Chapter Text
The light from the large flat screen cast a deep shadow over the room as Yuri watched the other Battlefront members file into the room and take their customary positions. It was well into the wee hours of the morning; the streets were void of traffic, and local businesses would remain closed for at least the next three hours. Yuri herself was wide awake, acutely aware that her subordinates were quite unhappy that she had called on them at such an ungodly hour. Once all her soldiers were present and accounted for, the green eyed girl stood and rounded to the opposite side of the desk, her computer remote in hand. In short order, she provided a brief history of the location, as well as a list of supposed unexplained occurrences linked to it. “Now that that's out of the way, we'll be splitting into three teams.” Yuri regarded each member as she spoke. “Noda will be going with me, Otonashi will be partnered with Kanade, and...” She put a finger to her lips as she looked to her second in command. “Hinata, your partner will be Yui.”
Hinata rolled his eyes and looked over at the pinkette. “I wondered what she was doing here. Naturally you'd hand the groupie over to me.” She looked to be nearly asleep, her frame swaying from side to side as gravity threatened to send her crashing to the floor.
Yuri perched on the edge of her desk. “She's our newest member, and therefore the least experienced. I know I can trust you with her safety.”
“Which is just a flattering way of calling me her babysitter, right?” Hinata sighed, and glanced over at Yui again, whose weight was now shifted entirely on one leg.
Always observant, Otonashi felt compelled to point out the obvious. “I hate to interrupt, but she looks like she's about to.-” He stopped short just as Yui fell. “fall...”
The instant Yui made contact with the wooden floor, her eyes snapped open. “I'm awake! I'm awake!” She looked around the room, dazed. “Where am I?”
Otonashi gave his blue haired friend a scolding look. Hinata was the closest in proximity to the girl and could have easily caught her. “You know...”
Hinata shrugged. “What?”
Once again, Yuri took control of the conversation. “If the three of you are finished kidding around I'd like to wrap this up.” She paused, and when there was no objection, she continued. “Okay then. Are there any questions?”
Fujimaki spoke first. “We've been over that place with a fine-tooth comb three years in a row, Yurippe. What makes you think we're going to find something this time?”
“I went to the library recently and got a hold of the house's blueprints. It seems that the final design included a hidden panic room.” She clicked a button, and the blueprints appeared on screen. She then highlighted the area where the panic room should be. “That's what we'll be looking for. Anything else?”
Hinata held out a hand in a dismissive gesture. “So what? Just because it's in the blueprints doesn't mean it was actually included during construction. And more importantly, has everyone forgotten that we were almost arrested last time for trespassing?”
Yuri sent a glance to Noda. “No one would have known we were there if a rat hadn't scared Noda causing him to take out half a wall with his halberd.”
The purple haired teen bristled. “Rats are disease ridden vermin. I was trying to kill it – for the good of all humankind.” He paused. “Besides, I don't understand why that shit hole needs a security guard to begin with. He's hardly ever there, and when he does show up he's passed out drunk in his car.”
Otonashi leaned toward Hinata. “I'm surprised he didn't become unhinged when she called him scared.”
Hinata smirked. “Nah. Noda would never challenge Yurippe. He'd follow her to the ends of the earth no matter what – even if she didn't ask him to.”
Otonashi quirked an eyebrow. “Am I detecting a hint of cynicism in your voice?”
Hinata shook his head. “It's just that they're polar opposites; he's a total moron and she's a genius. Yurippe doesn't see him as anything but one of her soldiers. Pretty sad if you think about it.”
He wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but saying that Yuri was a genius seemed a bit of a stretch in Otonashi's mind. The orange haired teen's brief musings were cut short at the sharp tone of Yuri's voice. He looked up, and she was standing in front of the desk with her hands on her hips.
Yuri gestured to the Student Council's vice president. “Naoi, you have a question?”
The self-taught hypnotist nodded. “If there are only going to be three teams consisting of two people each, why are the rest of us here?” His eyes narrowed. “God does not appreciate being called out of bed in the middle of the night for nothing, you know.”
Yuri eyed the younger boy with a stern look. “Okay first of all, you're not God. That time on the ball field a few weeks back when you were almost struck by lightning should be more than enough proof. Secondly, everyone needs to be briefed on the mission's details in case something happens to our original point teams.”
Otonashi's brows knit together. “Wait, what do you mean 'in case something happens?' Immediately, an image of his own gravestone complete with epitaph popped into his head.
'Otonashi Yuzuru. He was a nice guy.'
Yuri tapped another button and initiated the computer's screen saver. “Alright. I think that covers everything – oh, and I expect everyone to come in costume too. It is Halloween, after all. Operation Devil's Night will commence at twenty-one hundred hours next Wednesday night. This meeting of the Battlefront Paranormal Investigation Society is concluded. You are dismissed.”
The others began filing out of the room, but Otonashi remained, stunned at Yuri's casualness while addressing a potentially deadly situation. He blinked at his girlfriend's voice.
Kanade regarded him expectantly. “Are you coming?”
Otonashi nodded and grabbed his coat. “Yeah, I was just...” He glanced back at the now dark flat screen monitor. “...never mind.”
Kanade and Otonashi left the room together, trailing just behind Hinata. At the sound of a dull thud, Kanade looked over her shoulder just in time to see that Yui, who had likely been asleep during the entire meeting, had run into the room's door frame, and slumped to the floor. Kanade blinked. “Oh dear...”
Otonashi sighed, and went to make sure the pinkette hadn't injured herself. “You probably should have stayed home.”
Kanade nodded in agreement. “We could have easily informed her of the mission details tomorrow.”
Hinata shook his head, and joined his three friends. “Is she okay?”
Otonashi, who would be entering medical school in a matter of months, nodded. “Looks like it.”
With that confirmed, Hinata picked the younger girl up, amazed that the motion hadn't awakened her. “Come on, airhead. Let's get you home.”
Otonashi looked at his friend as they began walking once again. “Are you sure?”
Hinata verified his actions. “Someone has to make sure she gets home safe. Who knows where she'd end up otherwise.”
Otonashi and Kanade exchanged a meaningful look. The others may have become bored with exploring the old mansion, but something told them both that this time there would be an interesting twist.