Chapter Text
The Alps, France- 10:00AM
The sun stood high in the sky. It was mid-summer and the mountains were bright-green with grass and the top was covered with crystal clear white snow. There was a strong fresh breeze, but the heat from the sun was in perfect contrast making a nice temperature.
The mountain goats were peacefully grazing on the alpine meadow. Lambs were jumping around through the snow patches, chasing each other while their mothers kept a close eye on them a few meters away. The bucks were standing on a ledge, watching out over the herd.
Close to the side of a lake stood a small cabin. The farmer that lived there sat on the porch in front of his house, a newspaper in hand and a strong cup of coffee standing on the table beside him. He held a croissant between his index- and middle finger, taking a small bite every now and as he enjoyed his breakfast in the sun.
It seemed just like a normal morning of spring, when a strong gust of wind slammed against the mountain top. It was silent for a second before the ground started shaking hard.
The bucks bleated a warning toward the herd below them and ran away as a giant wall of snow came crashing down toward them. The goats called their lambs and together, the herd ran toward the farmer’s cabin.
The man had already opened the door to the stable. His sheepdog guiding the last goats into the hopefully safe stable.
But just as the last goat stepped inside, a weird orange glow came from the top of the mountain. A warmth like as if you were in the desert spread over the meadow and within seconds, the cold snow melted. The water calmly ran down toward the lake until the only evidence of any snow was left was the few patches of white.
Dumbfounded, the farmer looked up at where the orange light had come from, but he couldn’t see anything except snow, snow and even more snow. He looked up to the sky and fell to his knees, hands folded together in a prayer.
‘’Merci, Dieu, d’avoir sauvé mes chèvres!’’ he called up to the sky. His voice echoed all the way up toward a small ledge in the snow where three girls sat on snow scooters.
Akaashi had a giant device resting on her right-shoulder. She looked down on the cabin with a smile: Mission succeeded. Behind her Atsumu let out a huff. The girl crossed her arms and put her chin in the air, turning her head away from the meadow.
‘’New WOOHP state in the art of technology? Puh-lease!’’ she said. ‘’The evapoblaster is nothing but a glorified hairdryer!’’
‘’I agree.’’ Oikawa put her hands on her hips. ‘’That mission was totally lame. I mean, avalanche patrol? What are we, spies or forest rangers?’’
Akaashi let out a sigh and adjusted her grip on the evapoblaster. ‘’Neither. Apparently we’re goat babysitters.’’ She started the motor of her scooter and steered it around up the mountain. ‘’Come on, let’s get back to Osamu and report our mission succeeded.’’ She pushed the gas pedal and her friends away.
But neither three of the spies knew that there was a fourth person watching them closely from the top of the mountain. Dark-brown eyes were hidden behind ski goggles and followed the girls path before it turned its back and walked away into the snowstorm.
Akaashi’s House, Tokyo- 08:00PM
It was pitch-black outside. The common honking of cars came through the slightly open window into the living room of Akaashi’s house. The high sirens of the numerous police cars didn’t even bother the three as they sat around the coffee table in front of the television.
Akaashi sat barefooted on the couch. Her soft-purple pajamas hung loosely around her legs and torso, the fabric a bit ruffled from countless trips in the washing machine. She had her feet resting on a pillow on the table, using her toe to pinch away an itch at the side of her right-foot. In her hands she held the new National Geographic Magazine.
Beside her, Atsumu let out a sigh. She wore a rose-colored jumpsuit with yellow bear slippers. One of the ears already hung a bit loose, making it obvious which slippers were most popular to wear in her opinion. In her left-hand she held a strawberry flavored ice cream bucket, a spoon in her right-hand.
‘’I thought this whole spy gig was supposed to be fun,’’ she said and took a bite from the ice cream. ‘’So much for the days of exciting missions and exotic places.’’
Oikawa, who sat on the other side of the couch looked up from her phone. ‘’At least we can be psyched about our big snowboarding trip this weekend.’’ She straightened her purple nightgown and crossed her legs.
‘’Yeah,’’ Akaashi agreed with her friend and put the magazine down. ‘’What do you say we forget about Osamu and his boring missions and focus on what is really important?’’ She smiled as she watched her friends lighten up. ‘’How about we go for some night-time shopping?’’
Tokyo Mall- 09:00PM
The three had never dressed so quickly as they did that evening. There was a reason for it though, the mall closes at 10:00PM so they only had about an hour to shop and prepare for the trip.
Once they stepped inside, they scattered off to three different stores. Akaashi went to the sports shop, Oikawa to the gaming arcade and Atsumu to a manicure shop.
