Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A few quick notes before you read! 

First, all characters are aged up in this (probably about 10 years from their canon ages).

Second, please don't hesitate to ask if there's anything about the world that's unclear! I know there will be very few people who have heard of After The Flash, and I'm not sure I'll do it justice with my explanations :') I'll try my best to keep track of any new terms and leave the definitions in chapter end notes.

Next, I'm not sure how much the ships will show up - right now I'm focusing on developing the plot, so the ships are kind of in the background but I will do my best to make sure they're there.

As of right now, I'm hoping to keep an update schedule of every 2 weeks (give or take a day or two), so please be patient while I write more!

Lastly, I appreciate everyone who takes the time out of their day to read this! This is just a silly little project that lived in my brain a little too long to ignore it. I would love to hear your thoughts on the story or the world, or anything else you’d like to yap about! 

With all that said, I hope you enjoy reading!

> YT recording of the game’s radio function, if you want some fitting background music: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hsTD9Z_wP2w 

> Map (key in notes):

Chapter Text

Sunrise City, Heron Street

As per the rules of his “parole”, Ryuusei Shidou was not supposed to leave Bargetown unless under strict orders from the government. Of course, Shidou was never one for following the rules (hence his current predicament), so it wasn’t all that surprising when he found himself wandering the streets of Sunrise City at dusk.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know the consequences of getting caught. If one of the Registrars found out about his little excursion, he likely wouldn’t live to see the next day. Yet despite this knowledge, Shidou often tested the limits of what he could get away with as if he didn’t care about what might happen. (He did care, at least on some level, but he knew accepting this offer was a death sentence already, so what did it matter if it came a little earlier than expected?)

The sound of gunfire echoed through the ruins of Sunrise City, only a few streets over from Shidou, by the sound of it. He sighed, weighing his options. On one hand, he really didn’t want to head back to the confines of Bargetown, where he would no doubt get some nasty looks from the townspeople (at best). On the other, there was no point getting involved in whatever conflict was happening this time (especially not if the Coalition was a part of it).

Still… not getting involved didn’t mean he had to stay away…

Shidou peered around the corner of a ruined building, trying to figure out what was going on a few streets down. He could see figures not far from him, but couldn’t make much else out. The gunfire, at least, had stopped, so Shidou wouldn’t run the risk of catching a stray bullet by moving any closer.

He snuck closer, just close enough to catch a glimpse of who was involved. From the looks of it, there were two Alumni soldiers and a couple of regular wastelanders. No one from the Coalition, thank goodness.

The two Alumni soldiers were bickering with each other, though Shidou wasn’t close enough to catch anything they said. The wastelanders snuck off without the Alumni noticing them leave, and Shidou couldn’t help but snicker. 

Apparently, Alumni soldiers wouldn’t be much of a threat. The soldiers seemed to be done with their argument, or at least too fed up with each other to continue. One of the soldiers turned around, and even though Shidou was farther down the street, he met Shidou’s eyes, a striking teal color that Shidou noticed even from that distance.

Damn, Shidou thought as he ducked out of sight. He’s rather pretty.

The worst part about sneaking out of town was coming back. Especially with the look Bachira gave Shidou when he did. For a while after meeting him, Shidou had wondered how the man could always tell when Shidou had snuck out. It wasn’t until recently that he’d figured out it was actually Isagi who could tell, and always mentioned it to his best friend.

“–come on, Shidou, I  know why you’d want to get out of here, but you should at least think about what’s at stake,” Bachira was saying as he stocked shelves. “Besides, it’s not like the entire town is against you - you’ve still got me and Yocchan!”

Shidou rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know what’s at stake,” he said. “And sorry, but getting out of here every once in a while is more than worth it.”

Isagi frowned, leaning against the Pantry’s checkout counter. “Did you run into anyone while you were out?” He asked. 

“No one from the Coalition,” Shidou said. “I think an Alumni soldier saw me, but only briefly. Look, guys, I’m glad you care about me and all that, but can we drop this? You know I’m not going to get caught, so let’s leave it at that. Please. ”

Isagi sighed, casting a glance at Bachira.

“As long as you’re looking after yourself, we’re happy,” Bachira said with a shrug, “but we are your friends. We don’t want to see you executed by one of your fellow Rooks.”

Shidou grinned at him. “Oh, come on, guys, have a little faith in me!”

The PDA attached to Isagi’s belt made a noise, and he sighed. “That’s my cue to get to work,” he said and cast a glance at Shidou. “Stay safe, man. Megs, I’ll swing by when I’m finished up for today.” He offered them a tight smile and headed out. 

Bachira was uncharacteristically quiet as he finished stocking shelves, a fact that unnerved Shidou more than he’d ever admit. He did understand the point his friends made, and he did appreciate their concern, but he knew what he was doing. 

Besides, he thought, I’ve only got three more years of this hell.

– – –

“Okay, try moving your leg,” the technician said, moving away from where Chigiri sat on the bed. He gave Chirigi an encouraging nod.

Chigiri hesitated, staring a moment longer at the prosthetic. He didn’t fully understand what the rugged-looking false limb was supposed to do, or how it really functioned, but the cybernetic technician assured him that it would work just as good - if not better - than his real leg. He took a few deep breaths, pushing away the memories flashing through his mind - the sound of gunfire - crumpling to the ground - blistering pain shooting through his leg–

No.

Another deep breath in. Chigiri carefully pulled his legs toward him, trying to focus on the feeling he used to get, back when his right leg wasn’t just a hunk of metal.

Stop. It.

Miraculously, both his human left leg and robotic right leg followed his instructions, slowly bending and moving up, until Chigiri’s knees - both real and fake - were in front of his chest.

The technician gave him a warm smile. “Good work,” he said, the words echoing numbly in Chigiri’s head. Like he was supposed to feel some sense of accomplishment. Like he was supposed to ignore the fact that this was not his leg.

The technician was still rambling. “We’ll need to make a few tweaks, of course, fine-tuning so that it works as smoothly as possible, and you should continue using crutches until we can work on walking, but this is a wonderful first step!”

Chigiri didn’t respond. What was he supposed to say? That he was just so happy that this hunk of scrappy metal was doing its job, that he couldn’t wait to get back on his feet? 

Somewhere in the world outside his head, a knock sounded, and he could vaguely hear the technician talking with someone. Chigiri glanced up as the door shut and watched Reo walk in.

His friend was quiet as he sat down, a fact Chigiri was grateful for. 

“Are you ready to head back to the barracks?” Reo finally asked, giving Chigiri a concerned look.

“I… don’t know,” Chigiri mumbled, the first words he’d spoken all day. 

Reo’s hand landed on Chigiri’s shoulder, giving him a gentle yet reassuring squeeze. Chigiri felt his eyes sting as tears began to prick up. 

Not again.

He gave in and leaned against his friend, trying to ignore the tears starting to drop down his face. He hated this. He hated feeling so helpless, so reliant on other people. He hated how upset he was, and how easy it was for everyone to tell.

Everyone kept saying, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be okay,’ but how was he supposed to feel okay? There was a stump where his leg used to be, a piece of junk taking up the space where it should be.  

Chigiri focused on his breathing, in and out, over and over again until he felt somewhat normal. He finally wiped at the streaks left on his face, and Reo, noticing his movement, slid off the bed.

“Let’s get you standing up,” Reo said quietly, offering Chigiri a hand.

Chigiri took it, focusing on moving his legs as he pivoted to slide off the bed the same way Reo had. It was awkward, his real leg bumping against the fake one as he moved, but eventually, he was doing it - he was standing. (Okay, so he was somewhat using Reo to support him, but it was better than just hobbling around on crutches.)

Reo reached over to grab said crutches, but stopped when Chigiri shook his head.

“You know you’re supposed to wait until your training to try walking,” Reo chided, grabbing the crutches anyway.

“Come on, Reo,” Chigiri said quietly. “I have to do this.”

Reo sighed, still holding on to the crutches, but he didn’t hand them over.

Chigiri stared at his legs, at the piece of metal holding him back, and slowly, carefully, moved it one step forward.

– – –

“What were you thinking?” 

Rin’s blood boiled as he charged ahead into the market. It was one thing to make a dumb mistake when in the field, but making that mistake in front of his brother was a completely different problem.

A few Alumni members glanced at him as he stormed past, but Rin paid them no mind. He didn’t know if his brother was following him or not, but he wasn’t going to stop and risk the chance of Sae catching up.

The market was unusually busy, outsiders clamoring the streets. Rin tried to avoid the most crowded areas, but the closer he got to the bar, the more the crowd picked up.

Figures.

At least with all the people around, his brother would be less likely to find him. 

Rin continued into the bar, dodging the crowd of drunken outsiders crowding around for more drinks as he made his way to the restaurant portion of the building. The crowds weren’t helping with his frustration, the incident that morning already screwing with what could have otherwise been a good day.

It had been ages since he’d been sent out into the field, so of course, when he finally got another opportunity to get off the campus, his brother had to be right there with him.

“Rin,” a voice called, and Rin suppressed a groan as Sae came up behind him. “If you’re done running away, I think we should talk about this morning.”

Sae didn’t add ‘like a child’ to the first half of his sentence, but the sentiment was there. Rin could hear it clearly in his brother's voice. For the second time that day, he debated punching his brother in the face.

Not worth it, he reminded himself. The brothers’ Overseer, Loki, was already fed up with the family feud going on, and Rin didn’t need to screw himself over by causing a scene. Especially on a day when the market was busy again.

Before Sae could start whatever lecture he was about to go on, a server came by with Rin’s meal and a PDA. “Twelve scrip,” the server said, and Rin pulled out his own PDA to make a quick transfer. 

As soon as the server left, Rin turned to Sae with a scowl. “What is it,” he snapped.

Sae mumbled something under his breath, looking annoyed. “Look, I’ll keep this short. Because of your poor decision-making today, we almost compromised some of the Valedictorians.”

“Well, we didn’t,” Rin said, crossing his arms.

“Also,” Sae said, ignoring his brother’s statement, “someone else was in the alley. I’m pretty sure they saw the entire thing.”

Okay, so maybe Sae had a good reason for being upset with him. This time. “Who were they with?” Rin asked with a frown. 

“I’m not sure,” Sae replied. “They weren’t wearing any uniform I recognized, but that doesn’t mean they’re unaffiliated. Hopefully, they didn’t see too much, but… ”

Rin sighed. “Yeah, I know. I’ll talk to Loki, and you go looking for whoever that was.”

Sae nodded. “I’ll come find you later. Shoot me a message if you need anything.”

I won’t, Rin thought as he watched Sae leave. He turned back to his food, surprised to find he still had an appetite despite having a conversation with his brother. Well, Sae had been unusually civil. 

As Rin ate, his thoughts turned to the morning’s events. If someone really had seen them, especially someone from one of the other factions… 

Well, he was sure Loki would have plenty to say on that matter.

Chapter Text

Black Mountain Complex, USRF Barracks

Being the USRF’s acting commander was no easy task, but Reo liked to think he was pulling it off rather well. Of course, he had been trained to take over some branch of the USRF - if not the NEU - since he was old enough to talk, but that didn’t matter. This was something he’d accomplished on his own, without his name backing him up or his father’s power helping him out. 

The newest recruits paled when they saw him, nodding their respects as they scrambled out of the way. Reo sighed and continued. No, there was nothing easy about being in charge of the entire complex, and though Reo was proud of his accomplishment, he couldn’t help but miss the days back when he was still just a squad leader.

Back when you actually had time for your friends.

Reo tried to ignore that thought as he passed the training gym. He could see a few friendly faces through the window, and caught Yukimiya giving him a polite wave. He responded in turn and finally reached the small meeting area.

The Black Mountain Complex had many things, but a proper meeting room was not one of them. Instead, they had a small corner in one of the halls with a whiteboard, some chairs, and a table. A few other high-ranking officers waited for him near the table, an open laptop resting on its surface. 

Reo suppressed what he was sure was the thousandth sigh of the day as he approached, trying to mentally prepare himself for whatever crazy obstacle was sure to pop up this time.

Late that afternoon, Reo paced the corridors of the barracks, waiting for his best friend to return. The barracks were mostly empty, most of the other members finishing up their training. It was another few minutes before Nagi finally arrived.

“How’s Chigiri?” The white-haired man asked softly, taking a seat nearby.

Reo shrugged. “Frustrated, mostly,” he responded. “Not that I can blame him. The prosthetic is working well so far, but…”

Reo didn’t have to finish his sentence for his friend to understand. Nagi nodded, resting his head against the table. “You look upset,” he remarked after a few more minutes of Reo’s pacing.

“Do I?” Reo sighed, forcing himself to sit down next to Nagi. Pacing wouldn’t do him any good, after all. “I’m just… tired, I suppose,” he muttered. “Plus, we got a message from the Coalition which, of course, complicates a lot of things…”

Nagi gave Reo a sympathetic look. “Can’t you ask someone to help you out or something?” He asked. “You shouldn’t have to fill the Commander’s role by yourself.”

“No, it’s fine,” Reo mumbled, dropping his head onto his arms. “I just need a minute to myself, that’s all. I can do this,” he said, the last sentence almost a whisper.

He felt a hand trailing across his back, and he tried to ignore the warmth spreading across his face. “I know you can, Reo,” Nagi murmured. 

Reo took a deep breath, ignoring the spark of warmth now flaming in his chest. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he had some other business to take care of (namely, this whole Coalition situation), but for now, he supposed he could take some time for himself. 

Eventually, he and Nagi fell into an easy conversation, stopping when Chigiri passed by for a quick chat. Chigiri was still using the crutches, but Reo could see that he was relying on them a lot less than before. Reo couldn’t help the swell of pride he felt at his friend’s improvement - he even looked a bit calmer than before.

He and Nagi wandered down to the canteen for a quick snack, feeling the way he used to when he was just a simple squad leader, and for one brief moment, chatting with Nagi, Reo almost forgot about everything else going on, about all of the stress and pressure and–

“Mikage,” someone called, and Reo sighed. The use of his last name was synonymous with a title. This was something business-related. “The representative from the Coalition is calling.”

Ah . It was all coming back now.

Reo cast an apologetic look at Nagi as he stood up and made his way back to the meeting area. Yes, the role of acting commander was tough. As much as Reo liked to think he was pulling it off, he couldn’t help the sense that all the duties, the power, the fact that he was suddenly the person everyone looked to for guidance… well, perhaps it was getting to him a little more than he let on.

He approached the meeting area for the second time that day to find a similar setup to before. A few high-ranking officers surrounded the table, watching him approach. The awkward silence as the laptop sat open to a glitching video call with a man wearing the coalition uniform, his orange eyes studying Reo as he approached.

With yet another sigh, Reo took a seat facing the laptop. The role of acting commander was more work than he’d thought it would be, but he’d push through. He always had. This was just one more obstacle, and he wasn’t going to let it drag him down. Reo had earned this position, this power, and he was not going to let everyone down.

– – –

Bargetown came alive at night. It was one of Karasu’s favorite things about the place. Always and without fail, people began to trickle into his bar, ordering drinks and food, talking about god knows what, and filling the building with a sense of warmth he felt he was otherwise lacking. 

On this particular evening, however, Karasu’s first customer showed up before the work day ended, before the sky was dark and the crowds came in. 

Kunigami sat down with a force Karasu wasn’t quite used to seeing.

“Something wrong?” Karasu asked, eyebrow raised.

Kunigami groaned. “The USRF is a total pain, that’s what,” he grumbled. “I’m heading over there in a few days to try and negotiate some sort of trade alliance, but the guy in charge is making this as difficult as possible.”

“What, they’re still mad about the Southern Union thing?”

“Yeah,” Kunigami muttered and rifled through his pockets. “You wanna whip up a drink or two? I’ll take anything strong.”

Karasu nodded and got to work. That bad, huh…

“So, tell me,” he said as he got a drink ready for Kunigami, “if the USRF is still upset, why are you trying to make an alliance?” 

Kunigami shrugged. “I mean, there are a few reasons, but it does align with the Coalition’s primary goal,” he said. “We’re all residents of the islands, and we think it’s time we try to get along. I’m just not entirely sure they agree.”

Karasu hummed his acknowledgement as he slid a glass across the bar to Kunigami. The man drank in silence, seeming to be lost in thought. 

