fifth unit's captain!" Her cute face contorted into a angry pout, "This is the third time you ask me about this boy! Can you stop already? If I had seen him I'd have told you so already!"
Yakumo was left with no answers and a told off by a cute staff member.
"Damn it all, where did you run off to, Roku-chin?"
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Ren felt herself starting to get a bit stressed. Since arriving at the human world, Roku had remained silent, although that was a usual thing with him, to be honest. The street they appeared in was unlike anything she had seen before; lively people walked from side to side, either going to or coming from their day jobs. Stalls on every corner, be it food, mundane utensils or something similar to that.
There were little to no skyscrapers in the area, and instead it was a place filled with parks and greens. Bushes, trees, fresh grass and the magnificent smell of a healthy environment.
Perhaps a bit on the humble side, but very lively.
"Hey! It's Roku!" A voice kicked both of them out of immersion and suddenly both the janitor and the commander found themselves surrounded by either old or young people. Some were workers and others just people of age, retired or actually just kids.
There was far too much chatter for Ren to even begin understanding what they were saying, but Roku on the other hand seemed happy to reply and catch up with what she could only guess were his friends or acquaintances.
"You said you'd be popping up last Friday!" A kid probably half their age approached the guy and bumped him on the chest, a little too close to where the scar was. Even then, Roku remained calm and smiled at the kid. Maybe only Ren noticed the slight wince on his face.
"Some stuff happened, but I'm here now, ain't I?" the brown haired boy pouted but nodded nonetheless, "How's your mom?" Some personal conversation was exchanged, before the kid was sent back to his house with a grin on his face.
"Oh, and who might you be?" An older lady with gray hair approached Ren, who had been too preoccupied getting used to so many people to even notice her before.
She was about to reply with a prideful answer, but a hand took hold of her wrist tightly. Not to cause any harm, but actually clearly sending a message.
It was Roku's.
"This is Ren" Under other circumstances, the commander would've been seething at the action. But given the way Roku was acting plus what had happened earlier, she opted to remain quiet for the time being, "She wanted to check out the district since she's never been here before" He continued, obviously lying subtly towards the woman, and kindly removing the hold from her wrist, "She's my boss, and she's also a friend" Roku finished with a honest smile and any other emotions Ren could've been harboring at the interaction were quickly replaced by a fluttery happy feeling. Even her body relaxing and her lips turning upwards a little.
"Oh, is that right?" The woman turned to look at her in the eyes and Ren took a second to realize and nod up and down twice.
"Yes...It's a beautiful place, very green" She managed and the old lady beamed a smile at her words. It felt extremely weird; how long had it been since she had just been kind and talked nonsense with strangers?
Both of them exchanged a few more words before the old lady took her leave, bowing to Ren before doing so.
On the side of her eye, she caught Roku speaking with a grown adult. Dark hair, dark eyes and a muscular figure. Given by his uniform, it was clear he was related to either security or guard ship.
A bit if enhancement on the ears, and she started listening.
"Any issues lately?" Roku's voice changed from one of warm friendliness to straight business.
The man in question sighed in reply and took out two cigarettes from his pocket, immediately handing one to Roku.
"Your girl don't mind the smoke?" The man questioned and Ren felt her cheeks reddening at a quick pace. She was eavesdropping, so no comment or retort on her part, but still she wished Roku-,
"Not my girl. She's...actually someone quite huge, so let's just keep it respectful" An internal proud nod kept repeating inside the commanders mind. That's right!
"Alright, if you say so" The muscular man nodded twice in agreement and lit up both their cigarettes. Ren had already learned Roku smoked, but this was the first time seeing it directly. She paid it no mind.
They continued.
"Nothing too bad...or that's what I'd like to say, but there's been a few attacks around the south-, none fatal, but a few things got mugged, and y'know the drill" The man let out a sigh once again.
"You found who did it?" Roku inquired and the muscular guy just denied with his head.
"Nope, which is why I wanted your help. You staying long?" The janitor frowned at the answer and exhaled hard. For the first time since Ren met him, he seemed to be angry.
"No. I can't stay long today" He clicked his tongue, "But I'll be here Friday before nightfall..."
