Reconstruction

By: Aviantei

Chapter Eight

Retaliation I

Hitomi turned around at the sound of the voice, surveying its owner. He was tall, towering over Eri, with black hair that fell into his face and glasses. His blue uniform denoted him as a member of SCEPTER4, trying Hitomi's already fried out patience. She was torn between the urge to tear the guy's throat out for touching her sister and laughing at her reluctant teammate's given name. The hesitation from this conflict gave Misaki enough time to react first.

"I'll go wherever I damn well please, Saru," the boy snapped. He started to play with his bat, in small movements that Hitomi could recognize as gearing up for a fight. She adjusted her own stance accordingly, getting the tension of her muscles before it could get in the way. "I also believe that I've told you my feeling about using my name like that enough times. So instead of explaining it again I'm just gonna bash your fuckin' skull in and get it over with!"

The man referred to as Saru only shook his head. He still hadn't released his grip on Eri, which was the only thing that was keeping Hitomi in place. If this was going to turn into a combat situation, Eri could be made a hostage in no time, rendering Hitomi useless. She couldn't say the same for Misaki, but if his stupidity ended in Eri getting harmed in the slightest bit… Well, I can't exactly guarantee that I won't do something that renders this temporary alliance useless.

"Tsk, tsk, Misaki, no need to be so violent," Saru scolded. "I'm just letting you know that you shouldn't be here and giving you a chance to get out before things get… unfortunate…" Hitomi thought she saw his hand tighten on Eri's shoulder, a threatening gesture. She was too far away to tell if he was really looking at Misaki or her.

Oblivious to the threat, or maybe just not caring, Misaki took a few steps forward. He wasn't even bothering to conceal his stance anymore, the intent to fight practically radiating of him. "Funny, 'cause I don't see a damn thing here that's telling us we need to leave."

"I'm hurt. I'm telling you as much, aren't I? This is a SCEPTER4 investigation after all, and HOMRA doesn't have anything to do with it. I honestly can't believe how dense you are anyway, Mi-sa-ki."

Hitomi was tempted to reason with Misaki—which frankly blew her mind; she never reasoned with anyone; that was Eri's job—to tell him that he was being baited, that he was giving this Saru guy an excuse to ditch whatever job he had to do and get into a fight. The problem was that when she looked at Misaki, she could tell he knew that already. On top of that, his energy was different, contrasting heavily from her own attempts at baiting him inside the bar. He was serious, the red aura seeping out of his skin, and this was personal.

Well, nothing that could be done about that. That just meant it was Hitomi's job to make Eri safe once the fighting started. She sized up the opponent, vowing for her eyes to never leave him until she could find an opening. Saru's hand reached for this sword, beginning to draw it before the next words could even leave Misaki's mouth.

"Fuck you!"

"Fushimi, ready for emergency combat!"

Misaki pushed off on his skateboard, his aura giving him an extra burst of speed. Saru still had his hand on Eri's shoulder, shoving Eri behind him. The woman hit against the door to the stairwell, maintaining her balance as she propped herself up against it. Misaki jumped, his skateboard connecting with Saru's sword, coated in its own blue aura.

They held that position for several seconds, sizing each other up. It was the most infuriating formality that Hitomi had ever seen, mostly because she just wanted a way around the fight and didn't have time for this.

Her wish was granted. Saru pushed Misaki off, the latter landing on his skateboard, crouched down to minimize his target space, bat poised and at the ready. Saru charged after him, providing Hitomi with the opening she wanted. The girl stayed on the edge of the building, circling around the fight, and breaking into a proper run once Saru's back was turned. She almost fell on top of Eri to protect her, scraping up Mie-chan in the process.

"Okay, you get out of here," Hitomi said. Her voice was rushed, breathless. She tried to ignore the adrenaline coursing through her veins, threatening to distract her. "You can get down the stairs and I'll make sure he doesn't follow you. If you can make it to Kusanagi-san, then we can call in some backup." As an afterthought, Hitomi shoved the cat plush into her sister's arms.

"Absolutely not," Eri retorted, her voice restored. The woman was glaring, her stubborn side in full bloom. "I'm not leaving you behind, Hitomi, so don't even think about it."

Hitomi glanced over her shoulder to the fight still raging on. It was like a pre-choreographed scene in a movie, except the boys happened to know each other's styles so well that they could easily predict the next move without even having to think of it. The fact that they had fought so much in the past made Hitomi wonder, but this was certainly not the time.

"Nee-san, you need to listen to me. That man is dangerous. I'm sure he's already figured out that you can't fight very well and is just waiting for an opportunity to hurt you."

Eri, unexpectedly, didn't back down at the logic. "And you've made that fairly obvious to him by rushing to protect me," she said. Everything in her tone was hard, and Hitomi winced at her own mistake. "If I don't back down, I can at least provide support, Hitomi-chan. And if you were serious about me getting for help you would have just asked me to call Kusanagi-san since you already know I have his number."