While he waited for the usual crowds to roll in, Karasu focused on cleaning the counter. Eventually, Kunigami finished his drink, seeming to have pulled himself from his thoughts.

“How long will you be at Black Mountain?” Karasu asked.

“At the least, only a couple of days,” Kunigami responded.

“At the most?”

Kunigami sighed. “A couple of weeks.” 

Karasu grimaced. “Tough job, then?”

“Well, it’s fine when I’m not off visiting other factions,” Kunigami said, “but being away from home isn’t my idea of a great time. And if we’re speaking honestly, I think there’s a lot more we should be doing for the town before we go pursuing diplomacy with the other factions.” He paused a moment, seeming to think about something. “Maybe I’ll retire from being a relations manager after this trip.”

“Get some good going in the community?” Karasu prompted.

Kunigami nodded. “ Someone should make some changes, in any case.” 

Karasu smiled in response as he noticed more of the townspeople making their way into the bar. It didn’t take long for Karasu to become too busy to focus on much talking. He noticed Bachira and Isagi off in one corner, happily chatting, while Hiori ordered their drinks. Nearby, Raichi was complaining about the lack of business he was getting at his weapons shop, the few travelers around him casting him annoyed looks. 

Through all of this, he noticed Kunigami still seated at the corner of the bar, though the man didn’t order anything else, and he stayed, silently watching the crowd as slowly but surely, it dwindled down.

“So,” Karasu said, dragging out the ‘o’. Enough people had gone off to bed that he finally had a break to check on Kunigami.

Kunigami glanced at him, looking tired. 

Karasu slid him a plate of food. “It’s on the house,” he said. “Are ya still bothered by this USRF business?”

“I suppose that’s part of it,” Kunigami said slowly, still seeming to be half lost in thought. He picked at the food, a distracted look making its way across his face. “I just… had a thought. But it should wait,” he added, clearly noticing Karasu’s curious expression. 

“Too much work to do?” 

Kunigami chuckled, though it didn’t seem like his heart was really in it. “Something like that,” he muttered. 

Karasu frowned. “Are you… alright?” He asked hesitantly. In some way, it didn’t feel like it was his place to step in - after all, he and Kunigami weren’t all that close. He was just a bartender, Kunigami just a customer. He was already regretting asking, like he’d overstepped a boundary, when Kunigami finally sighed.

“I just can’t help but feel like there’s more I should be doing,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with my job right now, but am I really making a difference? I mean, the chances that we actually can arrange an alliance with the USRF are slim at best, and in the end, I don’t even know how much it’ll help. And then, I see people like Isagi, who actually go out and fix things… and I just can’t help but wonder what more I could do.”

Karasu blinked a few times, startled by the man’s response. In all honesty, he didn’t know what to say. He still wasn’t sure it was his place to be interfering with… well, any of this, but if Kunigami was willing to open up to him…

“I think,” Karasu began slowly, “that you do more than you realize. Bargetown as a whole relies a lot on trade from other places, whether it’s other Coalition towns or the other factions on these islands.”

Kunigami glanced up at him with surprise.

Karasu continued. “The fact that you’re going out and making connections with everyone else, building those relationships we need… well, this is just my opinion, but I truly think you do a lot more for this community than you think you do.”

“I… thank you,” Kunigami finally said softly.

Karasu smiled. “Well, without good trade alliances, places like this wouldn’t be half as good. I’m sure most of the other shop owners here would agree with me when I say that, in part, we owe our businesses to those we trade with.”

“Right,” Kunigami murmured, finally cracking a small smile. “Seriously, thank you. I’ll make sure to stop by as soon as I get back.”

“Good,” Karasu said, grinning back. “Go save the world, man.”

Kunigami chuckled, genuinely this time, as he left the bar. As his final customers trickled out, Karasu finished cleaning up the counter and hung up his apron.

He stopped just outside the bar, pausing as he was about to close the shop and glanced around. The town was still lit with signs labeling the different shops, the crackle of fire pits nearby and soft chatter. Above, just beyond the thick clouds, he thought he could make out a few small pinpricks of light. Stars.

As he flicked off the glowing signs of his bar, he couldn’t help but smile to himself. Yeah, Bargetown at night was truly something special.

Chapter Text

Sunrise City, just outside Sunrise Park

This was pointless. 

It had already been a day since the little incident in the street, and Sae was still hopelessly wandering around, searching for the guy who may have spotted him.

Why on earth did you think this would work?

There was no reason for the guy to still be hanging around Sunrise City unless he lived there, and he didn’t seem much like an average wastelander. No, he had to be affiliated with a faction, any faction.

Well, maybe not the Voyageurs, Sae corrected himself. If that were the case, he was sure the guy would have done more than just watch. That at least narrowed it down to either a USRF soldier or someone from the Coalition…

His PDA beeped, pulling him from his train of thought, and he glanced down at the device. On the screen was a very bland message from his brother, informing him that Loki wanted him back at the campus.

Sae hesitated, glancing at the streets one more time before finally turning around. He headed through the tunnel underneath the station and walked along the walls surrounding the park.. The campus was already in sight when he heard footsteps behind him.

He had whipped around, pistol in hand, before he could even think.

The man in front of him slowly raised his hands in surrender, a smirk slowly spreading across his face.

For a moment, Sae wasn’t sure how to react. Then he spotted the man’s uniform. Oh shit, it was him.

“I don’t suppose you come here often,” the man said teasingly. 

Sae ignored him and kept his pistol level with the man’s chest. “Who are you,” he snapped, eyes narrowed.

“Aw, c’mon,” the man said, his grin growing wider. “You don’t have to point that thing at me. I’ve been looking for you.”

Sae froze. Was he looking for him specifically? Had the man seen as much as he feared? His grip on the weapon tightened, and he was sure he’d started to glare because the man in front of him sighed.

“Alright, alright,” he muttered. “The name’s Shidou. And you?”

After a moment of hesitation, he answered. “Sae,” he said shortly. “Why were you looking for me?”

Shidou looked surprised. “You don’t recognize me?” 

Sae didn’t react. If he admitted that he did recognize Shidou from the day before, the man might start asking questions - ones Sae couldn’t answer. “Who are you with?” Sae asked instead, hoping Shidou didn’t push the issue any further.

Shidou hesitated. “The Coalition,” he said slowly, “if we’re being official about it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sae asked, his momentary confusion causing his stance to drop, his arms relaxing just enough to let Shidou get the better of him.

Before Sae could process what had happened, his pistol was clattered on the ground a few feet away. Shidou was gripping his wrists tightly enough that Sae couldn’t move, his back pressed against the park’s wall. 

It was the first time in ages that someone had overwhelmed him.

Shidou smirked at Sae’s obvious surprise. “Just that I don’t have any personal investment in the faction,” he said. “You didn’t answer my question. Didn’t you see me the other day, while you were busy attacking those wastelanders?”

Shit.

Sae’s heart was pounding, but he forced himself to remain calm. Don’t give anything away, he reminded himself, though he wasn’t sure what good it would do. Clearly, Shidou had already seen too much.

“Speaking of that,” Shidou continued, his grip on Sae’s wrists growing tighter, “do you want to explain just what you were doing? I didn’t think the Alumni cared about anyone outside of their esteemed establishment.” 

Sae felt his face heat up, and he looked away. He didn’t have any clue how to respond to that, much as he would like to. 

Luckily, before Shidou could press the issue any further, a voice rang out, startling both Sae and Shidou.

“Sae?” Rin called from down the street. 

Both Sae and Shidou froze, and before Sae could react, Shidou had released his grip and was bolting in the other direction.

Rin hurried over to where Sae was standing, looking confused. “What are you standing around for?” He asked. “Didn’t you see my message?”

Sae gritted his teeth, trying to resist the urge to roll his eyes. “Yes, I did,” He said slowly, doing his best not to snap at his brother. “I just got distracted.” 

“Well, if you’re done being distracted, we need to go,” Rin grumbled.

Sae nodded along, only partially listening to his brother. As they walked, he scanned the ground until he finally spotted his pistol discarded on the street. Sae waited a few seconds to let Rin get ahead and swiped the weapon from the ground.

Without thinking about it, Sae found himself glancing behind him, checking to see if Shidou was still around, but there were no signs that the man had ever been there. 

Sae rubbed at his sore wrists with a frown. Throughout the entire interaction, he’d still failed to get the most important answer - just how much had Shidou really seen?

– – –

In all honesty, Loki didn’t know how the Alumni were still intact. 

As he sat across from the Itoshi brothers, the thought returned to him with a vengeance. Great. He could already feel the headache coming on. (Though, if he was being honest, he didn’t think it had ever really subsided. Not since Rin had reported an outsider witnessing the events of the previous day.)

The Itoshi’s were silent as they stared at him from across the desk. Good. It gave Loki at least a moment to collect his thoughts. He took a few deep breaths before finally asking, “Are either of you actually going to explain what the hell happened yesterday?”

Sae and Rin shared a glance - one completely devoid of their usual rivalry, to Loki’s surprise. 

Loki raised an eyebrow, still waiting for a response.

“Well…” Rin began, then stopped to glance at Sae. 

With an annoyed eye roll, Sae took over the explanation. “We did exactly as you said. Those wastelanders are the ones who screwed things up, which would be fine if that guy hadn’t been there watching.”

Loki massaged his temples. He liked to think he was a decently reasonable man, but some of the Alumni members were really starting to bring out the worst in him. “What guy,” he said as calmly as he could.

Sae looked uncomfortable. “Just someone from the Coalition,” he muttered. “I’m still not sure how much he actually saw, though.”

Great.

Loki stayed quiet, the admission slowly rolling over in his head. Yes, it was possible that the operation was still safe - for now - and yes, it was possible that everything could be taken care of, but it was looking less and less likely by the minute. 

Good grief.  

The whole situation was turning out to be a lot more work than it should have been, and that meant he needed to reconsider the details of this project. Then there was the fact that after the whole situation, Sae had gone out again without any actual orders. And, to top it all off, the operation was still mostly incomplete.

Perhaps the worst part of it all was that Loki didn’t know how to bring any of this up. There wasn’t exactly anyone in the Alumni that he could open up to - after all, he was an Overseer. He was in charge of directing the Alumni’s forces, and didn’t have the time to be worrying about something that should already be done.

Loki pushed the spiral of thoughts aside as he stared at the Itoshi brothers, realizing that he’d been silent for a while now. “You’re free to go,” he finally said, eyeing them warily. “For now. This situation isn’t over yet, so you can expect to see me again soon.”

They both nodded and scurried out of the room.

As soon as the door was closed, Loki dropped his head into his hands. This was spiraling out of control, and fast. In theory, he knew his idea had been a good one. It just turned out that executing that idea wasn’t as simple as he’d thought it had been.

He pulled out his PDA and hesitated, staring at the contact’s name before finally typing out a message. It wasn’t often that Loki had to direct the Valedictorians who were outside the Campus’ walls, and he hesitated with each word he typed.

Finally, after far too much rewriting, the message was sent. 

One task down, Loki thought. Now, for the Itoshi brothers…  

Loki sighed as he tucked the PDA away again. He’d almost decided to send them back into the field. Almost. His logic won out eventually, since the two had already messed up the operation. It wouldn’t make sense to have them go back out to work on something so… fragile. 

Then again, the Valedictorian in question probably wasn’t the best man for the job either, but so far, he hadn’t been a problem.

Loki could feel a headache coming on with full force now, the constant back and forth of his current predicament becoming a nagging throb. Perhaps it was about time for him to take a break.

Chapter Text

North Island Woods

Kunigami looked over his supplies as he repacked one last time, going over a checklist in his mind. He was pretty sure he wasn’t forgetting anything, but living with other factions could be unpredictable. 

It had already been days since his last contact with the USRF, and the nerves were starting to get to him. Making contact with them was one accomplishment, sure, but the discussions in the upcoming days were on another level.

A knock sounded at his door and Kunigami paused. “Come in,” he called, glancing behind him as the door creaked open. 

Isagi hesitantly stepped inside, closing the door behind him quietly. “Are you ready?” He asked softly.

Kunigami shrugged. “Yeah, I think so,” he said. “Just double-checking.” 

“Do you…” Isagi paused, frowning. “Do you think it’ll work? From what I heard, their leader wasn’t thrilled about you visiting.”

“It’s my job, Isagi,” Kunigami mumbled. “I’ll make it work one way or another.”

“Yeah, I know,” Isagi muttered. “Just be careful, okay?” 

“I will,” Kunigami said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He knew Isagi was only acting out of concern, but Kunigami could take care of himself. He always had, and in the wasteland, that said a lot.

He finally finished repacking, ignoring Isagi’s gaze burning into his back. After hoisting his bag onto his shoulder, he surveyed his room one last time. If all went well, it would only be a few days until he was back, but if not…

A loud knock sounded on the door and Kunigami sighed. “That time already?” He murmured, casting a quick glance at Isagi.

Isagi nodded, opening the door to reveal Bachira waiting with a grin. “Ready for your field trip?” He asked Kunigami as he exited his place. 

Field trip..?  

Well, it wasn’t the worst description to exist, even if it did feel a bit juvenile. “I’m ready,” he said, grip tightening around the strap of his bag. The checklist in his mind popped up again - clothes, food, water, weapons…  

“Then we should head out right away,” Isagi said. “I’d rather get the bulk of the travel done while it’s still light out and reduce the chance of running into anything dangerous.”

Bachira frowned at him. “You do realize we have to come back after we drop him off, right?” 

“If we’re fast, we’ll still mostly avoid traveling at night,” Isagi countered as the trio made their way out of town. “And in any case, Kunigami’s the priority here. The two of us will make it work one way or another, we just need to make sure he can do his job.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Bachira muttered, looking a bit like he was sulking. “Be fast, lots of work, no fun. Got it.”

Isagi rolled his eyes. “You like your job,” he retorted, “and I’m sure you’ll find a way to have fun no matter what.” Isagi paused to glance at Kunigami. “You’re quiet,” he remarked, cutting off whatever response Bachira had been about to say.

“Just recalling a conversation I had,” he said. “Let’s get this trip over with already.”

The trio was about halfway there when they heard gunshots.

After the initial shock, Isagi was the first to react, stopping Kunigami and Bachira in their tracks. “Be quiet,” he hissed, motioning for them to follow him off the road. 

They ducked behind a tree and Kunigami peered out at the road, squinting as he tried to make out anyone heading their way. Finally, a couple of human-shaped figures made their way down the street, barely visible through the thick fog.

Kunigami found himself instinctively reaching for the pistol strapped to his belt. 

Isagi gave him a wary glance, but Bachira was already drawing his weapon as well. 

“Who are they?” Bachira whispered. 

Kunigami peered out again, trying to get a good look at the approaching figures. At first, he didn’t notice any telling signs of who they might be. Then he spotted the blue armband. 

“Shit,” he muttered. “They’re Voyageurs.”

Isagi’s eyes flashed in surprise. “What are they doing so close to Black Mountain?” He asked. “They’re not close with the USRF, are they?”

Kunigami shook his head. “As far as I’m aware, they’re not close with any other factions,” he murmured, frowning at the pair on the road. They were close enough now that he could tell they were having a conversation.

“Stay here,” Isagi whispered, casting a glance back. “I’m going to see if I can hear what they’re talking about.”

Isagi slipped away, creeping closer to the Voyageurs on the road. The further he got, the less visible he became, the thick mists swallowing him up. It was strange, seeing how quickly he disappeared with each step.

Bachira pulled Kunigami back from where he had been watching and gave him a warning look. “You need to stay out of sight, too,” he whispered, and Kunigami nodded.

They crouched down, and Kunigami couldn’t even make out hints of conversation anymore, as if the Voyageurs had disappeared. Seconds ticked by, though they felt more like hours. Kunigami tried to push down his worry, though the ever-increasing thumps of his heart did nothing to calm his nerves.

He’ll be fine, Kunigami reasoned with himself. If Bachira’s still calm, there’s nothing to worry about. 

Finally, his heart rate seemed to slow. So, of course, it was at that exact moment that Kunigami felt the cold end of a gun pressed against his head.

“Well, well,” a voice said, loud enough to ring out through the thick silence of the woods. “What do we have here?”

– – – 

Bachira was not having the time of his life. In fact, his current situation was the exact opposite of a good time. Sure, he liked his job as much as he could given its dangerous nature, but he didn’t sign up for this. 