"That's all I needed to hear" The man chuckled, "We'll patrol the area this week and wait out. I wanna think it's just some mean kids but if we're talking about south..."
"I know" Roku finally separated from the man, ending the private exchange, "You got my phone, I don't like texts but keep me updated, Akima" The man, apparently named Akima nodded twice again and walked away without saying goodbye. Roku didn't seem to mind, turning around to face Ren.
Apparently the people had long since left to do their usual some time ago.
The commander in question was too perplexed to speak. What first seemed like a policeman trusting a citizens turned around like a helicopter. Was Roku some sort of mob lord? Or just a clan leader? It wasn't crazy to think that way, given the way he acted around the facility and with the missions she's given her, but still...
"Did you hear all that, commander?" Ren realized she had been caught and only nodded in response, "I...might explain it later-,"
"You don't need to explain it. So long it doesn't mess your work within Mato or jeopardize our operations, it's none of my business". She rationalized and Roku stared at her with impressed eyes.
It irked the commander, but those eyes were due.
Yes she could be understanding.
It was just harder for her than other things...
"Well, thank you, commander...it's nothing so severe anyway" Roku laughed weakly and walked her way, "It's just a few blocks to reach my home. Shall we?" Roku offered and Ren nodded in reply.
"Let's go, time is running and I want you to have some time with your family"
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"Huh? Roku? Nope, haven't seen him. But surely he's hiding away from you, lecherous woman"
"Shut up"
Grunts and frustration. The captain of the fifth unit had spent the better part of the day looking around every single corner of the headquarters, trying to find at least a hair of the missing janitor (or the commander) to no avail.
They had vanished without a trace. Even asking all of the quarantine security guards plus Mira's clone had left her empty handed. This was the last of them, and probably the original Mira and still no information regarding the two missing idiots.
Mira noticed the look on the wind user's face and could only sigh in response to it.
"Look, he's a janitor too. He has duties to attend to, so he's probably just doing something and you haven't managed to catch him! Give it a break" The blonde Yankee attempted to change her mood, but Yakumo was always a stubborn child. She merely nodded back at her, "'And what's all this obsession with Roku anyway? You're not usually like this. Don't tell me...you fell for him?" Mira teased with humor and a light tone. Merely mocking the wind user.
Yakumo's ears went bright red and the Yankee's hat almost fell down the floor in dumbfounded confusion.
"Oi, oi, oi" The 2nd's chief shook her hands in denial, extended right in front of Yakumo, "You've known the guy for, like, half a week. Ezo! What the hell?" The purple haired woman frowned and pouted, cheeks reddish and, even by Mira's standards, cute.
"I didn't say anything!" She retorted, eyes closed, "I'm not sure what is going on...I'm-" Yakumo paused and took a second to think, before her eyes opened, snapping her fingers as she found a response, "I'm interested! I-it's okay to be interested after a few days, right? It's not the same as falling...And you can't blame me!" Yakumo squirmed and made numerous faces, all funny and new to the blonde captain. Outside, she had a face of confusion and bewilderment. Inside, for once, Mira felt endearment towards the wind user. Had someone finally tamed the lecherous beast for once? If anything, this turn of events was great. Yakumo had spent half of her career harassing members and staff all alike, and since maybe only the commander had the actual power to stop her, the wind user had long ago overstepped her boundaries for many of them. That someone managed to pull all of her attention was a good thing.
"Hey, I ain't blaming you...I was just messing a bit" Mira laughed and patted the troubled woman's back, "And you mentioned Roku was with the Commander, yeah? So then there's no way anything bad gonna happen to him. Ren's been on red alert around him since his incident, so you can rest assure wherever they went to, they're fine" The blonde Yankee managed to logic her way into calming Yakumo.
"...I guess you're right" Finally, the girl sighed and gave up, "And I still got some paperwork to file up..."
"For real! Go to your room and finish that shit, time will fly in a jiffy and you'll get your beloved Roku back to you without even noticing" The blonde captain jested and teased once again, causing Yakumo to flee the scene with a blush adorning her face,"Besides, they're both okay for sure" She let out to the air.
