Disclaimer: I don't own jack!
Throwing Stones
Chapter Nine: Blood in the Water
Touya wiped the sweat from his brow as he finished scrubbing what was left of the grime that'd caked the Saito couple's kitchen.
Cleaning wasn't exactly a skill of his, but he'd quickly picked up on it with Tenko and even Kenji taking the lead this time around.
"Not bad," Hawks grinned down at them, "I'd call that a wrap."
His gaze drifted towards Kagome.
Her smile remained bright but the sweat on her brow spoke more to her current condition than her expression ever did. Ever since she'd taken that strange call yesterday, she seemed to be feeling sick again. He hadn't heard much of the conversation, just that someone would be by to visit on Saturday and the very thought seemed to be stressing her out.
His brows furrowed with concern.
Was it the Safety Commission?
Tenko did state that they likely had her completely at their whim. They probably heaped so many rules onto her that it'd be impossible for her to abide by all of them.
Touya casually made his way to her side.
She blinked at him before her smile grew even wider.
He quickly glanced away at the rest of the group.
"Thank you, lad." Hajime surprised him by clapping a hand onto his shoulder while Chizuru hugged the rest of the group. "You've been a wonderful help. These old bones can't get around like they used to."
Touya scratched at the side of his cheek, "It's nothing."
He wasn't used to being thanked for anything.
His entire life had been filled with the sounds of his mother's screaming, his youngest brother's crying and his father's furious shouts. Disappointment was the only word his father had ever used to describe him. In birth, in youth and now in his adulthood. He was the representation of his father's every failure.
So hearing the words 'thank you' coming from another person's mouth had been something he'd never even imagined happening.
Touya closed his eyes as a faint smile pulled at the corners of his lips.
He had to admit that it was a little nice to hear.
"Ready to head back home?" Kagome beamed up at him.
Home, huh?
That was something else that he was still getting used to. The idea that he could head back to a place where he actually felt comfortable was something he'd never imagined. He'd spent much of his young adult years living out of empty warehouses and struggling to find his next meal. No one would hire him because of his appearance. Finding a stable job had been out of the question. His rampant hatred for his father had also bled into his own actions, leading him to lash out against anyone who'd challenged him. There had never been a place where he'd truly felt welcomed.
At least not until now.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Touya responded.
They each piled onto the small bus that'd come to collect them.
Jin and Himiko bid the elderly couple a tearful farewell as they began to pull away from the house.
"You said that there were more places like this," Touya turned his attention to Kagome who'd settled into the seat next to him. "What are we going to be working on next?"
He'd admit to being just a little bit curious.
Kagome's smile widened, "We'll be going to be working on the town market next. It's where most of the townspeople do their shopping but it needs a lot of work." A thoughtful look crossed her features, "There's actually an important meeting I need to call everyone together for regarding that project. I'll set that up for Sunday though. I'd rather discuss it then."
He didn't have to ask her to know the reason why that might be.
Clearly, she did not wish to talk about anything regarding the Safety Commission's requirements while one of their representatives was present. If the deadlines were ridiculous, then it could cause issues while that representative was at the dorm.
Touya leaned his cheek against his curled fist.
They spoke nothing as they made their way back home.
As everyone finished showering, eating and settled down for the evening, Touya found himself resting on the couch as Kagome took the seat next to his once more. Himiko had laid her head upon the other woman's lap while Kagome combed her fingers through the teenager's hair affectionately. If anyone saw them, they'd say that they looked like they were close sisters.
Touya draped his arm across the backrest of the couch.
He could feel Hawks' gaze on him with no small amount of suspicion.
The man often left them to their own devices and would just get involved when he thought that they required his help. Other than that, he would stick close to Kagome's side protectively. Today wasn't much different. Hawks was currently in a seat across from them as he eyed his arm resting behind Kagome's head fiercely.
Touya smirked at the other male.
Clearly, she had a favorite already and it wasn't the bird.
Hawks' feathers bristled while Touya's cocky smirk grew wider yet. Kagome glanced between them, as if confused as to why they were glowering at each other in the first place. He simply shrugged his shoulders while Hawks continued to glare.
He had to admit that messing with the bird's girlfriend was fun in and of itself.
It didn't take long for most of their group to eventually retreat to their rooms as they were exhausted from the week. By the time the film they were watching on the television was over, Himiko had returned to her room and Kagome had fallen asleep. The woman had slouched in her seat. Her head had come to rest upon his shoulder while her body leaned into his side. Touya kept his arm curled around the back of the couch as he allowed her to continue resting on him.
It was strange to him.
He was so used to women screaming in disgust or simply laughing at him whenever he'd made any attempts to flirt. Yet for once he found himself in a position where a woman was actively willing to have any sort of physical contact with him. Granted, he knew that she'd never go for anything romantic in nature due to their positions as prisoner and coordinator. However the feeling of her resting against him was pleasant in a way he hadn't ever expected. He wasn't exactly ready to get up and cut what little contact they had just yet.
"I'll take her up." Hawks' reached down and swept his arms under her shoulders and legs, lifting her as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
Touya watched as Hawks threw him one last glare before he made his way towards the elevator. He waited until the screen above the doors read '2' before he took to his own feet. Silently, he waited for the elevator to return and took it up to his room. He threw one last look down at the end of the hall where Kagome's room was.
It'd be nice to be able to join her for the night but he knew that would never happen.
Wordlessly, he pulled out his ID card and entered into his dorm. He quickly stripped himself down and traded out his clothes for just a simple pair of sweatpants she'd ordered for him.
He closed his eyes as his limbs started to grow heavy.