More specifically, he didn’t think a routine trip to Black Mountain and back would leave him in the clutches of the Voyageurs (though he doubted anyone in their group had ).

Isagi was still out of sight, which was at least a bit better than if he were being held captive too. Plus, if there was anyone who could get them out of a pickle, it was Isagi. He wasn’t Bargwtown’s beloved constable for nothing. 

Meanwhile, Kunigami was giving nothing away. Not a speck of fear, surprise, or even mild interest at their current predicament. Which was fine. Bachira didn’t need him to be worried (though it would’ve been nice for Kunigami to rely on him a bit more).

And as for Bachira… 

Well, he couldn’t deny his surprise, but if his bodyguard training had taught him anything, it was that he should remain calm in the face of danger (usually this was recommended so as not to worry one’s charge, but again, Kungami didn’t seem very concerned).

Bachira surveyed the situation, trying to analyze the way Isagi would. Without his best friend there to interpret what was going on, Bachira was at a bit of a loss. 

No matter - he could do this. Around them stood two Voyageurs, heavily armed. The dark-haired one still had a gun aimed at Kunigami, but the other had yet to draw a weapon, instead looking worriedly over his shoulder.

He leaned in to whisper something to the dark-haired one, and Bachira leaned in, straining to listen (luckily, they seemed too busy to notice his obvious interest).

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Aiku?” The Voyaguer murmured. “We’re close to the Black Mountain Complex, and if anyone is out patrolling…”

The dark-haired man (Aiku, according to Bachira’s amazing investigating skills) tightened his grip on the weapon as he glanced around. He turned back to his companion and smirked. “Don’t worry about it,” Aiku said, voice low. “I’ve got this handled. We just need to keep out of sight for a little while longer.”

A little while longer? Bachira squinted at the two, trying to look for any other clues that could help get him and Kunigami out of their predicament.

The Voyageurs lapsed into silence, and Bachira replayed the scene in his mind. He wasn’t fooling anyone - he was no investigator, but he figured he could get at least a vague grasp on the situation. 

It was pretty clear that the Voyageurs had a bigger plan here, not that Bachira had any clue what that could be, but what he was really curious about was where he and Kunigami fit into this plan. If it was a simple matter of them seeing too much, the Voyageurs no doubt would’ve shot them by now (this, Bachira knew from experience, not deduction).

A PDA clipped to Aiku’s belt flashed, catching Bachira’s attention. Aiku grabbed it and read the message, his smirk only growing. “Looks like the others have everything in order,” he said, louder than before. 

Is he doing that intentionally? Bachira wondered. With each passing second, he was starting to wish Isagi were here. Bachira wasn’t completely inept when it came to reading people, but he mostly relied on instinct. Isagi, on the other hand, was a master at picking out the little details about someone. He would know what was going on, and would probably have a good idea of how to get out of this.

Think, Meguru, Bachira chided himself. Much as he wished otherwise, his best friend wasn’t there, so he had to pick up the slack. He went over the bits of information he’d obtained thus far. 

The ‘others’ likely referred to the Voyageurs they’d seen on the path. Those two were doing… something, while Aiku and his companion kept an eye on Bachira and Kunigami. If they weren’t dead yet, the Voyaguers probably needed them for one reason or another, and they only needed to stay out of sight for a little while longer…

That meant something was going to happen soon (okay, so one point for Bachira).

For now, he didn’t see any way to figure out exactly what they were planning, but one of the things Isagi was always going on about was motive.  

Assuming the Voyageurs were launching some kind of attack (it was what they were known for, after all), then there had to be a reason for the elaborate plan. (They had to have an elaborate plan - wasn’t that what happened with all criminals?)

Bachira tried to hide a smile of pride - he was starting to think he wasn’t too bad at the whole investigator thing. Now, he just needed to figure out what scheme they were cooking up.

As if on cue, an explosion sounded from somewhere nearby, sending quakes through the ground. 

Bachira winced at the sound, trying not to topple over, then hesitated. It sounded like it was coming from– oh shit, that was near the BMC.

Aiku grinned and hauled Kunigami up. “That’s our cue,” he said, and his companion pulled Bachira up too.

The facts ran through Bachira’s mind again– explosion, captives, Black Mountain, motive – and suddenly everything clicked. 

Oh shit, he thought. We’re getting framed.

Chapter Text

Bargetown, the Apparel Shop

Shidou scowled as he paced back and forth along the aisles of the apparel shop, waiting for the owner to come down. He would much rather share his current predicament with Bachira or Isagi, but that wasn’t exactly possible at the moment.

Finally, Kurona made his way over, fingers expertly twisting the longer portion of his hair into a neat braid. He offered Shidou a small smile as he approached. “Welcome back, back,” he said. 

“Thanks,” Shidou muttered. “How long until Isagi and Bachira get back?” He asked, doing his best to avoid the discussion of why he actually came here.

Kurona paused to think about it. “A couple more days,” he said finally. “Anyway, you said you wanted to talk, talk?” 

Damn, that was fast, Shidou thought. “Yeah,” he said as he tried to organize his thoughts. “It’s a little complicated, and I need to know that you won’t go sharing this with anyone else, okay?”

Kurona frowned but nodded in agreement. “Okay,” he said. 

So, Shidou went from the beginning. As he explained how the situation had started, his mind raced through what he knew (which wasn’t a whole lot, but the Alumni soldier had seemed pretty worried about it earlier).

Kurona held up a hand to stop him. “Hang on, on,” he said, frowning. “You’re saying the Alumni were attacking wastelanders?”

“Uh, yeah,” Shidou responded. Strange– he’d expected Kurona to mention his absence, the breaking of his parole. “It looked like they were arguing about something, but I couldn’t tell what.”

“Hmm.” Kurona looked like he was deep in thought. “I can see why you’d want to talk to Isagi,” he said. “He’d be able to get more out of this than I can, can.”

Shidou nodded. “I ran into one of the Alumni just the other day,” he said, and saw Kurona’s eyes widen in surprise. “He seemed very interested in how much I knew about whatever went down the other day.”

“Weird, weird,” Kurona murmured. “I wonder what Isagi would think.”

“Honestly, I’d love it if I could go poke around in the Alumni’s business, but…” Shidou sighed and paused. He and Kurona both knew that wasn’t possible, at least not with Shiodu’s speckled past. Plus… “I need you to bring this up to Isagi when he gets back,” Shidou said. 

Kurona frowned. “You can’t tell him yourself, self?” 

Shidou shrugged. “My schedule is unpredictable,” he said.

“Ah,” Kurona murmured. “Well, stay safe on the job, job.”

Shidou raised an eyebrow but didn’t make a comment. They both knew that his chances of survival were pretty low - that’s how it always was with the Marked Men. After all, they were the town’s discarded, always there to take on tasks too dangerous for the regular GLA members. 

Well, Shidou thought, I’ve survived this long. I can make it through another shitty assignment.

The assignment, as it turned out, was actually rather simple (at least compared to some of the other tasks he’d been assigned). And if Shidou was being honest, it might be of use to him. So, for the third time that week, Shidou found himself preparing to leave for Sunrise City.

It was… unexpected, to say the least, but Shidou couldn’t pass up an opportunity to figure out more about whatever had gone down with those Alumni. And, if he was lucky, he might just run into the same guy as before.

What was his name again? Shidou smirked. That’s right – Sae.

Shidou lurked behind the rest of the Marked Men as they scoured the streets. According to the town bounty board, one of the residents had gone missing somewhere in the city. Bargetown locals going missing wasn’t exactly unusual, but to disappear in the middle of a populated area?

Well, there had to be something odd going on.

Worse still, Shidou was pretty sure the missing citizen was a friend of Isagi’s. A friend who made regular visits to Sunrise and supposedly knew how to take care of himself. Yeah, there was something off about the situation, and Shidou was going to find out what (and if he happened to cross paths with the Alumni soldier again, well that was just an added bonus).

He heard murmurs of mutants from the other rooks, but that didn’t sound quite right. The mutants were a problem every once in a while, but for the most part, they kept to themselves. The chances that they would be so close to the north island… couldn’t be right.

Okay, so what else could have happened?

A small thought made its way from the back of Shidou’s mind. The missing resident - Hiori, if Shidou remembered correctly - was last seen at the beginning of the week. Right around the time Shidou had spotted the Alumni soldiers attacking wastelanders.

It didn’t make much sense, but timing-wise, it was possible that Hiori was involved in whatever scheme the Alumni were cooking up.

Well, it looked like Shidou would have his little reunion, after all.

– – –

Based on the angry shouts and dozens of footsteps in the distance, the USRF was not happy about the explosions. Not that Bachira could blame them - he’d be pretty upset if someone set a bomb near his front door, too.

The Voyageurs were keeping him and Kunigami mostly out of sight for now, which was good. It meant Bachira still had time to think of a plan. (Not that he had anything figured out yet . Seriously, where was Isagi when he needed him?)

Okay, stop. There’s no time to worry about that, he thought. There had to be some way to incapacitate their current guards, or at least distract them long enough to get away. It seemed like Aiku was the only one to worry about. He was in control of whatever this fucked up plan was, and he looked decently strong.

His companion, on the other hand, looked new. Some rookie who got stuck with an unfortunate job. Could they use that? 

It was possible - if Bachira was smart enough about it - but this plan clearly had a lot of complex parts. Which, combined with the recent message on Aiku’s PDA, meant there were other Voyageurs. More danger. Great.

The shouts of the USRF soldiers were growing closer, and Bachira was not looking forward to what might happen if they were discovered. He risked a glance at Kunigami and could tell by the man’s expression that Kunigami felt the same.

Well, duh. Bachira mentally slapped himself. It was Kunigami’s job to build a relationship with the USRF, and at the rate things were going, his job wasn’t going to get any easier. 

“Aiku!” A voice hissed as someone approached.

Dammit. 

Another man donning the Voyageur uniform hurried over, pink hair swept to the side, and he did not look happy. Actually, that part almost made Bachira smile (hey, having hope in dire situations was good).

Aiku glanced at him, a flicker of surprise showing. “The hell are you doing here, Sendo?” He asked. His voice was lowered enough that Bachira was once again straining to hear. “You were supposed to keep an eye on the entrance.”

“Yeah, well, we’ve got bigger problems,” Sendo grumbled. 

Bachira’s heart leaped into his throat - had something happened to Isagi?

Gunshots echoed nearby, and the Voyageurs flinched.

“Not good,” Aiku muttered, his grip tightening around Kunigami’s arm. “We need to get moving if we want this to work. Those bastards responded a lot faster than we anticipated.”

Sendo nodded quickly, a grimace spreading across his face. “Yeah, that’s worrying and all,” he said, “but we have bigger problems to deal with. ” 

The other two Voyageurs paused, probably taken aback by the panic in his voice (at least, that’s what Bachira assumed, considering it was how he’d reacted). As curious as Bachira was about what was wrong, he knew he had a chance here. The Voyageurs' reaction was just enough that the grip on Bachira loosened. 

After about one second of debate, Bachira ran.

The Voyageur who had been holding him let out a startled yelp while the others cursed. That was all Bachira caught before he was out of earshot. Instead, the sound of soldiers, USRF soldiers to be specific, was only growing.

Pounding footsteps and gunshots echoed through the woods. Bachira flinched as he ducked into another bush. Okay, this was definitely a stupid decision on his part. One of those gunshots could’ve been from the Voyageurs, a bullet straight through Kunigami’s head. After all, their plan was already falling apart.

No. Nope, nuh-uh, not today. It is not the time to be negative.

Holy shit, he was stupid. Bachira had just abandoned the man he was supposed to be protecting. He had to get back, he had to make sure Kunigami was okay, he–

“Who the hell-?”  

Bachira froze. He meant to turn and see who was there, but before he could, another explosion shook the earth and he had toppled over. Naturally, he wound up right on top of the stranger.

“Okay, what is going on?” The man grumbled, shoving Bachira off.

Bachira glanced over at the man. There was nothing visible that pointed to any faction, so it looked like his new companion had no faction loyalties. Well, he could find a way to work with this.

“Voyageurs,” Bachira muttered, eyeing the man crouched next to him. “They’re trying to set up some fight between us and the USRF.”

His companion studied him in return, likely trying to pick out which faction Bachira was aligned with. Finally, he turned away silently, his green-eyed gaze giving Bachira momentary relief.

“Well, they might pull it off,” he said. “Who are you with?”

“I’m Bachira,” Bachira said. “I’m a bodyguard from the Coalition. You’re factionless?”

The man nodded. “Otoya,” he said. “Just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, I suppose. You gonna try and stop the Voyageurs?”

“I have to,” Bachira said confidently (not that he was feeling very confident - it just felt like the right time to act). “Some of our own could get hurt if they’re still alive. Plus, if the Voyageurs are risking a plan like this, they have something bigger planned. Making sure the USRF knows what actually went down will be important.”

“...and you probably want help,” Otoya mumbled with a soft sigh. “Well, if these guys are anything like what I’ve heard, they probably have a backup plan, so we’ll need to completely fuck up whatever they’re trying to do.”

Bachira nodded. Sounded like a solid plan, assuming they could pull it off. “Okay,” Bachira said. “Here’s what I’ve figured out so far…” And he explained everything that had happened since the initial gunshots.

Otoya nodded along. “I don’t really know anything besides what I’ve seen,” he said. “Bomb goes off, people are injured, possibly a few casualties–”

Bachira froze. Okay, somehow he hadn’t expected that. “They weren’t inside the complex?” He asked, a flicker of worry starting back up.

“Guess not,” Otoya said with a frown. “We need to come up with a plan before too many people get hurt.”

Bachira stared at him. “Why are you so invested in this?” He asked. “You don’t have a loyalty to anyone involved.”

“Sure,” Otoya said, “but I still don’t like the Voyageurs.”

Bachira smirked. “No one does.”

They stayed hidden as they discussed, constantly braced for the next explosion. It never came. What did come was an idea.

Sure, their plan wasn’t the most… thought out. However, it had a shot. A better shot than if Bachira had been by himself. He shot Otoya a grin as they stood. “Ready to go screw those pirates over?”

“Always,” Otoya responded with a grin of his own. 

Well, then. It was time to go rescue Bachira’s friends.

Chapter Text

Black Mountain, BMC entrance

Otoya lived a simple life. It was something he was proud of– hell, something he bragged about daily. So the fact that he’d somehow wound up caught in the crosshairs of a plot involving not one, not two, but three of the Sunrise Islands' main factions was more than a bit unnerving.

He reviewed his situation as he crept through the forest, scanning the area ahead of him. He didn’t have to get involved, he knew (though messing with the Voyageurs was always a fun time), yet something about Bachira’s dedication had struck him as odd. 

No, not odd. That wasn’t right. It was… unfamiliar. 

Perhaps deep down, he was a little tired of his simple life.

Gunfire cracked through the forest, more rounds than Otoya was used to hearing. Sure, Sunrise City got violent sometimes, but it had been years since an all-out conflict, and even then, Otoya had never been so close to death before.

He skirted around the edge of the conflict, keeping as far away from the violence as he could. As long as he kept out of the way, he should be able to reach the entrance to the BMC without catching a shot. 

Hopefully.  

Otoya tried to push his doubts aside. His job was relatively simple, so long as he could make it alive. He just had to set the record straight. 

…not that he really understood why it was necessary. According to Bachira, there were only three Coalition members around (one who was currently unaccounted for), but if Bachira was right and the Voyageurs were trying to set the Coalition up–

Before the thought finished, Otoya caught a glimpse of the battlefield. Ah shit, he realized with a scowl, that’s why. Facing off against the USRF soldiers were men wearing the Coalition uniform. 

Apparently, the Voyageurs were more prepared than he’d anticipated. Now they had to figure out why. The Voyageurs wouldn’t sacrifice their men over nothing, after all. 

Otoya picked up the pace, moving more hastily to reach the entrance. He had to move fast. If he remembered correctly, it should be on the Northwestern side of the mountain. Which meant he didn’t have far to go. 

He spotted the mountain path leading to the entrance in the distance. He was closing the distance quickly, to his surprise. Now all he had to do was keep out of the line of fire, away from the violence.