Akaashi walked to the snow-aisle and browsed through the jackets. She was particularly searching for something blue or purple, best if it was in-between, but she wasn’t as picky as Oikawa. But luck seemed to stand on her side as a lilac-colored jacket caught her eyesight. She looked inside for the label and whispered a soft ‘yes’ when she saw that it was an M.
But just to be sure, she took the clothing and walked to a free fitting room. She closed the curtain behind her and took off her jeans-jacket. She tried on the snowboard jacket and smiled when it fitted her perfectly. She looked in the mirror and turned all possible corners to admire her new soon to be purchased item.
‘’Wow, it’s fabulous!’’ she murmured and ran her nails over the nylon on the outside, creating a funny noise. She felt the soft wool inside warming her torso, perfect against the ice-cold winds in the mountains. She put her thumbs through the holes in the sleeves and took another pose. ‘’It’s amazing, and with 20% off as well.’’
Suddenly, the face of her reflection crackled and was replaced by Osamu’s. He raised an eyebrow with doubt. ‘’Don’t you think it’s a bit tight for snowboarding?’’ he commented.
Akaashi jumped in surprise and ripped the curtain open. She stepped outside the fitting room and looked at the head-boss of WOOHP. He had a smug look on his face and chuckled slightly in amusement.
‘’That is hardly any of your business!’’ Akaashi spat. ‘’Now fuck off!’’ She awkwardly closed her mouth with a snap when she noticed that the people around her were staring at her with confused looks. She quickly stepped back in the fitting room, closed the curtain and hid her face in her hands.
Meanwhile, in the gaming arcade, Oikawa was practicing her snowboarding. It wasn’t very clever of her though to put on stilettoes. She was trying desperately to keep her balance on the moving platform that was connected to the computer, but the guy who stood behind her, didn’t hold back and moved as if he were the only one standing on the platform.
The two were scoring points after points, getting a higher and higher combo.
Oikawa squealed every time the platform moved. Suddenly, guy leaned back and she got lifted off the platform, she could only imagine that she had the attention of everyone in the mall at her high voice. She felt her left foot slip and for a split-second she thought she was going to fall when the guy took her hand and held her steady.
Her cheeks turned red and she shot her eyes away shyly.
‘’Ahem.’’
Oikawa looked at the screen and saw Osamu look at her. He shook his head with disapproval. In answer she stuck out her tongue.
Atsumu had a cap over her head and she waved her hand slightly to let the nail polish on her nails dry faster. She had a magazine rested in her lap when her spy phone rang from her bag. She carefully reached inside and opened the multifunctional powder box.
‘’Atsumu here,’’ she said.
Her brother appeared on the screen. He had several papers in his hand and looked dead-serious at his sister. ‘’Atsu, I’ve noticed that your grades have slipped, so I arranged that you will be tutored by our top WOOHP scholar every day after school. No need to thank me, I’m happy to help where I can.’’
Before Atsumu could say anything, her brother broke connection and the screen went black again.
With a frustrated growl, she closed the powder box and threw it back in her purse. She snatched her bag from the ground and stood up, careful not to hit her head in the cap. She slammed a few yen’s on the counter and walked straight out of the salon.
‘’Keep the change!’’ she yelled over her shoulder, still fuming. She turned her gaze back front again and an angry frown appeared on her face as she saw her two friends, each of them having the same expression on their face.
‘’I can’t believe it!’’ Oikawa hissed as Atsumu joined the two. ‘’I’m sorry to say this ‘Tsumu, but your brother is the worst!’’ She rummaged through her bag to grab her car keys.
Once the three were outside they made their way to Oikawa’s BMW. She unlocked the doors and took her place behind the wheel. She waited for her friends to step inside, before she drove away to Akaashi’s house again.
The three entered through the backdoor, not wanting to disturb Akaashi’s parents who were most likely sleeping already.
Atsumu made straight way to the kitchen and grabbed a spoon from the counter. She opened the freezer and took her half-finished cup of cherry-flavor ice-cream. She stomped to the couch and slumped down. She tore the lid off the cup and began eating again.
Akaashi and Oikawa sat on either side of her, both still pissed about their friend’s brother behavior.
The raven-haired girl was the first to speak up. ‘’Okay, being a spy has just gone from mundane to ridiculous. We can’t even get ready for our trip without Osamu bugging us.’’
‘’Tell me about it,’’ Oikawa agreed with Akaashi. ‘’That man is the absolute worst. We should definitely give him a piece of our minds.’’
Atsumu nodded and put another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. ‘’I totally agree! It’s high time we put our feet down!’’
She hadn’t even finished her sentence properly when the flatscreen television started fizzing with electricity. Somehow an electric field of anti-gravity spread across the room and lifted the three girls in the air, before it sucked them into some sort of tunnel.
‘’Well, you know what they say, ‘no time like the present’,’’ Akaashi shouted over the screaming of her friends.