They were both okay...for sure.
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Gods, this was not okay.
Ren had a small idea in her mind of what was going to happen that day:
She'd wait outside, spend some time in a cafeteria nearby or something mundane of the sort, let Roku spend time with his family and then be done with the day and come back. That was it; easy and simple, no detours. No problems.
"Thank you for the food"
Somehow, The Commander of the magical elite corpses found herself around a busy small table, filled with homemade cooked dinner, warm bread and four glasses of water. Inside of a beautiful and warm kitchen surrounded by items she'd only think of as family-related. Pictures, child drawings on the fridge, plates both dirty or recently washed, and the casual cute magnets that held the drawings to said fridge.
Earlier that day, just when they reached what she assumed to be Roku's apartment complex, they had both bumped into an extravagantly beautiful woman; dark eyes, slender figure and a long dark pony tail. At first, Ren had thought nothing about it. But then the mysterious woman dropped the plastic bags she was carrying and immediately threw herself onto Roku, embracing him tightly while taking a look a Ren and the commander understood.
Those eyes were the same as Roku's by a long shot, so much that you'd need to be blind to not see it.
That was Roku's mother.
'Oh please! If she's your boss then it's even more important that you invite her for dinner; am I making myself clear here, Roku?' The woman was probably as direct and stern as her son, but far softer. She didn't look older than literally twenty something years old, which was shown by her strength and charisma...and the way she handled Roku herself...it made Ren realize how good of a mother she was.
Then she was forced (invited) to the family dinner, finally ending right at the small table of four.
"Is Kota here yet?" Roku was sitting right next to the commander, with his own plate served and a smile on his face. Clearly he liked being around familiar environments.
"In his room! Go tell him dinner is ready" His mother replied and Ren half attempted to plead not to leave her alone with his mom, but she abstained herself.
"Right. I'll be back in a second" Roku stated and both women nodded in response.
Left alone, Ren merely stared at her plate awkwardly...at the very least knowing not to eat before everyone took a seat.
It was Roku's mother that broke the ice first.
"So, are you and my son...?" She started, asking without needing to ask and for the second time that decade Ren blushed her ears away.
"N-No! Oh no, nothing like that" The dark haired commander denied with both her hands and her head, laughing nervously and out of character. "He's just my subordinate and a friend..." She tried explaining without going too far.
Roku had explicitly asked her not to mention Mato or his or her work for that matter. That no one on the district nor even his mother knew Ren's face or her reputation told her enough to understand why.
"Oh, well, that's also good to hear. Thank you for taking care of my child, I hope he's been good so far"
Roku's mother shared so many features with him, and the way her eyes stared deep into Ren's soul was a clear reminder of that.
"He's been...exceptional, and I'm not somebody that calls someone like that at all" For whatever reason, Ren found she had no issues commending and complimenting the janitor to anybody, having done so already in brief talks with the former commander Tovera (Who after healing up Roku had to dip back to the clan's quarters) and with Kaiko when briefing her up on his resume, "Diligent, well spoken and trustworthy. To be honest, he's left me with no room to complain" Ren entered business mode, happy to let others know her staff was the peak of the tallest mountain around, "Your son is a great coworker and also a good listener, a-and a good friend to hace, you've risen him very well...I'm sorry, but I never learned your name?" Roku had introduced her to his mother, but he never mentioned the woman's name.
"Oh! I was so lost in your description that I completely forgot" She laughed in response, elegantly hiding her mouth behind an open pale, "I'm Nari Denki, but you can just call me Nana, dear"
"Mom! Why didn't you tell me Roku was here!?" A child-like voice pulled their attention, and Ren was met with probably one of the cutest kids she had seen in her life. Brown, short hair, freckles, big eyes and a toothy smile missing one teeth. He was like one of those Netflix kids.
"I told you, I just got here" Right behind him, Roku. Ren couldn't even see a single thing resembling on each other. In fact, they seemed quite the opposite; Roku almost never had a spark in his eyes, his face always stoic and his brow stern, focused. Very sharp. The kid on the other hand resembled the sun, "And this is Ren, my boss. Show some manners, aight?" Even then, the kid seemed really attached with his older brother, with his big eyes letting Ren know just how much he respected Roku.