As with many things in Otoya’s life, it didn’t go as planned. He was almost halfway there when he crashed right into a soldier. Due to the soldier’s training (and definitely not because Otoya was slow to react), Otoya found himself face-first in the dirt. 

Gross.

A hand dug into his back and Otoya winced. Okay, this wasn’t what they had planned. 

He reached back to claw at the person pinning him down, his hand barely yanking at the fabric of their shirt. 

No armor? Otoya thought. He didn’t have long to dwell on it as the other person’s weight shifted. While Otoya’s ‘attack’ wasn’t the most effective, it must have startled his assailant enough to give Otoya a chance.

He managed to land a blow with his elbow, knocking his opponent off balance just enough that Otoya could slip out from under him. To his surprise, the man facing him was neither a USRF soldier or a Voyageur.

Big blue eyes stared at him, studying Otoya’s expression. Otoya hesitated. With no clear faction markings present anywhere on the man, Otoya took a gamble - as far as he could tell, there was only one possibility as to who this man could be. “I don’t suppose you’re friends with a guy named Bachira?” He asked. 

Those blue eyes widened. 

Okay, so the guy hadn’t been expecting that. “I’m supposed to be helping him out with something,” Otoya continued, keeping an eye on the other man’s expression. “So if you could get out of the way…”

“Who are you?” The man finally asked, eyeing Otoya up with suspicion in his gaze.

Otoya rolled his eyes. “No one you know,” he said. He could hear the annoyance in his voice, which meant it had to be obvious to the man in front of him. They were clearly both on the same side, so what was with the interrogation?

“But you’re helping Megs– er, Bachira?” 

A small pool of relief spread as Otoya recognized the use of a nickname. “Yeah. I’m supposed to meet with the USRF to ensure they’ve got the story straight.”

A flicker of something unreadable passed across the other man’s face. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said. “Things are about to get more complicated. We need to wait this out first.”

Otoya raised an eyebrow at him. “What, are you a psychic?” He asked.

“Not a psychic,” the man said. “A detective. I’m Constable Isagi from Bargetown. Right now, we need to stay put. If Bachira trusts you, I’m willing to trust you too. The real question now is whether or not you trust me. ”

– – –

Another tremor shook through the Black Mountain Complex, raining bits of rubble down as Reo marched out of the entrance tunnel. 

Nagi was at his side, casting a concerned glance in his direction every few seconds. He’d been doing it for the past twenty minutes.

With a sigh, Reo turned so Nagi wasn’t in his line of sight. He had to focus on the problems at hand, no matter how much Nagi was worrying. No matter how much Reo himself was worrying.

“Mikage!” A soldier shouted, rushing over. “Thank god you’re here!”

Reo stood up a bit straighter at the use of his last name. “What’s the situation?” He asked. “How much damage has been done?”

The soldier frowned. “Not much. The explosions seemed more for distraction than anything else - well, they did deal some damage to the mountain, but it doesn’t seem like anything happened to the complex.”

“Any casualties?” Reo asked, speeding up to get outside.

“Not yet,” the soldier responded. “Plenty of injuries, though. The Corpsmen have their work cut out for them right now. There’s one other thing,” the soldier hastily added at the end.

Reo felt his eyebrows quirk up. “What is it?” 

“The attacking soldiers are from the Coalition.”

That stopped Reo short. What?

Apparently, he’d said it aloud, because the soldier nodded. “That’s how we reacted, too. Couldn’t believe it. But you can look for yourself - there are dozens of them out there.”

That couldn’t be right. Reo had spent a while talking with the Coalition’s relations manager. The man was far too genuine in his pursuit of an alliance. Reo couldn’t imagine a reality where that man was a traitor.

And yet, everything pointed to the one explanation Reo couldn’t fathom.

His resolve set in quickly. “I need to go out there,” he said. “I don’t suppose you’ve got a weapon I could borrow?”

Nagi grabbed his arm. “You can’t,” he said. “It’s too dangerous out there, you heard him.” He gestured to the other soldier, who was nodding along.

“I worked in the field for years before this,” Reo argued. “I don’t see why I should back down now.”

“But I–” Nagi cut himself off and took a breath. “You’re the Commander right now, Reo. Acting or not - we need you to stay alive. ”

Reo swallowed the growing lump in his throat. Despite the truth behind Nagi’s argument, Reo knew this was just something he had to do. “Get me a weapon,” he repeated to the soldier without breaking eye contact with Nagi.

“Reo…” Nagi murmured. He reached out again, but Reo pulled away.

He offered Nagi a tight smile. “I’ll be fine,” he said. “But I need to check this out myself. You should get to your station and provide support. It sounds like the soldiers could use all the help they can get.”

Nagi hesitated a moment longer before nodding and rushing back inside.

Good, Reo thought. That was one less thing– one less person to worry about.

The soldier came rushing back with a rifle. He looked worried, but Reo was starting to get used to that. He grabbed the gun and took off before anyone could try to convince him otherwise.

The sounds of gunfire permeated the usual thick silence of the North Island Woods. Reo took a deep breath, ignoring the way the surrounding mist set an uncomfortable chill. He was quick on his feet, keeping his eyes and ears peeled for any sign of hostility. 

There was nothing. 

Reo paused. The soldier had acted like the USRF forces were getting easily overpowered, yet there were no enemy soldiers approaching. Actually, the entire BMC entrance was relatively quiet, save for the few retreating soldiers.

A prickling unease started to set in as Reo got closer to the sounds of gunfire. No soldiers approached, from either side of the fight. That didn’t make sense. At all. Then again, nothing about the situation made sense.

Reo crouched down as the battlefield came into sight. Just like the soldier had said, the USRF soldiers were facing down men in the Coalition uniform, and losing badly. He heard drones whirring overhead and let a small smile break out. At least Nagi had their backs now.

Though, just as he’d suspected, the enemy soldiers made no moves to break past their defence, no effort to storm the complex. Were they really just fighting for the sake of fighting?

Reo recalled his conversation with the relations manager. According to him, only two or three members of the Coalition would be traveling.  The fact that an army was there… well, it didn’t seem to fit with the story he’d been given. 

He noticed a scope attached to the rifle and zoomed in on the battlefield. Everything looked like it fit the story he’d been given, except…

The weapons. Reo’s blood ran cold as he recognized the rifles they were using. Most of the models were ones he knew - and almost all of them had come from up north in Canada. Exactly where the islands notorious pirate crew known as the Voyageurs had come from.

Shit.

Reo turned back to the entrance to warn the others just as one last blast, much stronger than the rest shook the area. He was thrown of his feet, weapon slipping from his grasp as he landed hard against the ground.

The mountain was shaking, loud crashing sounds echoing through the area. As the dust cleared, Reo risked a glance back at the entrance to the BMC and froze. The entrance was completely blocked off by fallen chunks of stone.

– – –

Things were still going according to plan.

Sure, there were more than a few hiccups in their execution so far, but Oliver Aiku wasn’t worried. Even when Sendo seemed to be in a panic, he knew things would be fine. He’d spent far too long working out this plan to let a minor inconvenience get in the way.

And if things did get out of hand, well…

They still had their inside man.

Chapter Text

 Alumni Market Bar 

Daily life in the Alumni Campus was nothing special. Compared to field missions, it was actually rather boring. Sure, Rin’s daily patrols were necessary to ensure the safety of everyone who lived there, but there was nothing interesting about marching around the perimeter.

Perhaps that was why Loki had chosen it as his job for the next month - to punish him with boredom. Of course, it wasn’t even entirely his fault they’d gotten spotted. Sure, he may have started the argument, but Sae had continued it. (If he was being honest, he’d only meant to provoke Sae into explaining what the mission was about. He didn’t mean for it to spiral out of control.) 

Rin stopped by the gate of the Campus, switching guard duties with the soldier stationed there. He’d be stuck in place for the next hour, though somehow it always felt longer than that. 

About halfway through his shift, Rin noticed a figure heading toward the campus. A lone figure, wearing the Alumni uniform. His heart rate picked up as the figure approached. Rin could already tell who it was, but… why was he alone?

“Welcome back,” Rin said uncertainly as Alexis Ness arrived at the gate. “I don’t often see you walking around without following your leader. Where’s he at now?”

Ness scowled. “I dropped him off in Bargetown as per Loki’s orders,” he said. “Why does it matter to you? Actually, I heard you’re the one who almost got us caught. Do you ever think ?”

Rin bristled. Ness was starting to sound a bit too much like Sae for his taste. “Clearly you’re fine,” he snapped, “so I don’t see what the big deal is.”

Ness opened his mouth to retort, but the other soldier on guard stepped in. “Why don’t you go check in with Loki now?” The soldier asked, hurrying Ness away.

Rin sighed and turned back to the entrance, his mind wandering as he gazed out at the surroundings. It would likely be another few hours until someone else came in - Sae was the only one scheduled to get back, and that wasn’t until the evening. 

Of course, while Rin got stuck guarding the gates and patrolling the grounds, Sae still got to go out on assignments. Because that made perfect sense, especially considering that it wasn’t even his assignment to begin with.

Rin scowled. He blamed his brother for a lot of things, but he knew this shouldn’t be one of those. Even though Sae had requested him to come along, neither of them really knew what they were getting into. 

Actually, now that he thought about it, Rin realized he still didn’t know exactly what that situation had been about. Odd… he thought. Did Loki ever give an explanation?

Something bigger had to be going on. For the first time in at least a few years, Rin started to hope Sae would get back quickly.

Eventually, he was relieved of his post. With his guard and patrol duties finally finished, Rin took the opportunity to wander the market. This late in the evening, it was mostly quiet. Many of the customers wandering about were his fellow soldiers.

It was a slow, comforting kind of busy, just the simple lull of other Alumni picking up a meal and wandering off to sleep. The merchants spoke softer, the platform less packed. Rin took a deep breath in. It was the kind of atmosphere he could get used to.

Streaks of orange colored the sky above as the sun began to set. A prickle of worry was itching the back of Rin’s brain. It was late enough that Sae should be back, yet Rin saw no evidence that his brother had returned.

Did something happen? Okay, so maybe he was starting to worry. At least, more than normal. Rin’s heart rate had picked up enough that he noticed. He had to resist the urge to laugh. Since when did he worry about Sae? 

Still… his brother had said he’d be back before dusk. Rin slipped out his PDA, hesitating a moment as he decided what to type. He couldn’t have Sae knowing how worried he was - that would make things weird(er than they had been the past few days). 

He settled for a simple ‘where are you.’ It would get the point across.

Rin shoved the device away and entered the bar. Unsurprisingly, it was the busiest place in the market, still having a decent crowd despite the rest of the quiet campus. Rin took a seat in the most secluded spot he could find. The crowd was mostly made up of outsiders enjoying a night to themselves.

Though, Rin thought to himself, you would probably hide in the corner even if they were fellow Alumni.

The bartender barely gave him a second glance as he slid a glass over. At least some things never changed. 

Rin took a slow sip as he gazed at the crowd, letting the slight burn of alcohol work its way down his throat. Sae would probably give him a lecture when he found out, but for now, Rin took the chance to relax, if only for a moment. 

He knew all too well how important it was to take things slower every once in a while, especially with a job like his. Music from a nearby radio filled the bar, hiding just beneath the waves of chatter from the rest of the customers. 

Rin finished up quickly, sending a transaction over for the drink. His PDA had remained cold and silent the whole time. No response from Sae…

With a sigh, Rin got up and left the bar. The cool breeze outside sent shivers down his spine, and he pulled his jacket tighter around himself. As far as he knew, there was only one person who knew where Sae was.

Well. It was time to pay a visit to Loki.

– – –

Nagi stared at the gun pointed at his face. He slowly raised his hands off the drone controls, ignoring the urge to groan. What kind of attacker went for the drone controls, anyway? He almost wanted to ask if it was their first time taking hostages.

“All right, I want everyone up against the back wall,” the man snapped, voice slightly muffled by the helmet he wore. The gun moved, gesturing to the wall the man was referring to.

Nagi rolled his eyes. There were three people in the room. Three. That didn’t warrant the use of ‘everyone’. Seriously, this might actually be his first time doing this, he thought. He hasn’t even taken our PDA’s. 

Nagi could’ve sent a message out by now. The man with the gun obviously wasn’t experienced and wasn’t exactly paying enough attention to him anyway. If Nagi chose to, Reo would know exactly what was happening.

Though… with whatever that stronger tremor was, it was possible Reo wouldn’t be able to help out. Besides, he was already busy with the situation outside. It was best if Nagi didn’t bother him.

His back his the wall the man had mentioned, and he took the chance to look his captor up and down. Weird. He was wearing the USRF uniform, but there was no way he was one of them. 

C’mon, think. What would Reo do now?

Reo… would probably want Nagi to contact him. But that was already off the table, so the next thing would be trying to negotiate. God, what a pain.

Before Nagi could think of how to start, the man spoke again. “Which one of you is the drone operator named Nagi?”

Everyone (the two other drone operators in the room) turned to stare at Nagi. 

Well, shit, this wasn’t how he’d pictured his day going. (Then again, the attack on the complex had started it out completely insane, so he really didn’t know why he was expecting anything better.)

The man turned his gun back toward Nagi. “You’re coming with me,” he snapped. 

Nagi didn’t hesitate to follow his gesture. Today didn’t really feel like a good day for taking a bullet to the head. The man escorted him out of the room and through the halls of the complex. 

A sense of unease started working its way through Nagi’s mind. It was one thing for some outsider to have a USRF uniform. It was another thing entirely that he seemed to know the exact layout of the complex.

Could he actually be a traitor soldier?

No, no, no. It really didn’t fit. It was hard to place a finger on exactly what was off, perhaps the way he carried himself? 

They broke off into an empty office. 

“Sit down,” the man ordered.

Nagi dropped into a chair. It was in times like these that he really wished he had some of the analytical skills Reo did. Maybe then he’d know why this was happening, why he’d been called out specifically. 

“How close are you with the Alumni?” The man asked.

The Alumni? 

“Shouldn’t you be asking a relations officer?” Nagi asked. 

A pause. Perhaps the man was frowning at him (not that Nagi could tell - the helmet blocked any view of the man’s face). “The USRF recently traded a shipment of drones to the Alumni. You were the one to visit their campus and explain the technology, yes?”

“I was…” Nagi said, trying to figure out what that meant. He was starting to wish he had sent Reo a message, before the man’s attention was focused solely on him. He still agreed with his earlier reasoning - Reo was far too busy to come save him.

Worst of all, Reo would freak out more than normal as soon as he heard about this. As if things weren’t bad enough already. Reo had enough on his plate without needing to worry about whatever trouble Nagi had gotten himself into.

So, Nagi resolved to settle things inside the complex by himself. He didn’t need Reo’s help, not this time. “Is that what this attack is about?” He asked. “The Alumni? ” 

The man hesitated, just enough that the answer was obvious.

“What have you got against the Alumni?” Nagi asked, curiosity winning out over any sense he still had. “And what does this have to do with those drones?”

“It doesn’t,” the man snapped, recovering from whatever sense of shock Nagi had caused. “It has to do with how close you are with the Alumni. You were on their campus, so you should know.”

Nagi hesitated. He had visited, though it was over two weeks ago now. “I don’t know,” he said. “We’ve got a trade alliance, what more do you wanna know?” 

The man groaned in frustration. “They trade information to you,” he said. “How much do they tell you? How were they acting? ” 

Nagi shifted in his seat. This was going nowhere. He didn’t know anything, he had really just shown them how to work the drones. “Normal?” He finally answered. “I really don’t know what you’re looking for here, but I’m not the right person to ask.”

Although…

Almost as soon as he’d said it, a memory returned. The Alumni had seemed more secretive than normal (to be fair, Nagi was a bit of a snoop while visiting, but still). Besides avoiding answers on what their forces were currently working on, they’d seemed to rush the whole process of the trade.

Shit. There really was something more going on there. Which meant Nagi now had to lie if he wanted to get out of this alive. Well. This wasn’t going to go well.

Chapter Text

Black Mountain

Bachira was starting to get sick of the woods. True, he hadn’t actually spent a whole lot of time there (in reality, the few hours he’d spent there that day were his only experience), but the absolute exhaustion of it all was leaving him ready to never enter the woods again. 

Heck, he would be perfectly content to stay in Bargetown for the next few weeks, and he was normally itching to get out. Now, he found himself missing the Pantry and the simplicity of stocking shelves. 

