~~~UWDS Asia Headquarters~~~
"They are what?!"
Nali barked, slamming her palms on the table.
Mugi of squad 330 nods.
"Yes, that's right. All the members of Squad Segment 663 are treating this mission like a vacation."
David of squad 660 chuckled, amused.
"Hahaha! This Squad never seizes to amaze me! Oi! Hachi did you hear that?!"
Through the comms, Hachi simply replied,
"Yeah."
Still, along them in the room, Mr. Hasegawa's voice broke through their teases, his voice low.
"Hachi? Report?"
Through the comms, Hachi started his report.
"Ehem.. At the moment, seems like Hawthorne doesn't want to talk. We still didn't get any crucial information regarding the reason why they want Itoshi.. Let alone the real reason they called him "The Missing Specimen"."
Mr. Hasegawa clicked his tongue.
"Damn, Hawth.. He's really tough isn't he? Continue to report every six hours on a daily basis. Never miss a time."
"Got it sir."
Hachi turned off the comms and he presumably went back to work.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hasegawa turned his attention to Itoshi on the screen, who was playing with Jayu.
"Hahaha.. I guess Squad Segment 663 is now a daycare."
David muttered.
~~~Nagasaki~~~
Meanwhile, in the late afternoon in Nagasaki, Ayro and Ryujin finished their report on the entire mission, carefully avoiding any mention of what they were really doing.
It wasn't that they didn't know they were being watched by Defense at all times. Then, by the front door of the office, Ryujin suddenly asked,
"Where is she now?"
Ayro, with no hesitation. He replied to Ryujin.
"Third building in the right. Rooftop."
Ryujin scoffed and playfully asked,
"Dang... Ayro, are you really not curious about what your girlfriend looks like?"
Ayro looked down, eyes closed.
"Very funny, Ryujin."
Ryujin glanced toward the tower Ayro had mentioned. A faint shadow quickly darted out of sight. He smirked and said,
"She's still a bit shy."
Up on the tower, the observer stood silently, pondering to herself as she smirked.
"Dang... they noticed me. Not bad."
[6:14pm]
It was raining as the sun began to slowly fade beyond the horizon. Itoshi, Jayu, and Kara just barely managed to take cover from the rain at their apartment.
"It's cold..."
Jayu murmured.
Without hesitation, Itoshi took off his jacket and tossed it to her. Jayu looked at him with a puzzled expression, then quietly thanked him.
"Hey, Koya! You could've given it to her more gently, you know!"
Kara muttered.
"Nah" was all Itoshi said.
"Jeez, Koya... you're definitely a man, but the 'gentle' part is seriously lacking"
Kara added with a sigh.
But Itoshi's focus was elsewhere in the rain. His eyes locked onto something small and moving.
A cat.
"Ah!"
He exclaimed, then quickly added,
"Kara, go back to your room."
He grabbed a nearby umbrella and dashed off, chasing after the cat that was clearly searching for warmth.
His footsteps clashed with the little puddles of water as he bolted.
He turned the corner—and there she was.
The hooded woman sat by the café, holding the cat gently in her arms. She had no umbrella, but wrapped the shivering creature in her jacket, shielding it from the rain.
"Ah!"
Itoshi blurted out, puzzled.
The woman looked over her shoulder, eyes flashing with irritation as she met his gaze.
"It's that weird woman who tried to seduce me!"
He said nervously.
"That's no way to greet a woman"
She snapped angrily.
The cat was startled by Hoshi's sudden scream and dashed beneath a vending machine.
Hoshi and Itoshi both gave chase. Hoshi used her wind ability to speed ahead.
"That's not fair!"
Itoshi called out, struggling to keep up.
Hoshi reached the vending machine first and crouched down.
"Oi, kitty... It's cold out here. Sorry I startled you" she said softly.
The rain grew heavier, and Hoshi thought,
"The rain's getting stronger... the cat might freeze."
Suddenly, the downpour stopped. Itoshi's umbrella shielded her from the rain.
"You know"
He said,
"If it's raining outside, I don't want to get wet. But I'd still choose a warmer spot."
Hoshi flinched at his words.
Then, a loud
"Meow!" echoed as the cat emerged from under the vending machine.
"See?"
Itoshi said with a grin.
Hoshi smirked as she lifted the cat into the warmth of her jacket and stood up.
"Never thought your organization had soft spots for people like me" she said.
"It's not that"
Itoshi replied.
"I was worried about the cat."
Hoshi rolled her eyes.
"Y-you really are an idiot, aren't you?"
"Anyway... take us somewhere dry"
She added.
"Eh? Don't you have a house?"
Itoshi asked.
"That's not for you to know"
Hoshi shot back.
Itoshi led the cat to a dry spot — but it was definitely not where Hoshi wanted to be. It was right in front of the apartment where the squad stayed.
She looked up at the building nervously.
"No, no, no! Not here!" she said loudly.
In her mind, she thought,
"If I go here... those two will figure out it's me. The black man will know what I really want. Man, damn it... why do I have to get stuck with this idiot?"
Itoshi, confused, asked,
"Eh... this is dry, though."
"No! No! Not here!"
She insisted, grabbing the umbrella and running off.
Itoshi didn't understand her at all — but he was more worried about the umbrella.
"Damn... now I gotta pay the owner for that" he muttered.
As Hoshi rounded the corner, her day took a turn for the worse.
She collided with the two people she had been trying to avoid.
She bumped into Ayro—the towering 'black' man. The umbrella slipped from her grasp, but the cat resting on her chest was safe, caught gently by Ayro as she stumbled.
Time seemed to freeze between the three of them.
In that moment, Hoshi's mind raced:
"Dang it! Suppress!"
By instinct, she forced herself to suppress her wind powers, drastically lowering her wind strength.
"Oops, sorry about that, miss. Are you okay?"
Ayro asked gently.
Ryujin chuckled and teased,
"Oi Ayro, you're already cheating on your girlfriend."
Ayro shot Ryujin a deadly glare.
"Stop. Seriously."
Hoshi was flustered—now stuck, her chest accidentally pressed against Ayro's as he steadied her.
Ayro handed her back the umbrella.
But instead of taking it, Hoshi slapped his hand away, her face bright red.
"Where are you touching me?!"
She shouted, snatching the umbrella and running off again.
Ryujin looked puzzled.
"What the hell did you do?"
Ayro shrugged.
"I did nothing."
He rubbed his cheek and muttered,
"Dang... wind users are weird."
Ryujin glanced after the girl running away and said thoughtfully,
"Hmm... interesting."
The two walked back to the apartment, casually pretending they weren't completely soaked from the rain.
Meanwhile, somewhere out on a quiet road, Hoshi was breathing heavily.
"Dang it... that was way too close. And on top of that—"
A vivid flashback hit her: Ayro's hand placement.
"He touched me there!!"
Her face turned crimson all over again as she dropped to sit against a wall, covering her cheeks from the embarrassment.
The cat poked its head out from inside her jacket and meowed up at her.
Hoshi looked down at it and sighed.
"I'm a failure as a kunoichi..."
"Meow?"
The cat replied, tilting its head.
~~~To be Continued~~~