"Hello! I'm Kota, nice to meet you" The kid greeted the dark haired commander with a practiced stern look that was a clear attempt to mimic Roku's...to no practical avail. Ren still felt a tug in her chest regardless.
It was hard to remember sometimes, but these people were the reason behind their fight...So much ego, pride, rivalries and hate ran around the corporation, that the reason behind their entire existence was kept hidden behind that smoke. To protect the weak, but more importantly...
To protect this beautiful souls from facing monsters like the ones found in Mato.
"Nice to you, little Kota" Even Roku smiled warmly when Ren went ahead and stretched the little boy's hand with care and gentleness. He knew, of course, that she was capable of this and lord. It was just great to see the display in action.
"Mom says I look a lot like my brother!" He declared and Ren couldn't help but chuckle, thinking no, that's far from true, but then Kota grinned that same grin Roku spotted at only the most precious moments, and her entire mind changed.
"Yep, you're his spitting image" She finally accepted and the boy beamed at her words. Probably a little far fetched, but a truth nonetheless; she had no doubts in her mind that Kota would end up looking like Roku in the years to come.
Inside her chest though, the tug still remained nagging her feelings.
She didn't even need to investigate it; this was jealousy. Jealousy at...the fact that Roku had this beautiful family thing going for him. And not the toxic kind of jelly, but actually just a bit frustrating. For all her perfect attributes, her family was utterly dispersed, spiced and a complex mess. To have such a cute brother and such a devoted mother caring for him, she just-. Oh right.
There's no dad. She realized, and felt the most stupid she had felt in years. No papa portraits, no paintings or memoirs. No nothing. She had to berate herself from the thoughts and shake her head to clean up her own mental mess. Perfect.
"Ren, you good?" Roku managed to save her the trouble and she lifted her eyes to see his own staring at her, while his little brother talked with his mom about something unrelated.
"I'm...fine, just got lost in thought for a bit" Ren reincorporated and composed herself, retaking her proud position on her seat, legs crossed.
"You two ready to eat?" Mama Denki inquired once she managed to get Kota to take a seat.
"Yes. And this looks delicious, by the way" The commander replied back as Roku took his own seat at the table, trying to be uncharacteristically courteous with the family and their offerings.
In reality, she felt like she'd just insulted them by feeling jealous about having a picture perfect family.
No one and nothing was truly perfect.
"Did I tell you already, big bro?" Kota's cute and pure souled voice resounded through her ears and she felt like puking.
If Ren Yamashiro even considered herself the strongest, the most powerful, the apex and true epitome of humanity and its potential, the image itself all broke into pieces at the revelation.
"I'm having my first chemo next weekend!"
Gods, she felt like dying.
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"And I'm done! Paperwork coooompleted!" Yakumo sat on her bed with legs crossed and a laptop on top of them, as she stretched beyond what would he humanly possible. It had taken her longer than she thought it would, but a week's worth of documental information was finally completed. Be it health, be it food or some requests her quarters needed, to permissions and anything in between. Being a captain was no easy work, no matter how much she liked it.
Still, she could only fake her enthusiasm before a small pout took place once again.
"Still no sign of Roku-chin..." She stared at his military bag at the corner of the room. It looked lonely...or maybe she was just mirroring her feelings on a stupid bag.
She placed the laptop to the side and floated away from the bed and towards the door. Maybe she could pay Kaiko a visit before she returns to her quarters. Or bother somebody else, who knew.
The wind user took off through the hallways at high speed, leaving her door open as she did so. She had some small hope of bumping into Roku or at least the commander on her way to the medical bay, but after almost a minute of flying and scaring a few staff members, she realized that it wasn't going to happen. Maybe they'd return by nightfall?
Then she finally arrived at the medical bay.
"Kaiko!" She exclaimed, opening the doors with slight force but not enough to startle those actually working. The vice captain though, she already noticed her captain incoming.
"Chief" The long haired healer greeted Yakumo with a calm tone, being already used to her chief's antics, "What's up?"