Good ol’ part-time jobs. So much simpler, so much more relaxing than sneaking through bushes to try and rescue one of his friends. (Who also happened to be his charge at the moment, but it was mostly feelings of friendship that had spurred Bachira into action. Isagi wouldn’t have hesitated to point out that Bachira’s loyalty to his friends far outweighed loyalty to his job… damn did Bachira miss him right now.)

Bachira forced his way further into the thick undergrowth of the bushes. The Voyageurs were mere feet away from him, and Bachira realized his nerves were going haywire. No, nope, not today. This wasn’t the time to freak out. 

Otoya would already be working on his part of their plan, making sure there was no bad blood, and Bachira wasn’t going to fail everyone now. All he had to do was get Kunigami away from the Voyageurs. Simple enough (in theory). 

Of course, as Bachira crept through yet another bush (and got even more branches tangled in his hair), he had to note that there was a big difference between simple statements and the actual difficulty of the task they described. (Yeesh, that sounded like something Isagi would tell him.)

Bachira neared the edge of the bush and paused a moment to catch his breath. Crawling through bushes was far more tiring than he thought, and he wasn’t even sure how much further he had to go. (He was pretty sure he was heading the right direction - how hard could it be to find his way back in the foggy woods?)

He heard voices nearby and immediately perked up. It had to be them. Okay, great. Wonderful. First step completed (that being to find Kunigami), so now he just had to actually rescue the man. Yeah, easier said than done, that was for sure. 

So, the other side had guns and more people and a hostage, but Bachira was smart in the field, and a pretty damn good bodyguard. He knew (hoped) he could figure this out. 

The twigs of the bush scraped Bachira’s cheeks as he pushed his head through. Yeah, he wasn’t coming out of this one looking too pretty, that was for sure. On the other side of the bush, less than a foot away from him, were the Voyageurs. 

Oh, shit, they were close. But it would be fine! Bachira had a plan (albeit a poorly thought-out one, but he’d make do). His gaze swept over the ground nearby until he finally spotted a stone about the size of his palm. Yep, that’ll do it.

Currently, the biggest problem with his plan would be accuracy. Bachira tossed the stone up and down a few times, getting a feel for the weight. Alrighty, you can do this, he thought as he scanned the area. A few feet to the left of where the Voyageurs were hiding out was a relatively large tree. That could work as a target - not too far that he couldn’t hit it, but not so close that they’d catch onto what he was planning.

Bachira took a deep breath as he raised his arm, carefully aiming for the base of the tree, where the roots plunged into the ground. Aim, steady, throw.

He was off a bit, not quite reaching the tree, but the Voyageurs were alert enough that it worked.

Aiku’s head snapped up as he scanned the surrounding trees. “Someone there?” He called out in a low voice. 

Bachira held his breath, hoping that somehow everything would go as he planned. He watched as Aiku tapped Sendo on the shoulder and gestured to the trees. Slowly, the pair of them crept forward, approaching the tree Bachira had aimed for, getting further and further out of earshot. Perfect.

Bachira snuck around behind the last Voyageur guarding Kunigami. All he had to do was take him down and get his friend out. Easy peasy. Of course, his anticipation and nerves had made him a little blind to his surroundings as he crept up. So, naturally, his foot landed right on a small twig, the snap sounding louder than a tiny little twig should sound.

The Voyageur whirled around at the noise, reaching for his gun.

Time to improvise.

Bachira shifted slightly and rammed his shoulder into the Voyageur’s chest, hopefully knocking the wind out of him (it for sure knocked him back a few steps, anyway). Bachira turned and reached out for Kunigami, who was staring at him in confusion.

Then, a loud crack, and a sting of pain on Bachira’s arm. He stumbled back and stared. He was bleeding. Why was he bleeding? A quick glance at the Voyageur answered that question. 

Apparently, he hadn’t landed as hard of a blow as he thought he had, because the Voyageur was standing with his gun raised.

Bachira’s heart was pounding, adrenaline pumping through him like never before. Guns were loud. Much louder than a twig. Which meant it would most certainly attract the attention of the other Voyageurs. 

He had to leave, now.

Bachira sprinted out of there as the Voyageur called out for Aiku. His arm felt like it was burning, but he didn’t have time to deal with it. Go, go, go.

His chest heaved as he finally collapsed behind a tree, and he risked a glance at his arm. It felt a hell of a lot worse than it looked (though to be fair, it was his first time getting shot). Bachira sighed in relief. Just a graze. He could handle a graze. 

More importantly, his plan had failed. Kunigami was still in danger, and the fight nearby was showing no signs of stopping. 

Time for a backup plan, he thought. This one, at least, was extremely simple. He just had to find Isagi.

— — —

“Hey, Isagi! Before ya leave… would ya do something for me? Just… make sure ya look after Kunigami, okay?”

It wasn’t unusual, in Isagi’s line of work, for a simple statement like that to send him spiraling down a web of danger, betrayal and lies. Yet something about this particular situation made it clear (at least to him) that it was not like his other cases. (For instance, the fact that he was never actually hired to do anything. He had simply followed a hunch.)

Of course, for him a hunch meant far more than anyone else could possibly understand. When they’d departed Bargetown, Karasu had stopped Isagi to tell him just that— to look after Kunigami. Coming from Karasu, who probably knew more about Bargetown’s residents than they knew about themselves, it was cause for concern. 

Sure, nothing got Isagi excited like a good puzzle, some mystery that needed to be solved, but he wasn’t grasping at straws (that much was at least clear from the way things played out). Yet to be caught in such a situation where all the answers still evaded him wasn’t something Isagi was used to within the confines of Bargetown. 

By now, he’d already worked through most of what had happened over the last few hours, but certain questions still remained. Certain important questions still unanswered. Puzzle pieces that didn’t fit, an answer that worked but just wasn’t quite right . What Isagi still couldn’t figure out was why Kunigami had led them straight into the hands of the Voyageurs. 

Thus, his more current predicament. Hiding in the bushes with a stranger was not one of Isagi’s top ways to spend his time, but at this point, it was necessary. (It wasn’t that Otoya didn’t seem nice, Isagi just had to be cautious of who to trust. Especially in such a precarious situation where factions were teetering on the brink of war.)

“What the hell was that?” Otoya hissed as the ground shook with the largest explosion yet. 

“They’ve blocked off access to the BMC,” Isagi murmured. “Trying to get as little information crossing as possible so the USRF stays blind to the con.”

Otoya gave him a funny look. “Somehow, I think attempting to blow up their mountain counts as more than just a con,” he grumbled. 

Isagi could’ve corrected him (in hindsight it may have been smarter if he had - misunderstandings were the reason the Voyageurs’ plot had a chance of success, after all) but it didn’t seem the right time to point out that almost all of the explosives dealt very minor damage to the surrounding area. Just enough to lure some soldiers out, he supposed. 

Otoya sighed when Isagi offered no response. “What do we do now?”

“We wait,” Isagi instructed. 

“For what ?” 

Isagi didn’t answer, instead listening carefully to the nearby battlefield. As the crack of gunfire slowly dwindled, he grinned. “For that,” he said, pointing ahead of them where a small group of people slowly snuck to the battlefield. 

Otoya frowned. “Is that..?” 

“Yes,” Isagi said, pulling a pistol from his waistband. He was careful as he checked his ammo. Just enough. “We need to move out. Now.”

Otoya glanced at the gun warily, his distaste clear despite his silence. “If you say so,” he murmured, following Isagi’s lead. 

The pair tailed the group ahead of them, inching ever closer to the battlefield. This was it - things at Black Mountain were ending now, one way or another. 

Isagi scanned the group they were following, studying the possible targets. Kunigami was easy to pick out, so he knew where not to aim, but on the edge of the group… well, it appeared there was a rather inexperienced Voyageur among the group. 

Isagi leveled the pistol, steadying his arms as he approached. It wasn’t a close shot - in fact, it would be quite tricky. That was fine. He had faith in himself. Isagi took a deep breath in and slowly let it out, relaxing as his gaze narrowed in on the Voyageur. He tuned out everything but the target ahead of him - ignoring Otoya’s worried look, the sounds of the fight not far off - and slowly squeezed the trigger. 

The bullet hit home. 

Punching through the Voyageurs’ shoulder and sending him back into the ground. 

Isagi ducked behind the trees for cover, pulling Otoya with him as the group ahead broke out in a panic. 

“Otoya,” Isagi said calmly, regaining the man’s attention. “How are you with stealth?”

A hesitant grin made its way on his face. “Are you kidding? It’s like, my specialty,” Otoya muttered. 

“Good. I need you to sneak up and take out that pink-haired Voyageur,” Isagi instructed. Noticing Otoya’s look of alarm, he added, “you just need to knock him out. Give me some space to deal with their leader.”

Yes, their leader. Isagi’s eyes jumped back to the final Voyageur still standing. Isagi gritted his teeth as he ducked away. This was a battle long in the making, he knew, and there was no avoiding it any longer. 

He cast a quick glance at Otoya and gave the man a sharp nod. To be trusting a stranger with such an important task… the pros and cons were whirling through Isagi’s head as Otoya slipped away. 

No time to dwell on it, Isagi thought. It’s now or never. 

Isagi began his approach, keeping out of sight as best he could. Behind this tree, down in that bush— he made use of every natural obstacle in the area. 

The Voyageurs were still on guard, and any slight sound could get Isagi caught. Now wasn’t the time for that. (He could only hope Otoya was as sneaky as he claimed to be.)

As if summoned by the thought, Isagi spotted Otoya slipping through the trees on the other side of the group. Damn, he was fast. As soon as the group was the slightest bit distracted, Otoya attacked. The pink-haired Voyageur (Sendo, if Isagi’s memory was correct - which it always was) went down fast, Otoya’s attack hitting harder than Isagi had expected. 

Before the commander had time to react, Isagi was behind him, pistol aimed at the back of his head. “Oliver Aiku,” he said. “What a pleasure it is to see you again.”

Isagi had first met Aiku three years earlier. Quite early on in his career as constable, with very little experience in dealing with other factions. It was thanks to this that he was given grace when it came to Aiku. 

When Aiku had first visited Bargetown, he hadn’t seemed suspicious in the slightest. He claimed to be a merchant from Sunrise City, come to make some good trades. Isagi hadn’t thought anything of it. His first (and to this day, only) mistake as Constable. 

The second time Aiku had visited, Isagi was still holding onto that. But this time, he was a little older, a little smarter. That was the trip where he found out Aiku was a Voyageur (unfortunately, it was too late at that point). The next day, Bargetown had to fight off the Voyageurs raiding the shops. When it came down to it, Isagi knew his delayed judgment was to blame. No one else seemed to agree. 

Aiku gritted his teeth. “Constable Isagi,” he said. He was clearly trying to keep his frustration out of his voice. It wasn’t working. “What a surprise.”

“Is it?” Isagi smirked. “And here I thought you might have been prepared for this, all things considered. You did have an awful lot of information about this trip, didn’t you?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Isagi saw Kunigami stiffen. Well, that was one suspicion confirmed. 

“If you ask me,” Aiku said, “you Coalition folks should up your security. To think it was this easy to capture one of you.”

Isagi’s eyes narrowed. “Let’s not forget who’s holding the gun here,” he said. As he spoke, he reached for the handcuffs at his belt. With Sendo unconscious and the other Voyageur down for the count, securing Aiku was the most important task at the moment. Isagi hooked one end around Aiku’s wrist. The Voyageur didn’t resist. 

Okay, so that’s not normal, Isagi thought. He finished cuffing Aiku without trouble, pushing the older man to sit on the ground. Yeah, that was far too easy. “So,” he said, eager to break the thick silence that surrounded them, “are you going to talk, or shall I pry it out of you?”

Aiku grinned up at him lazily. “And here I thought you had all the answers,” he said. “Isn’t that your job?”

Okay, so that was how it was going to be, then? Fine. 

“And I thought you were capable of making your own decisions,”  Isagi snapped. “You’re a grown man, Aiku. Why are you still letting your superiors trample all over you? I guess I was wrong to think they would at least treat you like a person…”

Aiku’s smile twisted, something dark creeping up that he could barely contain. “Well,” he said coldly, “whatever the captain wants, the captain gets.”

Isagi ignored the twist in his gut (which, in hindsight, was not his best decision). “I see ‘Commander’ is nothing but a title, then. You really don’t hold any power, do you?”

Aiku didn’t grace Isagi with a response, just kept smiling that same cold smile. 

The Captain of the Voyageurs was more of a legend than anything else. Outside of his own men, no one on the islands had ever met the man. After the second run-in with Aiku (where he had been barred from ever entering Bargetown again), Isagi had tried to learn more about the travelers from up north. 

What he found was an astonishing lack of information. It seemed the Captain stayed at the Voyageurs headquarters and let his underlings do the work for him. Soldiers who were nothing but puppets obeying their master's bidding. 

How sad. 

Bachira reunited with them not long after Aiku was secured. Isagi took a moment to listen to his friend's tale of escape and attempt to free Kunigami with a worried expression. Bachira failed to bring up the injury to his arm, laughing it off when Isagi asked, though Isagi couldn’t help his concern. He only stopped pressing when Bachira promised to get it checked out as soon as possible. 

Then, the moment was upon him. While everyone (the three Coalition members plus Otoya) was busy with celebration and introductions, Isagi mulled over what he knew. In the end, there was only one way to discover the truth, he knew. It just wouldn’t be pleasant. 

As soon as Bachira’s attention turned back to Otoya, Isagi grabbed Kunigami’s arm. “Mind if we speak in private?” He asked. 

Kunigami nodded - a flash of worry showing on his face before he managed to conceal it. It seemed he was aware of Isagi’s suspicions (though he had made it kind of obvious).

Isagi led him out of earshot of the rest of the group. “You already know what I’m going to ask,” Isagi said. 

Kunigami just nodded. 

“Do you want to explain before I jump to conclusions?”

Another nod. 

Isagi stared, knowing the cogs were turning in Kunigami’s head. Coming up with the easiest explanation. 

“It seems we each intended to deceive each other,” he finally said. “The Voyageurs and I, I mean. This was the only way I saw a chance of restoring our relationship with the USRF. I really don’t know what their intentions were.”

Isagi waited for him to say more, but nothing else came. “I see,” he murmured. The puzzle pieces were starting to fit together now, though some parts still evaded him. 

“Are you going to report me?” Kunigami asked. He looked scared - not that Isagi could blame him. It was the most scared Isagi had ever seen him. 

“We’re in the North Island Woods,” Isagi said, a small smile growing on his face. “I don’t have to report anything . Now come on. We’ve gotta go stop that battle.”

Kunigami stopped him as he was turning away. “Wait,” he muttered. “Just one more question.”

Isagi paused. “Yes?”

“When did you figure it out?”

Isagi hesitated a moment. “Different pieces of information come at different times,” he said slowly. “But I knew it was a setup as soon as you spotted the Voyageurs. I’d still like to chat with you again before I leave, but… I think it’s about time we wrap this conflict up for good. Are you ready to go now?”

Kunigami nodded, and Isagi finally let himself relax, just slightly. They made their way back over to Bachira and Otoya, and Isagi knew he could rest in the fact that the fighting would soon be over. 

As for his unanswered questions… well, it seemed his work wasn’t quite over yet. 

— — —

Dragging an unconscious man away without anyone noticing was a difficult task by itself. It was a lot more difficult when your hands were cuffed. 

But Aiku managed. He always did. He managed to shake Sendo awake, keeping an eye on the Coalition members who had taken him down. 

“Wh—?” Sendo grunted as he sat up. “Aiku? Did we…”

“Yeah,” Aiku said with a low chuckle. “It looks like this plan failed. We might’ve just gotten the Coalition and the USRF to be much closer than before, in fact.”

“ Shit .”

Aiku nodded. “We’ll be fine,” he said. “We still have other options to pursue. This plan was a stretch anyway, and we both knew that.”

Sendo didn’t respond as he got to work picking the handcuffs apart. He paused for a moment before he could finish. “We still need to get our other man out,” he murmured. “Should I sneak into the mountain to fetch him?”

“No,” Aiku said as cuffs snapped open, releasing his wrists. “If he’s truly worth anything to us, he’ll get out on his own.”