Hopefully tomorrow would go a little bit better.
By the time Touya awoke again, it was to the sound of utter chaos.
Jin, Kenji and Himiko were all yelling in excitement as they ran down the hall. He heard Tenko and Shuichi emerge in confusion while Atsuhiro poked his head out of his door to scold the others.
Touya quickly pulled on his clothes for the day and made his way downstairs as well.
When he arrived, it was to the sight of someone he'd never met before hovering unusually close to Kagome.
Her brows were set in a steep furrow and her eyes were narrowed sharply. It looked as if she was not happy with their little visitor.
"Guys," She glanced towards their group. "I'd like for you to meet our case worker with the Heroes Public Safety Commission. This is Houjo and he'll be the one judging our work at the end of each week."
He didn't miss the way the man hovered over her possessively. Kagome quietly shoved him back with her elbow and tried to force some space between them. Evidently, they had some sort of history together if she was that put off by his mere presence.
Touya tucked his hands into his pockets as he came to stand beside her. He couldn't say that he was fond of letting the guy hover so close to their coordinator. His possessive behavior also rubbed him the wrong way. It was one thing whenever Hawks did it. Kagome at least looked comfortable in the other man's presence and seemed to trust him. With this other guy, she looked as if she just wanted to take one of their knives and run him through with it herself.
Touya casually placed himself between the two, pushing Houjo further away from her.
The Safety Commission's representative shot him a wary look.
Touya's lips curled back into a sharp smirk causing him to take a half step back.
Apparently Houjo was easy to scare too. While that would be fun to exploit, he wasn't exactly in the mood to put the program at risk just for his own entertainment. So he would play nice for now.
"You need us to hang around?" He directed his question towards Kagome that time.
He couldn't say that he was fond of the idea of leaving those two alone together. Hawks had gone out to the Saito couple's house to greet Houjo. So if Houjo were here right now then he must've skipped out on meeting Hawks first and headed straight to the dorm. Whatever relationship she had with this Houjo character, it was clear that he had wanted to cut out the middle man and get to her directly. As much as he loved screwing with Hawks when it came to Kagome, he really wanted the man to hurry back right now. Their hands were tied when it came to dealing with this freak.
"If you don't mind," Kagome folded her arms over her chest as she shot Houjo a pointed look, "I need to make a phone call. Would you mind showing him around for the time being? Also do not do anything to threaten him, do you understand?"
Touya cast her a confident smirk, "Come on, do you really think I'd do something like that?"
The baleful look she shot him was proof enough that she did, in fact, believe that he would take advantage of their current circumstances to mess with their case worker.
"I'll be right back." She pointed at him one more time, "Behave."
Touya held his hands up in a placating manner.
He watched as she used her ID card to leave the building and walk around the side. Houjo's eyes followed after her and for a second, he took one step towards the door as if to follow her.
"Anyone ever tell you that harassing a girl is a quick way to end up on a registry?" Touya smirked down at him, "Now I ain't a professional since I prefer to roast guys in my down time, but I can say that you're mighty focused on her. It's a little creepy."
By now Tenko had zeroed in on their conversation and had come to stand beside him.
"I agree with Touya," The other male voiced his opinion. "You're acting really fuckin' weird."
Like sharks scenting blood in the water, Houjo suddenly found himself surrounded by their group. Without Kagome or Hawks around, they were little more than rabid animals just waiting for the right moment to strike. Someone as weak willed as Houjo could never keep them under control.
"What's your story?" Himiko's cheerful demeanor was replaced with a fierce look. Even without a knife in her hand, the sharp look in her eyes was enough to make Houjo back himself into a corner.
Touya approached that time, "I hear that you're our case worker. I hope you don't think you can use that to your advantage." He lowered his hand onto the man's shoulder and gripped it firmly, "You wouldn't be stupid enough to try using your position to force our coordinator to do anything she wouldn't want, right? We've all got a nice second chance to live our lives in peace. We wouldn't want anything to risk that, now would we guys?"
He glanced at the rest of their group, each of them nodding in agreement.
They crept closer to Houjo as the man's face suddenly lost all of its color.
Touya's lips curled up into a vicious smirk.
He leaned down next to his ear so that the others wouldn't hear him, "Most of us are serving life sentences with no chance of parole. We won't take too kindly to some egotistical shit trying to wield his power to force a relationship out of our coordinator. Using this program to threaten her is a mighty stupid idea. She's giving us an opportunity and we'd like to be able to see that through. Don't forget, people who've got nothing left to lose don't mind adding a few more bodies onto their rap sheet."
By now Houjo had gone impossibly pale. His legs trembled beneath him as they crowded around him in a collective show of intimidation.
They all had things they didn't want to lose.
Missing out on the year they were promised here in this dorm and in this town was something none of them were willing to chance. So asserting themselves now would be the quickest way in dealing with the issue.
Touya leaned back as he flashed the man one last vicious smirk, "Do we have an understanding?"
Houjo nodded his head once. The fear in his eyes was enough to make him squeeze his shoulder, nearly bruising it.
"Oh, it looks like you guys are getting along." Kagome returned, her phone still in her hand. "Hawks will be here soon, so why don't we give him a full tour of the dorm while we wait?"
Touya glanced down at Houjo, "Yeah, why don't we?"
The other man gulped as he scurried towards the door, "Thanks but no thanks! I've seen enough! Kagome, I'll contact you later. I'm heading to the Saito's house now!"
They all smirked at each other as Houjo scurried out of the door.
Kagome glanced at his retreating back with confusion, "What's gotten into him?"
Touya tucked his hands into his pockets and glanced away, "Who knows?"