"Oh, you know, just...bored" Her captain replied as she aimlessly floated around the room. It was filled with needles and expensive medical equipment, but it mattered little to the wind user, and Kaiko knew no matter how careless she seemed to be, Yakumo was so good with her peach that she'd never break or disturb anything around her.
"Just bored? You're never just bored, captain" Kaiko didn't even look up from her board. Too busy writing off stuff about patients now that she had the chance.
Then she realized what was missing.
"Oh? I don't see Denki anywhere?" For once, Kaiko lifted her eyes just to see the captain's expression, and it funnily confirmed what she had guessed.
"He just disappeared, Kaiko!" This was it. The captain wasn't bored, she was actually here to whine and complain, as usual, "Up and left! I saw him go into the commander's office, but he never came out! I checked-, double checked, and they both disappeared from sight" Kaiko could only feel endearment at the purple haired woman's pout, she clearly felt betrayed, "They didn't even let me know or something, no warning" Her cheeks puffed up and her frown increased. This was like watching a kid having a bout.
"And this bothers you-, in which way?" She fueled her captain as she wrote some more.
She didn't expect to see Yakumo actually blushing at her question.
"I haven't fallen for him!" That came out of nowhere, and confused Kaiko to no end. But she suspected someone must've pointed out Yakumo's utter obsession with Roku, and had managed to get her mind riled up like this.
The wind user obviously realized her embarrassing outburst and sulked down to the floor, legs crossed and head lowered.
"...okay" The healer was left without words, her shock silencing her. This was...a first. Her chief always liked people. The girls at her quarters knew as much; if you were remotely cute or sexy, the Chief had something for you. Mostly, it played out like predator behavior, and it made sense with the ways Yakumo would always attack someone (hug them or touch them or whatever). It was just an animal hunting, but this was different as a whole.
After a moment, Kaiko couldn't help but laugh, startling a sulking Yakumo.
"W-What?" The chief questioned, with her visible point starting to hurt her face. She had been pouting way too long already.
To the healer, this was all way too cute.
"Nothing, captain" She replied back between chuckles, "But tell me, why is it wrong if you fell for Denki?" She started, and smiled at the baffled wind user as she scrambled for words.
"Because...it's too soon!"
"And?" A pout.
"He's younger than me..."
"And?"
Another frown, then silence.
"He doesn't see me like that" Ah. Finally, some honesty.
"Why would you think that? I find you very attractive, captain" She retorted and Yakumo merely denied with her head.
"Well, he's almost seen me naked. I've been...well, kinda approaching before and he's never-,"
"In about only three or four days?" Kaiko interrupted.
"That Yuki guy from the seventh-,"
"But Denki isn't Yuki, Chief" And Yakumo was about to reply that 'of course she knew that' but Kaiko didn't let her, "And you're not gonna tell me you act all the same with Denki. I've seen you..."
"I'm not saying anything of the sort!" I kinda regret mentioning that guy now...She thought, realizing how bad it sounded in reality, "They're not alike...and I'm not comparing anyone" She finalized and Kaiko smiled at her.
"You realize I'm messing with you, yes? Captain?" Yakumo merely huffed cutely in return, turning her head away to add emphasis, "Still, there's nothing wrong with you liking somebody, less so someone like Denki. I barely met him and he already seemed like very dependable-"
"He is"
"Quite serious-"
"He is"
"And also handsome-"
"He-" A blush, "is..."Kaiko laughed once again, "Shush! It's not funny"
"It is funny, captain. You've always been so straightforward, so into this kind of thing, I never thought once someone actually managed to catch your eye for real, that you'd turn out to be such a shy maiden!" At this, Yakumo finally stood up and glared jokingly at her healer vice captain.
"I'm not shy! It's just new to me" She countered, finally letting go of her newfound embarrassment, and going back to her usual jester personality, "But you're right! I'm not good with all this thinking and pondering. I'm a woman of action, not thoughts!" She raised her fist in the air and Kaiko sweat dropped.
"Yep, that's you alright..." Yakumo turned to face her once again and grinned a huge smile her way. She couldn't help but smile back. This was the real Yakumo.