As he stood up, Aiku cast one last glance at the Coalition members heading off to the battlefield. No, it wasn’t their only option - not by a long shot. No matter how smart that Constable may be, there was no way he truly understood just how deep this went. 

A soft chuckle escaped his lips, and he ignored Sendo’s questioning look. It wouldn’t be long before the Voyageurs were ready to take the next course of action. One way or another, it would all work out.

Chapter Text

BMC Medbay

Sae would’ve been perfectly content to avoid Sunrise City for the foreseeable future were it not for Loki’s direct orders. Of course, at this moment in time, it seemed the entire universe had turned against him, so there he was, stalking through the city streets on Loki’s orders. He’d already been there much longer than he’d anticipated, and he was sure Rin would bother him about being late once he got back (not that he could complain - it was the first time in years his brother had actually worried about him). 

The streets were relatively quiet, most of the Sunrise residents likely hiding from the cold. Exactly what Sae would be doing, if he weren’t busy. That was one of the problems of leaving the campus, especially so close to winter. The further into the wasteland you travelled, the less heat sources were available.

Eventually, Sae arrived on Heron Street - the same location as the… incident a few days earlier. Besides somehow tracking down the witness, Sae’s job was to make sure there was nothing left behind that could lead people to the Alumni. And especially to make sure that nothing hinted at what they’d found.

Though the Alumni had gotten better over the last few years, trading technology with their allies when necessary, there were still some lingering sentiments within their ranks that the technology they discovered should be kept with those who truly understood it.

One of the reasons Sae enjoyed having Loki as an overseer was that he did not agree with that. Except, of course, in very particular situations. Especially with something as dangerous as what they’d uncovered.

He finally stopped at the spot he remembered the confrontation. Those wastelanders poking around too close to the building where Kaiser and Ness had been working. Of course, to any outsider he knew it looked like an unprovoked attack, which wouldn’t do any favors for their reputation.

Which was exactly why he was yet again searching the city, hoping against hope to run into that man, Shidou, again. 

It’ll be fine, he thought as he examined the street. Just don’t let him catch you off-guard again. The street was as barren as usual, no signs of the altercation from a few days ago. 

The only other problem, Sae realized, was the wastelanders. While he was pretty confident they hadn’t seen anything, he knew that if they went blabbing, things could get worse - especially for business in the market. If only he could remember something, anything that could identify them…

Well, in any case, the street was clear. That meant his next job was to check out the building. And then track down some guy that could be in the city, or back in Bargetown, or anywhere else on the islands. Simple.

Sae picked his way across the street and slowly pried open the door. He was mostly sure this was the right building (in his defense, he’d been much more focused on the wastelanders in the street). 

The inside of the building was as dim and abandoned as the day he and Rin had dropped Kaiser and Ness off. Sae cautiously moved through the room toward the staircase at the back. If he remembered correctly, Kaiser and Ness had been working on the mostly empty second floor. Well, at least he didn’t have far to go. 

Sae’s gaze swept across the room, careful to note what debris had been present during his last visit, which was new, and which pieces could tie the Alumni to the building. In the end, only a few small pieces of scrap metal were consistent with the kind that the Valedictorians would have used.

At least they’re good at cleaning up after themselves, Sae thought. He was just about ready to make his way back to the campus when he heard something clatter beneath him. At first, he tried to convince himself it was nothing.

Then he heard someone curse.

Great. Well, he was sure it’d be fine. Just as long as the person didn’t come upstairs.

Of course, because apparently the universe really was against him, he heard footsteps getting closer and closer. Sae reached for his gun, quickly fiddling with it until the safety was turned off. He quickly moved it up to aim at the hallway leading out to the staircase. The footsteps were only getting closer, he could tell, and Sae’s grip tightened as the person came into view. As soon as he saw who it was, he promptly froze.

Shidou stared at him with a raised eyebrow. “We have got to stop meeting like this,” he said, a small smirk playing across his lips. Something about it looked forced - Sae noticed the blood coating Shidou’s hands not long after.

“You sure hang around Sunrise a lot for someone who’s supposed to be from the Coalition,” Sae muttered, hesitantly lowering his weapon. “What the hell are you doing here? And why are you covered in blood?”

Shidou leaned back against a nearby wall and shrugged. “On assignment,” he said. “I’m supposed to be tracking someone down, but things got a little wild out there.” He held up his hands. “It’s not mine,” he added as he noticed Sae’s expression.

Sae frowned, ignoring the last statement. “Wild how?”

“A couple of mutants are out there tearing up the streets,” Shidou said. “Completely split us up before we could really get started. Far as I’m aware, they’re still out there. What about you? Back to terrorize more wastelanders?”

Sae shot him a glare. “No,” he snapped, “I’m trying to find the ones from before.”

Shidou’s eyes narrowed, but was apparently smart enough to hold back any further comments. “Alright,” he finally said. “Why don’t we team up for now?”

Sae stared at him. Team up?

“Oh come on,” Shidou said at Sae’s silence. “We’re both looking for people who should be in the city, and let’s be real, it isn’t exactly safe for either of us to go out alone right now. Not unless you’d like to catch a bullet or two.”

Sae resisted the urge to groan. “Fine,” he finally answered. At the very least, this would give him a chance to probe Shidou once again about what he saw. “On two conditions. First off, this isn’t a partners situation. You’ve gotta follow orders in the field. Think you can handle that?”

“Yes, sir ,” Shidou grumbled.

“Good,” Sae said. “The second thing is time. If those mutants are as big of a problem as you say, we won’t want to linger for too long.”

Shidou nodded. “Smart,” he said. “We can do a quick sweep of the streets, take out some mutants if necessary. You got anything to go on for tracking those wastelanders down?”

Sae paused. They could’ve been from anywhere, so there was nothing there. As for appearances… Sae didn’t remember anything noticeable about the quieter wastelander, but as for the one who provoked them…

“One of them’s got heterochromia.” He realized. “Beyond that, they just looked like average wastelanders.”

Shidou sighed. “Well, that’s better than nothing, I suppose,” he muttered. He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, smearing blood along the edges as he passed it over. “That’s who I’m looking for,” he said, gesturing at the paper.

Sae unfurled the crumpled ball and stared down at the photo. Blue eyes, blue hair. Looked like a relatively nice guy, though not one who would have much success surviving the wasteland.

“Name’s Hiori,” Shidou explained. “He runs the Bargetown motel, so business hasn’t been great, I’d imagine. Anyway, he was last seen in the city, so we’re supposed to be checking out the area to see if something happened.”

Sae raised an eyebrow at him. “Does this guy visit Sunrise often?” He asked.

“More frequent than most Bargetown residents,” Shidou said with a shrug. “Though I’m not really sure why.”

Sae nodded. “Okay. Let’s sweep the streets then, and if we don’t find them, can we agree to look into these cases afterward? I’ll bring this to my Overseer, you can talk to your Constable about those wastelanders.”

Shidou shrugged. “Whatever you say,” he muttered. “Though… I will need some way of contacting you,” he said with a smirk.

With yet another suppressed groan, Sae reached for his PDA and watched Shidou do the same. While he wasn’t a huge fan of the idea that Shidou would have his contact, it could be beneficial in determining how much he’d seen.

“Well then,” Sae said once they’d finished. “Let’s get going.”

Shidou grinned at him and began following Sae down the stairs. “So bossy,” he said.

Sae grimaced. Shidou was obviously trying to provoke him. Apparently, this wasn’t going to be a quiet patrol. “Keep the noise down,” Sae muttered. “We don’t want to attract the attention of those mutants.”

When Shidou didn’t respond, Sae breathed a sigh of relief. Finally. Now he could really get to work.

– – –

The conflict was all but over when Chigiri finally arrived at the BMC entrance. According to Reo, he’d been in the middle of trying to end the conflict when the relations officer and his escorts from the Coalition had shown up. From there, it was a simple matter of scaring their opponents into retreating. 

Then, they’d gotten to work at the stone blocking the entrance. By the time Chigiri had shown up, the soldiers working at the entrance were about halfway through removing the rubble blockade, and Reo had climbed over to greet him once it was a bit lower. 

Now, the soldiers were moving away the last large chunks of rubble, clearing away a solid path into the complex. Reo, of course, was as busy as always, flitting between the team clearing rubble and checking in on Chigiri (as well as updating him on what had happened over the past few hours). Once the path was finally cleared, Reo returned with the Coalition representatives trailing behind. 

“How are you feeling?” Reo asked softly. 

Chigiri shrugged. “Just glad I wasn’t outside,” he muttered, eyeing the traffic of the entryway. A swarm soldiers coming in from the battlefield, and one leaving. That was odd. Before long, the lone man had disappeared among the wave of returning soldiers. 

Some of them rushed in, some limped through the entryway, others had to be carried. Chigiri felt his stomach churn as he thought of what had happened out there – guns, a spray of bullets driving through skin and bone–

“Chigiri?” Reo tapped his shoulder and Chigiri startled. His friends concern was evident in both his tone and expression. “You sure you’re alright?”

Chigiri nodded, glancing at the Coalition members standing only a few feet away. “So we’re trusting them?” He asked. 

Reo followed his gaze. “They helped resolve a conflict and brought the truth of the matter to light,” he responded. “Diplomacy will continue as we agreed.” Reo turned to the group of Coalition members and gestured for them to approach. 

Reo reached out to shake hands with the man with spiky orange hair and turned to Chigiri. “This is the relations manager from the Coalition,” he said. “I need you to show him around and make sure he has everything he needs while he stays here.”

Chigiri frowned. “Why me?” He asked. 

“Because I trust you,” Reo said simply. “And I think it’ll do you some good to have a job other than just ‘get better.’”

“I see,” Chigiri muttered. Reo wasn’t wrong, that was for sure. Slowly, Chigiri extended his free hand toward the relations manager. “It’s… nice to meet you,” he said. “I’m Hyoma Chigiri. I guess I’ll be showing you around for the next while.”

The man shook his hand with a gentle but firm squeeze. “Rensuke Kunigami,” he said. “I look forward to working with you.”

“Do you mind if the two of us stay for a bit too?” The blue-eyed man behind Kunigami asked. “Bachira needs to see a doctor,” he gestured to the third Coalition member to his left, “as does the Voyageur we captured.” 

“Of course,” Reo said. “I’ll have someone bring the Voyageur down to meet us. Now, I don’t believe we’ve been introduced yet..?” 

“Right,” the man said. “Constable Yoichi Isagi. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Chigiri glanced at Reo to see his reaction. According to the rumors, Bargetown’s Constable was a force to be reckoned with. It almost made him wonder what the man was doing so far out of Bargetown.

Rep’s eyebrows twitched, as if he was holding back a frown. “Yes, likewise,” he said. “We can head out now… oh, where is that Voyageur?”

Isagi pointed back by the entrance. “Otoya’s looking after him. He’s a wastelander who happened to be a great help in bringing this all to an end.”

Chigiri frowned. The conflict had involved more people than he’d have thought. Three factions as well as a wastelander? That was uncommon. A chill ran down his spine as he thought about what could have happened if things didn’t get wrapped up.

Reo gave him a pat on the back as he began to lead the trio of Coalition members further into the complex. Chigiri lagged behind, struggling to keep pace as he used his crutch to awkwardly stumble through the halls.

By the time he actually reached the medical bay, a doctor was already taking a look at Bachira’s wound. Chigiri glanced around. The group was mostly quiet as they waited for the doctor to finish.

Chigiri glanced down at his right leg. It was covered, of course, but he knew the prosthetic was there. He’d spend far too much time in the medical bay in the past week and he was starting to wish they could go somewhere else - anywhere else.

Reo had started talking. Chigiri could see his mouth moving, though the only thing he could hear was the blood rushing through his ears, his heart pounding away. Paying no attention to the conversation, completely blocking it out as he stared down at his leg.

Bloody mess, searing pain, burning pain– 

Stop. Stop. Not again…

Chigiri blinked, trying to push the images out of his mind. Not the time, he thought desperately. Snap out of it. Just– breathe. He took a deep breath. And another, until his vision cleared and the roaring in his ears died down.

“There’s one thing we do know,” Isagi was saying when Chigiri finally tuned back into the conversation. “For whatever reason, the Voyageurs do not want us making this alliance. Take that how you will, but to me that sounds like a pretty damn good reason to get this settled soon.”

Reo nodded slowly. “Interesting point,” he murmured. “Why would they be so against the idea of us making an alliance?”

“I’m not sure,” Isagi responded. “Off the top of my head, it could be because they don’t want their enemies uniting against them, but I can’t be sure. I’ll look into it more once I’m back in Bargetown.”

“Make sure you keep us updated on that,” Reo said. “I do see your point, but for now the USRF needs to focus on assessing damage and repairing what we can. I’ll be happy to talk with Kunigami, or have him speak with one of our relations officers, but it needs to wait for now.”

Isagi nodded. “Understood,” he said. “Well, in any case, Bachira and I should head out soon. I’d still like to get back before dark if possible, and I wouldn’t want to bother you any longer.”

“You’re welcome to stay for dinner, if you’d like,” Reo said. “Chigiri can take you all to the canteen. I’ll stay here to make sure that Voyageur is stable enough to question.”

“Sounds good to me,” Bachira said. “Yocchan?”

Isagi nodded. “Sure, let’s go.”

“Oh, Chigiri,” Reo sadi as the group neared the door. “Would you keep an eye out for Nagi on your way?”

“I’ll send him here if I see him,” Chigiri said before turning back to the Coalition members. “We should go now before the food’s put away. Follow me.” 

It was pretty late out by the time Isagi and Bachira actually left. Chigiri wasn’t entirely sure how long the journey to Bargetown was, but Isagi would likely fail his goal of returning before dusk.

Chigiri waited for Kunigami to say his goodbyes, staring out into the woods. He hadn’t left the complex in a while - doctors orders - and it was kind of nice to see outside again. The trees, the sky… there were some things that he really missed while stuck in the complex.

Kunigami returned to him with a curious look. “Something wrong?” He asked.

“No,” Chigiri muttered. As if he was going to share his innermost thoughts with a stranger. “You ready for your tour yet?”

Kunigami nodded, and they headed further into the complex.

Chigiri was not an ideal tour guide by any means, what with his vague descriptions and minimum talk. Still, Kunigami nodded politely as he showed him around. He didn’t push Chigiri to talk more than he was comfortable with, just listened to what he had to say. 

It was actually rather nice.

They were about halfway through the tour when they arrived at the office spaces. Chigiri had planned on briefly popping into one, just to show Kunigami what they were like, but beyond that he didn’t intend to spend much time there.

That was before he opened the door to find Nagi tied to a chair. 

“What the–” he heard Kunigami gasp behind him.

Chigiri rushed into the room (well, as much as he could rush while hobbling around with a crutch) and headed to Nagi’s side. “Nagi?” He said. “What… why… what the fuck is going on?”

“Uh…” Nagi sighed and glanced down at his bound wrists. “It’s a long story. Mind getting me out of these?”

Chigiri started to move forward, but Kunigami blocked him. 

“Let me,” Kunigami said, casting a glance at Chigiri’s crutch. He leaned forward and got to work on the knots tied around Nagi’s arms.

Chigiri frowned but let him finish. It wasn’t like a crutch made him completely incapable. He really didn’t understand why people couldn’t get a grasp on that.

As Kunigami finished, Nagi lept up out of the chair. “Thanks,” he said, to which Kunigami responded with a nod. “Where’s Reo?” He asked Chigiri.

“Should still be in the medbay,” Chigiri said. “I hope you’re planning on explaining what happened here.”

Nagi shrugged. “Maybe later,” he said. “Or Reo can tell you. See you.” With that, he bounded out of the office to find Reo.

Chigiri sighed. “Sorry about… whatever that was,” he muttered. “We can keep going now.” He started to lead Kunigami down the hall again, wondering what had happened to Nagi. Despite how strange it was, there was at least one good thing came out of the encounter - at least now Chigiri knew all of his friends were safe.

Chapter Text

Bargetown, Town Square

Shidou could feel the glare piercing his back as he peered out at the street. He was quickly learning that Sae was not the best team player (not that Shidou could talk - he was always the first one to dip when the Marked Men were on missions). However, it was already growing real frustrating to be working with someone who very clearly did not want to work with him.