"But I just—" She stopped when Mie-chan's paw was in her face, lightly hitting against her nose.

"Hitomi, please, can you stop worrying about me for a second? If you keep turning your back to the enemy like this he's certain to get a one-up on you. If you're so worried about me, I promise to retreat if anything happens to you." Eri gave a small smile, a mischievous glint in her eye. "I trust you enough to not let that happen, though."

Hitomi considered everything Eri had just said. Why had she even bothered to suggest something like getting backup? She never wanted backup. She had fought against the odds before, taking down guys that outnumbered and outranked her in brute strength. She may have been a little worn for wear afterwards, but who cared? She would always win. And when it came down to it here, it was a fight against one guy that she even had someone to fight with this time.

What, am I scared or something? Is this guy just that strong? Or am I just too stubborn to accept help in a fight I didn't even start? Is the idea of fighting with someone on my side really enough to make me hesitate?

Well fuck that, there's no time to be picky about this!

While her body was itching to just charge in, Hitomi made herself wait. She watched Misaki and Saru exchange their perfectly timed blows, back and forth until her eyes got sick of it. While the two boys probably weren't showing off every single move in their arsenal, it was enough to find a good place to slip into the fight. Hitomi waited for a moment when Saru's back was turned before running.

All of her pent up energy gave her a good burst of speed, pushing her on. After a few steps almost stiffened from the tension, Hitomi could feel herself giving into instinct already, her body almost acting on its own. She aimed a kick for Saru's head.

The SCEPTER4 member was faster then she had given him credit for. Just as her boot was about to connect with its target, Saru whipped around, his sword blocking the blow, encased with blue aura. Misaki took the opportunity, swinging his bat for the same target that Hitomi had chosen. While his blow didn't connect either, Saru was left to dodge with significantly less of a margin then he had been managing beforehand.

Saru pulled back from the conflict, surveying the situation. Hitomi made sure she was a barrier between the man and Eri, Misaki getting the same idea and covering a wider range of area. The redhead was slightly out of breath, as was their enemy. Despite this, Misaki looked over to his ally and scowled.

"Took you fuckin' long enough! How slow of a reaction time was that?!"

"Screw you!" Hitomi countered. "That's all in the past, so it's almost like ancient history now!"

"What grade of elementary school did you fail out of?!"

"I dropped out after you left the year beforehand. It was just so lonely without you that I couldn't stand it."

It was pointless banter, and Hitomi knew it. But it made her relax a little, clearing her mind of any other distracting thoughts that may come along. Misaki was on a similar level, none of the same antagonism being directed at each other. Hell, the boy was smiling. Hitomi was, too, the grin reaching across her face. For once, the fight was fun instead of an excuse to burn off frustrations.

Saru didn't seem to be sharing the sentiment. He looked to be getting increasingly angry with every word out of their mouths. Hitomi didn't know if that was good or bad. Some people got distracted when they were angry, others got stronger as they abandoned everything else. The situation could change a lot from here on out. In any event, Misaki didn't seem to bat an eye.

"Now what do you both think you're doing?" Saru asked. His voice kept its smooth tone to it, but his volume was increasing. "Honestly, Misaki, what are you doing running around with people like this? Do you think it's gonna help you any? Do you really think you need someone else to fight me, huh?!"

Hitomi blinked, and Misaki let out a surprised yelp as the knives landed in front of him. Saru was charging head-on, and Hitomi got ready to intercept him the second he got any closer to Eri. The problem was that he was headed for her instead, making a high impact hit with her stomach. Misaki was stopped from advancing by the blue aura of a barrier that erupted in front of him. Hitomi tried to clutch her stomach as she fell to the ground without warning.

"What are you even doing here?!" Saru shouted. His voice was no longer low, dangerous, or mocking. It was screaming, the anger grating apart his voice further as the volume shot up. "Don't tell me you're the reason Misaki became worth fighting again! I won't accept it! But if you won't get out of here, I'll just have to make you leave instead!"

Hitomi tried to counter-attack, aiming a sweeping kick at Saru's feet in front of her. His sword came down, almost stabbing into her leg. She stopped her own move, pant leg suffering the damage instead, only to have Saru lift her up by her neck. He looked her, the definition of fury on his expression. It was like he was embodying the idea of wrath.

"If you insist on dragging other people into our business, Misaki, then you're just going to have to watch what happens when you bring them places they don't belong!" With an unbelievable amount of strength, Hitomi was sent flying, only to be stopped by the battered remains of the guardrail. A little further to the left and she would have been sent through the gap between buildings. She doubted she would be lucky enough to land on the adjacent apartment complex like the person before her had.