"Once I find Roku I'll figure this all out" The healer could only nod in return, not really sure if this was the right course of action or not but accepting it anyway, "Maybe this will be my first addition to my harem, huh!?" The wind user saw the slap on her head before it came, but decided to take it anyway.
"Can you not mess up your first introduction to normality?" Kaiko sighed in annoyance.
There was still a long way to go for her captain.
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Roku and the commander found themselves walking on the street at the wee hours of the night, making their way back to the rune portal Ren had left opened before. Ren had been quiet for most of the time, but her footsteps were loud and clumsy. Her face was contorted into a never ending frown and she felt so inherently sick.
It was all unfair. That kid, with...such a terrible condition? Unbelievable. After his words, Ren had to extra force herself to finish her plate and not break down in the process, always questioning how was Roku and his mom able to merely applaud and smile at the revelation. This was serious, and chemotherapy was terrifying. Or so she'd read and watched.
At some point, the dark haired commander stopped walking, and so did Roku, who was merely following. His face told how much he had anticipated this, but it still felt strange.
He didn't expect her to turn around and face her with such an endearing yet quite frustrated and troubled face.
"I don't like it" She finally let out her thoughts, "It's hard to accept" Roku didn't have to ask what she was referring to, but it was hard to answer, "And I don't know how you two managed to just play pretend that well" She knew that neither Roku nor his went unaffected by any news regarding little Kota, but it was still a surprise to see them barely twitching an eye or swallow dry.
"Well, for starters, we didn't expect him to let that out with you there" For once, Roku looked rather uncomfortable with the situation, and she felt dumb for cornering him like this, "And we don't like it either, but Kota's had this issue for almost a year now. Hearing that he'll finally get treatment can only be good news from our perspective"
Ren swallowed another knot stuck in her throat.
"A-A year!?" She asked with disbelief, and Roku could only take a deep breath in response, "A year is too long a wait! He-, I mean, just...why a year?" She questioned again and the only reason Roku didn't actually find any anger within him was from the utter pain his commander's voice showed.
"Because treatment for men is scarce at best, nonexistent at worst" Still, he couldn't help letting out his thoughts on this own, because it hit too close to home for comfort, and because Ren needed to know this to find solace as well, "And because we couldn't-, we can't afford private treatment. You've seen the way we live...it's a 2 bedroom apartment, Kota and I sleep in the same bedroom. Even your office is bigger than our house as a whole" He brought a hand up to his hair and ruffled it, anxiety and dark feelings kicking in faster than he could take out a cig and a lighter.
Roku took a few puffs as he stared at the silent commander, who's face turned from frustration to sadness in less than an instant. Her eyes registered how incredible stupid she was acting, but thanks to the flood of emotions, she still couldn't help it.
"But I'm sure Kaiko-," She started, but Roku stopped her with a palm up in the air, with the other discarding the already finished cig down to the floor.
"Yes, Ren. We know there's peach users around who could probably handle this without effort. But they don't work for free, and most don't really care much about men" He let out a bunch of air and continued, "Look, Kota, he's...stable. We finally got the treatment and that's all that matters to me, so let's just move on..." Roku started marching forward, and Ren could only feel helpless as she followed through.
They didn't talk much until they neared the rune portal. The whole time, the commander kept her eyes to the floor, deep in thought.
"Ren" The janitor's hand took hold of her shoulder and she finally reacted, "Thank you for worrying. We got this covered, Kota will be fine" It was a bit of a stretch to call everything fine, but Roku's eyes were hopeful and did not waver in the slightest.
So she wouldn't either.
"Okay" Ren let out a sigh and straightened her pose. This wasn't like her. Nothing would come out of being all sad and pitiful; if she wanted to help, she could, "I'm still letting Kaiko know and we'll get Kota-chan the best help Mato can offer" Roku opened his mouth but she didn't let him object, "I'm the commander of this whole damned corporation. We fight to ensure you guys can have a safer life, but I've been ignoring this...this shit you all go through everyday" That was the first time he heard the commander blurt an insult, "The least I can do for now is help Kota-chan...and you won't have to pay for it no more, so maybe you can buy something for your mom or I don't know" She finished, no longer feeling flustered but rather determined. This was bull crap and she felt as guilty as everyone else was, but she could actually change something. She held most of humanity's power in her hands, and if anyone could change the balance of this world...it would be her.