“Clear,” Shidou muttered, and the pair stepped out into the street. It was eerily silent, completely devoid of the life Shidou usually associated with Sunrise City. Though, he supposed it wasn’t too surprising considering the appearance of the mutants. Everyone who lived in the city was likely already hiding away in the abandoned buildings.

Sae stepped out in front of Shidou, cautiously making his way further down the street as he led. He was constantly scanning the area - for threats or allies, Shidou couldn’t tell.

He paused a few feet ahead and looked back to Shidou with a frown.

“Something wrong?” Shidou asked as he hurried to catch up. No response. Shidou frowned as he finally stood next to Sae. At first, he wasn’t sure why they’d stopped. And then he finally looked down.

“Ah, shit, ” he muttered, kneeling down next to the body in front of them. The man wore the same uniform as Shidou, though this man’s was riddled with bullet holes and covered in blood. 

“You knew him?” Sae asked.

“Not well,” Shidou said. “All I know is that he’s the same as me.” He trailed off with a sigh. “This would’ve happened eventually anyway, but damn …”

“What do you mean?” Sae asked. His suspicion was evident in his voice.

Shidou just shrugged. “It’s just something that’s true for all Marked Men,” he said. “It’s pretty much a death sentence itself. Besides just going on the much more dangerous missions, getting executed for the smallest mistake is pretty common.”

“That’s absolute shit,” Sae said.

“That’s just how it is,” Shidou responded. “You have to learn how to adapt.”

Sae was silent for a moment. “Who would choose that?” He finally asked.

Shidou sighed. “No one would choose an immediate death. If you don’t take the offer, then at best you’d get exiled. But that’s almost never the case. For me, I’d rather prolong my death as much as possible than just lay down and die.”

The silence felt heavy when Sae didn’t respond. Shidou glanced up at him and was met with a frown. He supposed the situation would seem strange to someone on the outside. Though, he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe, just maybe , Sae was showing concern for him . 

“We should get moving,” he said. “We’re just making ourselves easy targets by standing still.”

Sae nodded and started walking, still not offering Shidou any kind of response.

Shidou sighed and stood up, casting a quick glance behind him as he did. Well, shit. Shidou lunged forward and tackled Sae, barely getting to the ground before the crack. He swore he could hear the bullet whizzing past just above. 

“ Damn, ” Shidou grumbled. “Guess we really were an easy target.”

Sae shoved him off with a glare and wiped off a smear of blood from the rough landing. “Get moving,” he snapped. “Take them out if you can.” He was already reaching for his pistol as he turned to face the mutants at the end of the street.

Shidou slung his rifle off his back and aimed it at where the mutants were reloading their weapons. It had been a while since he’d last had to deal with combat, and he’d never seen Sae fight before.

Well, this was sure to be interesting.

He sent his first few bullets flying before he finally stood up, just ahead of of Sae. Shidou scanned the opponents as he lifted his rifle back up. Three mutants looked back, beginning to approach them.

Wait, three? That couldn’t be right.

“Yo, boss ,” Shidou muttered. He could practically feel the eye roll Sae was giving him. “They’re missing one of their soldiers.”

“Think someone took them out?” Sae asked as he fired a couple shots at the slowly approaching mutants.

Shidou didn’t respond. His eyes were fixed on an alley to the right - more specifically, at the mutant aiming his gun at Sae. He didn’t know what came over him in that moment - one second, he was firing rounds at the mutants ahead of him, the next he was lunging in front of Sae, a burning sensation ripping through his shoulder as he stumbled to the ground.

Shit, shit, shit .

Another bang echoed above him, and Shidou saw the mutant in the alley crumple to the ground. The next thing he noticed was Sae glaring down at him. “Get up,” he snapped.

Shidou glared back. “Fuck off,” he grunted through gritted teeth. He was rather busy trying to figure out what to do about the wound in his shoulder, busy trying to ignore how it hurt like a bitch, so excuse him for not immediately standing up.

Sae gave him one last scornful look, as if able to read his thoughts, before turning back to face the mutants. “So much for not wanting to die,” he muttered.

Damn, Shidou thought. That little shit. But he forced himself up anyways, ignoring the fire in his shoulder as his lips curled into a grin. For a piece of shit, Sae really did know how to get him moving. Shidou, much as he would hate to admit it, was actually rather enjoying their temporary team-up.

Sae glanced back at him, giving him a look that plainly said ‘finally’ as he watched Shidou stand up.

Shidou gave him a full-on grin as he reached for his rifle again. Somehow, he actually had made it back to his feet. He slowly lifted up his weapon, pointing it toward the advancing mutants. Time to get this over with.

– – –

It was late in the afternoon when Karasu finally spotted Isagi. Besides his usual daily tasks, Karasu was supposed to be keeping an eye on the motel each morning due to Hiori’s sudden disappearance. Not the kind of business Karasu was used to (or the kind he liked, not that anyone had asked) but he put his all into overseeing the morning affairs of the motel.

Of course, by the time he finished his shift there, it was straight to work prepping ingredients for his regular job. In fact, it was only on a quick stop at the Pantry that Karasu finally did see the returning soldiers.

Bachira greeted him with an enthusiastic wave as he stepped through the door. “Hey, Karasu!” He exclaimed, bounding over to where Karasu stood by a shelf. “I didn’t catch you this morning when we got back. It’s good to see you!”

Karasu offered him a tight smile. “Same to ya,” he said. “Trip went well, I take it?”

Bachira hesitated, casting a glance behind him where Karasu finally saw Isagi. “I’m not sure I’m the best person to explain it to you,” Bachira muttered. “There was just… well, a lot that happened. Yocchan’s gone all contemplation mode already, but feel free to bug him.”

Karasu nodded. “I see,” he said. He stepped past Bachira to where Isagi was leaning against the counter. “So, what’s got ya all reflective today?” 

“Like Bachira said,” Isagi sighed, “a lot happened. We… had a little run in with the Voyageurs.”

Karasu’s eyes widened. “Aiku?” He asked, dropping his voice just a bit.

“Yeah. Real complicated situation,” Isagi said. “I suppose that’s Kunigami’s problem now, though. He’s alright, by the way. Why were you worried about him?”

Karasu blinked a few times. It took him a moment to realize what Isagi was asking. “He seemed down about the job, that was all,” Karasu said with a shrug. “I didn’t expect ya to think much of it, honestly.”

Isagi didn’t respond, his gaze wandering away from Karasu.

“Uh… Isagi?” Karasu said hesitantly, recapturing the man’s attention. “There’s one other thing ya should know. During your trip, Hiori disappeared.”

Isagi stared at him. “What? How? What happened?”

“Not sure,” Karasu said. “He was back in Sunrise City for a bit, and just never returned. Some of the rooks are out trying to track him down, but…” He trailed off with a shrug. 

Isagi nodded, taking the information calmly. Much calmer than Karasu had when he’d first found out. If he was being honest with himself, he still wasn’t totally okay about it. Hiori was a good friend - an old friend - and having him suddenly disappear… it seemed so surreal, even considering how dangerous it was outside.

Before the conversation could continue, someone else walked through the entrance of the Pantry, distracting Karasu from his thoughts of Hiori. The man sauntered into the small huddle, standing right next to Karasu as he faced Isagi.

“Hey, Isagi,” the man said. “Got a room at that motel like you suggested. Any idea when the bar in town opens?”

“Probably in a couple hours,” Karasu said. “Or whenever I feel like it.”

The man turned, as if noticing Karasu for the first time. He looked him up and down with a grin. “You’re the bartender?” He asked, and Karasu nodded. “Cool. I’m Otoya,” he said, stretching out a hand.

“Karasu,” Karasu said, shaking Otoya’s hand. “Where’d ya come from?”

“He’s a stray we picked up,” Bachira said. “Happened to be lurking around the BMC when we were there so we figured we’d invite him back to Bargetown.”

Karasu nodded. “Ya ever visited before?” He asked.

“Nope,” Otoya said. “We’d know each other already if I had.”

“How much do ya drink?” Karasu frowned.

“I’m not an alcoholic, if that’s what you’re implying,” Otoya said. “I like the atmosphere of bars. So, I’m sure we’ll get to know each other real well.”

Karasu raised an eyebrow at him. “That right?” He said. “Well, I should really get back to business. Think ya can check this stuff out for me, Bachira?”

Bachira perked up and returned behind the cash register. “Sure thing,” he said. “We’ll all come by for a visit once you open up. I’ll tell you all about what happened at the mountain then.”

“Sure thing,” Karasu said with a chuckle. “See ya soon, then.”

Karasu hadn’t been lying when he’d said that. Bargetown had looked busier than usual, so he decided to open up a bit early. Bachira was one of the first in, securing seats right at the bar before anyone else could.

As per usual, the crowd trickled in slowly until the bar was filled with warmth and chatter, the noise filling the space and echoing off the walls. Some nights, it felt like too much. Today, however, Karasu understood what Otoya had meant. The atmosphere of the bar was rather nice, the community all coming together under one roof and enjoying the last remnants of the evening (mostly) without fighting. 

Otoya himself spent a good chunk of the night lingering off to the side, flashing Karasu a grin any time he passed by. True to his word, he only ordered one drink, taking his time to savor it as he observed the crowds.

Karasu didn’t spend too much time worrying about the man after that, instead focusing on the steady stream of people stopping by for a drink or a bite to eat. As he served drinks, he heard broken bits of Bachira’s story, each time he paused to listen, getting interrupted by another customer. It was exhausting, but Karasu loved his job. Finally, the stream of customers died down, and he was able to listen to Bachira’s story in full. 

That was one of the most unique things about his job - the stories. Somehow, despite being a stranger to many of the town's residents, everyone seemed to put their trust in him easily (though, it was entirely possible that it was due to the drinks). Even when they weren’t speaking directly to him, Karasu caught many stories as he served drinks. There was almost no one in the town he didn’t know the secrets of. 

Of course, that was excluding the town’s newest visitor.

Karasu’s gaze landed back on Otoya, leaning back against the bar as he sipped at his drink. As far as Karasu had seen, the man hadn’t spoken to anyone else the entire night. Despite his involvement at the BMC, he had offered no additions to Bachira and Isagi’s story - in fact, he didn’t even seem to be paying attention. 

Karasu wasn’t even sure if he’d moved in all the time he’d been there. By now, it was late enough that most residents were off to their homes before the night got too cold. Slowly but surely, the bar emptied, the noise dying down, but Otoya remained.

“Are ya planning on staying there all night?” Karasu asked as he finished cleaning up. “I’m not gonna wait with ya ’til morning.”

Otoya glanced over at him, looking startled. “Sorry,” he said. “Got a little distracted.”

“Don’t ya think it’s about time ya headed to the motel?” Karasu asked. “It’s pretty late, y’know.”

Otoya shrugged, setting his glass down on the counter. 

Oh great, Karasu thought. More dishes.

“I’m not tired right now,” Otoya said. “I might stay out a while longer.”

Karasu stared at him. Didn’t he walk from Black Mountain to Bargetown earlier that day? How was he not exhausted? “Ya do realize it’s almost winter,” he said. “You’re really gonna go out like that?”

Another shrug. “Why do you care?” Otoya asked with a small smile.

“Cuz I’d rather not have someone die in town,” Karasu muttered, heading for the stairs. He didn’t wait for Otoya to respond as he went up. Heck, he wasn’t sure if Otoya did respond. Karasu just hurried up and grabbed a jacket.

When he got back down, Otoya was already leaving.

“Hang on,” Karasu called, and Otoya turned. “Just– take this. If you’re gonna stay out longer, then ya should at least stay warm.”

Otoya looked at him in surprise, but he took the jacket. “Thanks,” he muttered. “I’ll come visit you again tomorrow.”

Karasu nodded as he flicked off the signs of the bar. “Don’t stay out too late,” he responded, and Otoya shot him a smile in response before moving out into the town square. 

Somehow, Karasu doubted the man would take his advice. Oh well, he thought. Not exactly my problem anymore. He stifled a yawn and closed the bar’s doors. At the very least, he would enjoy some rest before his inevitable early morning.

Chapter Text

Bargetown, Bachira's Apartment

Taking on shifts at the town’s stores was one of the ways Isagi spent his time while not investigating. (Of course, on this particular occasion he would much rather be looking into the situation at BMC, but he had a duty to help out the town in any way possible. It just so happened that today he was stuck serving food at the Soup Shark.)

Besides being repetitive, the workdays were also long and busy. There was barely any time to think or reflect on the events from the conflict, no time at all to try and figure out exactly what had led to the events. So many unanswered questions still swirled in Isagi’s mind, and he had no time to determine the truth. 

Considering all of this, Isagi supposed it wasn’t too surprising that he was in a less than ideal mood when the visitor showed up. (He was, of course, aware of the man’s presence - he just didn’t think it would ever become his problem. Funny how wrong he was.)

His workday was almost done - in fact, had the man from the Alumni not stopped by, Isagi probably could’ve gotten away with getting off work early.. So, yes, it was perfectly reasonable for him to be annoyed when the man stepped up.

With a sigh, Isagi had taken his order and got to work. Since there was no one else in line, it didn’t take long to serve him a hot bowl of soup. With that done, Isagi was certain he could head out and get to work on stuff that actually mattered to him.

Or so he’d thought.

Now, he was hiding out at Bachira’s complaining about the way the interaction had gone down. It wasn’t like it was his fault the Alumni man had a stick up his ass - though somehow he doubted his higher-ups gave a shit about that.

“You do realize the Alumni are our allies,” Bachira was saying. “Maybe you could’ve… I don’t know, handled that with a bit more care?”

“He was being a dick,” Isagi grumbled. “What was I supposed to do?”

Bachira sighed. “Tell me again how it happened,” he said. “We can figure out how you can explain this mess to the Registrars.”

Isagi nodded, rolling his eyes as he remembered the Alumni man he’d just met.

“One perch soup,” Isagi had said, carefully handing the bowl over the counter. “Is that all I can get for you today?” He must’ve sounded as tired and annoyed as he felt. And of course, the man had picked up on that.

“Would it kill you to be polite?” He’d snarked back. “I thought you were here to serve the rest of us, or did I misunderstand who’s paying who?”

I am going to kill him , Isagi remembered thinking. Of course he didn’t. He really just offered the man the most fake smile he’d ever given someone and said, “Well, I’d hate to leave this riveting conversation, but it appears my shift is over.”

The Alumni wasn’t impressed. “Excuse you?” He’d snapped. “I’ll have you know I’m one of the highest ranking Valedictorians in the Alumni. Shouldn’t you be showing more respect to someone from an allied faction?"

Isagi did not care. He wanted to get back to his room - sleep a bit more, maybe, but more importantly, he would’ve liked time to get back to his actual job. “I really don’t have time for this,” he’d said. Of course, he did have the time. Just not the patience.

Isagi had tried to push past the man to get back to the legal building. It had not been his smartest decision.

Before he’d realized what was happening, the Alumni man had grabbed his collar and shoved him against the wall, barely managing to keep his bowl of soup steady.

“I don’t think you understand just how much influence I have,” he’d snarled. 

What are you, an animal? Isagi had thought. He was glad he’d had the self-control to not say it out loud. “Dude, I have had a long day and you are not helping my mood,” Isagi had said, keeping his voice as calm as he possibly could. “I really don’t think my slight rudeness is such a big deal.”

The man had continued to glare at him. “Then the least you could do,” he’d snapped, “would be to apologize, don’t you think?”

Isagi had rolled his eyes. “Not if you’re going to act like a bitch,” he’d muttered

Apparently, it wasn’t unheard by the Valedictorian (which shouldn’t have been surprising, considering their proximity). An enraged expression had come over his face as he got even further in Isagi’s personal space.

At that point, Isagi had had just about enough. Next thing he knew, his fist had connected with the man’s stomach, sending him stumbling back. He was fine, of course - though the same couldn’t be said for the soup. 

As the man started to curse, Isagi had decided it was a good time to get out of there and had bolted to Bachira’s place as fast as he could.

Bachira groaned as Isagi finished the story. “So you knowingly attacked a visiting high-ranking Alumni soldier,” he said. “Yeah, you might be screwed.”

“I don’t think he’s a soldier,” Isagi grumbled. “Besides, he attacked me first!”

Bachira shot him a disappointed look. 

“Whatever.” Isagi rolled his eyes. “I’m sure the worst I’ll get is a slap on the wrist. The Registrars wouldn’t dish out too harsh a punishment to their favorite officer.”