"And you," Saru was walking toward her, but Hitomi didn't bother to look at his face, "just who do you think you are? Who gave you the right to drag yourself into our fight, huh?!"

Shit, this is bad. He doesn't get sharper or lose his touch when he gets angry. He becomes more forceful and… I don't know what this is, but I don't think I can survive it if things get bad. What am I already saying, things are already bad. So the only choice I have…

…is to use my trump card!

Hitomi bore her teeth, hands gripping onto the building's railing. Saru seemed to catch onto the movement, his eyes narrowing. His speed picked up, and Hitomi was just about fully ready to let loose, because it was now or—

"Hitomi, don't do it!"

It was Eri, her voice screaming from Mie-chan at a volume Hitomi didn't think was possible. Hitomi looked at her sister, the expression on Eri's face bright and clear even though she was on the other end of the rooftop. Every rational thought that Hitomi should have abandoned already was suddenly rushing through her brain, and she lost her momentum. She tried to make a backup plan, but it was too late.

Saru was already in front of her, blades bearing down.

"This is Fukune." His superior's voice was clipped and professional on the other end of the phone lines. It had a surprisingly calming effect, even though Nagana felt himself snapping to attention. There was probably something wrong about being your most relaxed whenever you were on duty, but he could think about that later.

"Nagana reporting," he said.

"Confirmed, Nagana-kun, what's your status?" The sound of Fukune tapping her fingers on some hard surface or another was loud and clear, even though it should have been in the distance. Putting the thought aside, Nagana had to think a second before beginning to give his report.

"It's confirmed that the target we thought to investigate is a Strain. However, I arrived too late to see them, and any clues as to where they've gone are currently unable to be investigated. It appears that we're going to have to continue tracking the Strain through power outages until we can make any progress."

Fukune let out a heavy sigh, clearly unsatisfied with the news. Nagana didn't blame her; he wasn't happy with the results either. "I'm sure there's some other way to keep track of the Strain, we just don't know what it is yet," Fukune said. "Why haven't you been able to search for any clues, Nagana-kun?"

Nagana winced a little, hoping his superior would have missed the wording. Her hard tone indicated otherwise, and he prepared himself for a scolding if his continuing response was unsatisfactory. "The scene is currently occupied," he started.

"Well I don't care. If there are cops there, pull information out of them. If they don't cooperate, then temporarily take them out of the picture and investigate on your own. These sorts of things are supposed to be your specialty, Nagana, that's why Tarashi-kun selected you. I don't want to hear your excuses, so you better have a proper reason the next time you open your mouth."

The drop of the honorific on his name was all the motivation Nagana needed. Fukune never yelled when she was angry, only let the dissatisfaction seep into her voice. Somehow, that was scarier than any lecture or chewing out could ever be, and heaven forbid that she was actually ever angry enough to act on it.

Nagana swallowed to put some moisture back in his mouth before speaking.

"The case was handed over to SCEPTER4 almost immediately," he said, words coming out fast. Nagana made no efforts to slow down. "One of their officers is here, and is currently engaging a member of HOMRA in combat. The two women that we have been trying to get additional information on are here as well." Fukune sucked in a breath of air, the only sound from the phone. "I also feel like it's necessary to report that the rumor we discussed earlier is involved."

"Son of a bitch," Fukune whispered. The cussing seemed foreign coming from her voice, almost like they had been spoken by another person entirely. Nagana held his breath as he waited for a response, for orders, anything. "Are you certain that's the situation? You are one-hundred percent certain that that's what you're seeing and nothing else, right, Nagana-kun?"

Nagana brought the binoculars back up to his face and looked back at the building on the opposite side of the street. It was just to double-check, but part of him wished it wasn't true. He would even take the punishment for lying to a superior if it was false. But the view was just the same as it had been a second ago, and all parties were accounted for.

"I guarantee it."

"Stay put, Nagana-kun. Maintain your position," Fukune said. There was a rustle on the phone line, and Fukune's voice continued to speak, except it was too muffled for Nagana to hear anything that was being said clearly. He closed his eyes as he waited, and didn't open them again until he was spoken to again.

"Ah, hey there, Nagana-kun," a lazy voice greeted. Even so, it sent shivers up Nagana's spine. Only one person could manage that, meaning the person on the other line was none other than Tarashi. "So, Fukune-san tells me you have an interesting situation going on over there. Why don't you tell me all about it so I can send over some of your loyal teammates here to come and back up your sorry ass?"

He said the words with something akin to joy buried deep inside his tone. Nagana repeated the same words he had told Fukune and hung up as soon as he was allowed to.

[NOTES] Ah, cliffhangers. Not quite resolved all the way, but we're getting there.

Thanks to so. in. her. own. head for the follow! I hope you enjoy the new chapter!

Normally I'd talk more, but there's so much I need to get done this week. Daylight Savings really fucks me up, yeah?

[POST] 031616