Roku remained silent through it, quite surprised and a little bit troubled. This simplified but complicated things at the same time.
"Can we get to Mato and talk about this? Commander?" In an instant, Ren's strong aura dissipated and she turned around to hide her face from Roku.
"You can't call me commander anymore" This caught the janitor by surprise, and he almost fell down the floor in comedic fashion, "Ren is fine"
"But what if we're in official business-,"
"Ren is fine" She said once again, interrupting him, "I don't like how commander sounds when you say it, so that's final, understood?" Again, she went back to her usual demanding tone, but truth be told Roku preferred this version than the one she'd been displaying ever since they left his apartment.
"Alright then, Ren" He agreed and the commander nodded in return, satisfied.
"Then let's get out of here, we can talk about all this tomorrow morning" Ren started marching and walked past Roku, finally taking the lead.
The janitor merely nodded in response and followed suit. First things first, a shower was in order.
The rune portal soon swallowed them both and disappeared without a trace.
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Walking late night around the hallways turned into a routine for Roku at the Mato HQ. It was a weird fate-sorta thing he decided. Always ending up taking the same path towards the same bedroom.
Strange as it was, his own room was still a pending matter, but maybe it was just low priority on the commander's to-do list. Who knew?
It was still god-sent after a long day of tense situations to finally see the doors to the 5th chief's room, even if the colour green wasn't one he relished a lot. He had rammed himself into arguments with the commander twice, and that was far more draining than any other activity one could subject himself to. So a bit of rest was in order, and a good shower.
Reaching the door, Roku instinctively stepped aside once he heard commotion on the other side. Funnily enough a missile of a woman slammed the doors open and attempted to tackle him down.
Lavender and purple.
"Chief" Roku greeted with a smile at the woman who stopped herself mid air from falling down the floor.
"Roku-chin!" Comical tears and whining followed through as she changed directions mid air and threw herself onto Roku. He barely managed to catch her and stay on his feet, but it was a welcomed hug for once. He'd been adamant about leaving her on the cold while they left, but the commander had been very clear on the fact that the rune portal was to remain top-secret.
"Missed me?" The girl squeezed tight before letting go and pointing at Roku with a judging finger.
"You! You left without saying anything!" Yakumo tried her best to sound angry, but the playfulness behind it was pretty obvious, "That's treason!" The janitor lifted his hands in defense.
"I'm guilty as charged" He tried but her eyes demanded explanation, "Well, I had to go visit the human world for a little...so the commander made some arrangements to make that happen. I'm sorry, but I can't say anything else that" She pouted and growled.
But ultimately tackled him once again.
"I'm not mad...just let me in on things next time" She lifted them both in the air, surprising Roku and taking them both inside the bedroom, the wind closing the door as they entered.
"Woah, c-chief!" The guy managed once he was left hanging up in the air, floating on top of the bed. Yakumo instead sat cross legged in front of the bed, focusing on Roku as a whole. So intensively that for once he felt embarrassed, "What?" He kinda wanted Yakumo to let him go, but her wind wasn't restrictive in the way the Commander's power was, so he could bear with it.
"I'm figuring something out, be quiet" She stated and stuck her tongue out in mocking fashion, before staring once again.
This seemed serious, so Roku remained silent through the whole ordeal. At one point, he felt the wind dissipate and his bum hit the mattress softly.
Yakumo clapped her hands twice and smiled.
"Alright! No doubt about it" Roku lifted an eyebrow and she snickered, "No telling. At least not yet" Her smile was plastered all over her face, so the janitor didn't quite question it.
"Am I free to shower now?" The dark haired man got himself off the bed and stretched.
"Sure! I won't peek, promise!" She snickered once again, seemingly lost in her own conclusions. Roku merely shrugged, took hold of his backpack, and went into the bathroom with a smile.
Immediately, Yakumo plowed herself into the bed, face down, and squealed loudly.
It's true!
I really like Roku-chin!