“Sure, but Kunigami might kill you if he finds out you fucked up our alliance with the Alumni,” Bachira pointed out. “And anyway, this is all assuming he did report you. He might’ve just ignored it.”

“Doubtful,” Isagi muttered. “I think I’m going to need to hide out here for a while to avoid that guy’s wrath.”

Bachira shook his head despite his smirk. “Just threaten him with jail time,” Bachira suggested. “I’m sure that’ll do the trick.”

Isagi sighed and peered out the door. “No, it’s fine,” he muttered. “I can probably just avoid him for the time being, in any case. Plus, if I’m going to get back at him, I’ll just have to actually catch him doing something illegal.”

“Even if it’s not punishable by jail time?”

“I’m sure I can convince the government to let me lock him up for a night.” Isagi grinned. “Might do that guy some good to give his ego a hit.”

Bachira chuckled. “Okay, I think you’ve complained about him enough for one day,” he said. “I’m gonna head for drinks with Otoya again tonight. Do you want to come with us, or are you too busy hiding?”

“Ha, ha,” Isagi muttered. “I’ll come with you. In any case, I don’t wanna impose on you any longer. I’ll just get some food and head home, I guess.”

Bachira nodded. “So I’m going to assume due to your little encounter you haven’t figured out anything new about the Voyageurs?”

Isagi shrugged. “Not much. I still don’t actually know what they hoped to accomplish by setting us against the USRF. I can speculate, sure, but in terms of the truth…”

Bachira gave him a sympathetic pat on the back. “You’ll figure it out,” he said. “You always do. You should try to contact Kunigami soon, maybe someone there figured something else out.”

“Maybe,” Isagi said, but he wasn’t very hopeful. 

“Wanna head out now?” Bachira asked. “Karasu probably hasn’t opened up yet but we could grab a burger or something.”

Isagi nodded. “Sounds good,” he said, stifling a yawn. “I’m about done for the day anyway, I think.” With any luck, once he retired for the night he’d finally be able to get some work done.

The two headed out into the town square, stopping at the burger joint right in the middle. Though it was only early evening, the chill was already seeping into the air, a small, unwelcome reminder that winter was just around the corner.

Isagi ordered his food and headed to the second story of the building to grab a table. He was still waiting for Bachira when he noticed an annoyingly familiar face a few tables over. Well, that wasn’t good. 

Of course, it seemed about right that the second he stepped foot out of his hiding place (Bachira’s apartment), the same Alumni man from earlier would turn up. Isagi tried to quietly shift his chair just enough for his back to face the man. 

Hurry up, Meguru, Isagi thought as he moved his chair. At least if he was with someone, the man might be less likely to approach.

Unfortunately, Bachira did not hurry up. Double unfortunately, his chair scraping against the floor was just loud enough to catch the man’s attention, because next thing Isagi knew, there was a hand on his shoulder.

Well, shit.

“Look who it is,” the man said. “Planning on running away again, or are you finally going to apologize?”

Isagi rolled his eyes. “I will admit that I was in a bad mood,” he said. “What I don’t understand is why you’re so hung up on that.”

The man moved to sit down in front of him, blue eyes boring into him. “Oh, you see, that’s the thing,” he said. “I wasn’t going to bug you about it. I was willing to forget about it, if it weren’t for the fact that you took it a step too far.”

“Aw, did your perfect face get hurt?” Isagi snarked. “That’s just too bad.”

The man in front of him looked like he was barely holding in a punch of his own. “I’m not here to bug you,” he grumbled, and Isagi rolled his eyes.

Yeah, right. You’re already doing that, he thought.

“In fact, it would be better for both of us if we dropped this,” the man continued through gritted teeth. He looked like he believed it about as much as Isagi did (which is to say, not at all). “So why don’t we do just that? I’m willing to forget our little… encounter happened,” he said, “on one condition.”

Isagi glared at him. “What is it?” He snapped. As long as it was manageable, it sure as hell sounded like a better deal than avoiding this guy for the duration of his stay. Sure, Isagi probably could deal with a write-up if he got reported, but if that were the case, he could be put on temporary leave from working on cases. 

That was not going to happen, not if he could help it.

“I need you to introduce me to someone,” he said. “The person I came here to see. I haven’t been able to track him down yet.”

Isagi sighed. “And who might that be?” 

“Someone named Constable Isagi,” the man said.

Isagi froze. What. The. Fuck. There was absolutely no way he was dealing with this today. Not right now. He was too busy, had far too much to do, and yet again, this Alumni man was getting in the way. Come on, think fast.

“Sure,” he blurted, mind racing. “I’m sure he’s busy right now, but I can try to set up a meeting tomorrow afternoon, if that works.” What the fuck was he doing? There was no way this was going to go well, lying to him and then setting up a meeting and holy shit this was going to blow up in his face. Just keep going, he thought. You can figure the rest out tonight. “Though, it would be nice if you could tell me your name.”

The man frowned. Could he see through the lie already? This’ll get awkward real fast if he can, Isagi thought.

“Michael Kaiser,” he finally said. “I’m staying in room three at the motel. You can come get me for the meeting whenever, and I’ll forget about our little encounter. And you?”

“Yoichi,” Isagi muttered. At least it was true - it was his name. Just not one he liked the idea of Kaiser using on a regular basis. 

“Alright then, Yoichi,” Kaiser said with a smirk. “It’s a deal. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” 

Isagi just nodded, barely registering as Kaiser walked away. Well, he was sure this would all turn out just great.

– – –

Sunrise City was one of the least safe places to live despite the crowds of wastelanders who called it home. This was a fact Kiyora should have been used to, after so many years living there, yet the new threat of the mutants was something he hadn’t accounted for.

Gunshots out in the street awoke him with a jolt, echoing through the walls of the small space he’d lived in for the past few months. Kiyora slowly crawled out of his sleeping bag and headed over to the window. The frigid morning air hit him hard from the window. Fuck, it was getting way to close to winter. Worse yet, it was already shaping up to be a particularly nasty season already.

It wasn’t that Kiyora hadn’t lived through winters before, it was just that those outside of factions (like himself, of course) often found it much harder to stay warm and safe in the midst of the cold. As if the year hadn’t already been tough enough.

Kiyora sighed, eyes skimming the street below. He’d heard the rumors of course, but seeing mutants so close to home was something else entirely. To have them so far outside their village… well, he was sure the factions would have thoughts about that. For the most part, however, it didn’t concern him.

Although…

Between the fast approaching winter and whatever mutant gang was out terrorizing Sunrise residents, it seemed like it was about time for Kiyora to pack up his temporary home. Sure, he’d only stayed in the small office space he currently occupied for about three months (assuming he was calculating correctly), but based on the new threat (or two, if you counted the winter) it was about time he found someplace a little more secure.

Unfortunately, with the way the world was, Kiyora had gone through this process all too often. Though he had been able to remain in Sunrise City for a number of years while avoiding contact with others as much as possible, he was starting to wonder if it was time to branch out. 

Well, he thought, it isn’t as if the rest of the isles are unlivable… There would be other, more unfamiliar threats, of course, and the forests weren’t exactly the safest place to stay. Well, not when you were alone like Kiyora was. But it could be worth the risk - at least this time.

He stole another glance out the window as he packed, barely suppressing a shudder. There were bodies in the streets. Bloody, wide-eyed and unmoving. Kiyora’s stomach lurched at the sight. Those hadn’t been there the night before.

At the very least, his decision was now simple. If the mutants were traveling so far North to wreak havoc, then he wasn’t going to wait around for them to kill him too. It was time to get out.

Kiyora finished packing and slung his bag onto his back. Going to the streets obviously wasn’t an option while the mutants were there, so perhaps he could take to the roofs. It should give him enough of a path to avoid the gangs entirely, so long as he was smart about it.

It wasn’t easy work, but using the rooftops for travel had become pretty common. Other wastelanders had set up boards to act as bridges between buildings, so all Kiyora had to do was stay low enough to not be seen while also maintaining his balance.

Well, he’d manage. The only question now was where he should go. Sure, the forest was the most obvious option, as it would allow him to continue living without the influence of other people (and by extension, the influence of conflict), but he was rather low on weapons, so staying safe… well, that was going to be a lot harder.

Bargetown was a safe choice, much less threat of conflict or attacks, though Kiyora didn’t really have enough money to rent out a room. He’d heard good things about the town’s businesses, but rumors of corruption made him wary.

So on one hand, he could put more risk to his life. On the other, he could abandon the way he was currently living - a lifestyle that had suited him just fine since he was left on his own. 

Noises in the street below caught his attention and Kiyora risked a peek over the edge of the roof. No one had spotted him yet, thank god, but the mutants seemed on edge, like they were bracing for an attack.

Well, if a conflict was going to break out, Kiyora wanted to be as far away from it as possible. He needed to make up his mind, but before he could even think about locations again, shouts were breaking out. Shouts, and then gunfire.

A jolt ran through him as his instincts took over. There was no time to hang around - he had to get somewhere safe before they noticed him, regardless of whether he liked the place or not. Who was he kidding, anyway? Kiyora never should have let personal preferences dictate his opinions. Only one word mattered in the wasteland, and that word was survive.

If he wanted to get to a safe place as soon as possible, there was only one real choice. Well. Kiyora hadn’t ever expected to be heading back there - in fact it was the one place he’d sworn he’d never return to, yet here he was with little other choice.

It was time for him to return to the first place he’d called home - the Alumni Campus.

Chapter Text

Bargetown, the Pizza Place

Reo was tired. Exhausted, really, not that anyone ever asked him. With negotiations being held off until repairs were done, Reo was split between managing said repairs and making sure the Coalition representative, Kunigami, was well taken care of. (Chigiri had it covered, he was sure, but it was his job to make sure everything was in order.)

In any case, with his days and evenings focused solely on work, the early mornings had become the only time of the day that Reo truly had to himself. He turned the speed on the treadmill up another notch as he tried to push work from his mind. 

Besides the fact that he was just insanely busy, and besides the fact that he had to get up far too early for it to be considered normal, it had been almost two days since he’d been able to actually sit down and spend time with Nagi.

Reo glanced down at his watch. Damn. He was already out of time for the day. With a sigh, he turned the treadmill off and reached for his water bottle. It was time for him to get ready for the hours of work he had ahead of him.

He barely had time to take a quick shower and change out of his active wear before his first meeting of the day. He went through the motions, playing the role of the Acting Commander as best he could with the little amount of energy he had. By the time the meeting concluded, he was already needed to oversee repairs by the entrance.

As one task blurred into the next, Reo found himself almost unable to think for himself. One minute he was conducting a meeting, the next he was helping out at the entrance, and after that he was seeing to the problem of depleted supplies, until he could barely process the words coming out of the mouths of the other soldiers.

Finally, that meeting concluded, and he was immediately rushed off deeper into the BMC without even a minute-long break for him to catch up.

It wasn’t until about ten minutes into his next meeting that he realized he was in a room with Chigiri, Kunigami, and Nanase.

Reo frowned. *Negotiations have already started?* As far as he’d been aware, they weren’t supposed to commence until *after* repairs. Which (last he checked) were just over halfway completed.

“–I think that kind of thing is best suited to be answered by the acting Commander,” Nanase was saying as Reo finally tuned in.

Crap.

Reo glanced around to see everyone in the room staring at him. He blinked a few times, trying to rewind the conversation in his mind so he could remember what the question was. Nothing. “S-sorry,” Reo stammered, “what was that?”

Chigiri frowned. “We were just starting discussions,” he said softly. “Kunigami brought up the point that Isagi made a few days ago. Are you alright, Reo?”

“I’m fine,” Reo muttered. “So–“

“He has a point,” Nanase interrupted, shooting Reo an apologetic look. “You’ve been in and out of meetings since the conflict. Shouldn’t you be taking a break?”

Reo sighed. He’d been asking himself the same thing all day. “I’m the acting Commander,” he said, sticking to the reasons he’d given himself. “I have a duty to oversee the situation in the complex.”

Chigiri’s frown deepened. “We have Logisticians to manage supplies,” he argued. “Nanase is fully equipped to handle discussions with Kunigami on his own if he wanted, and we have plenty of contractors already working on repairs. I’m pretty sure the complex will survive a day without you running yourself to the ground.”

Reo blinked a few times - both in surprise, and to hold back a few tears at the realization that Chigiri had been paying that much attention to his well-being. “I…” he trailed off. What was he supposed to say?

Kunigami awkwardly raised a hand and Reo glanced at him.

“I know it’s not really my place,” he began, “but I agree with them. And if you really do want to be here for our talks,” Kunigami gestured between Nanase and himself, “then we can obviously hold off for a few days. Besides, the complex will be in more trouble if you drive yourself to collapse than if you take a day off.”

Slowly, Reo nodded. “Right,” he muttered. “You’re… all right. I’ll have a quick talk with one of the other high-ranking officers—“

“I can do that,” Chigiri cut in. “Go get some rest. And maybe visit Nagi while you’re at it.”

Reo nodded. “Thanks,” he muttered, his throat hoarse.

It struck him then just how present Chigiri had been for the entire conversation. It was the most involved he’d been in, well, anything, since the amputation. Reo couldn’t help but smile at the thought that maybe, just maybe, Chigiri was feeling a bit better.

“Nanase,” Reo said as he stood up.

The relations officer glanced up at Reo, startled.

“I don’t need to be here for your discussions,” Reo said. “If you guys get anywhere, come let me know, okay?”

“Yes, sir,” Nanase said, looking a little flushed.

Reo nodded once more, unsure if he should say anything else. In the end, he was just too tired. But… he at least had time now for the thing he’d been missing all week.

Nagi was in the middle of running tests on his drones when Reo arrived. Instead of bothering him in the middle of his task, Reo simply stood and watched.

Nagi was careful with the drones, showing a kind of precision Reo had never seen before. He watched Nagi’s fingers carefully twist wires into place, watched him examine the results on his screen with a frown. Even that was enough to let him relax a little.

It was another few minutes before Nagi finally looked up from his work. When he noticed Reo, he immediately frowned.

Okay, not the reaction I expected.

“Reo,” Nagi murmured. “What are you doing here?”

“Taking a break,” Reo said. The words felt strange to say. “I haven’t had time to come by in while, anyway.”

Nagi shifted in his seat. “Never thought I’d hear you say that,” he said. “You deserve a break more than anyone here, though.”

Reo nodded slowly. “So I’ve been told,” he muttered. “How are you?”

Nagi shrugged. “Fine,” he said, turning back to the drone. “Busy. Same as you, I guess.”

Reo hummed in acknowledgement as he leaned over the back of Nagi’s chair. For a few minutes, they stayed like that - Nagi working on his drone with Reo silently watching. It was calming, just being around Nagi. The clinking of metal almost became relaxing.

“I’ve been thinking,” Nagi said suddenly.

Reo lifted his head up from where it had been resting on his arms. “About what?” He asked.

“A few things,” Nagi muttered. “Lots, really. But I mean about the conflict. About that guy with the gun,”

Reo was fully attentive now. “What about him?” Reo asked.

“I think it was the guy we spoke to,” Nagi said. “Y’know, right before you went out and before the entrance got blocked.”

Reo frowned. Now that he thought about it, he did speak to another soldier before going out. “He did specifically blame the Coalition,” Reo realized. “You think he was with the Voyageurs?”

Nagi nodded. “The guy who tied me up definitely wasn’t USRF. He had a uniform, sure, but the Voyageurs have been known to steal stuff before.”

Reo nodded. “They’ve overtaken a few union ships in their time here,” he said. “It’s possible they have a whole collection of our uniforms and equipment. It’s… a solid theory.” Reo thought it over. It made sense - in all the chaos, it would’ve been easy for someone to sneak into the complex, even right under his nose. “But he called me by name,” Reo realized. “You think he could’ve heard that somewhere before?”

Nagi shrugged. “You’re kind of a major figure on the islands,” he said. “It wouldn’t surprise me. Also…”

Reo glanced back toward Nagi with a frown.

“He seemed very curious about my visit to the Alumni Campus a few weeks ago,” Nagi said. “Any idea what that’s about?”

“Not a clue,” Reo said. “We aren’t exactly close with the Alumni besides just basic trade alliances… I might be able to get in contact with that Coalition Constable though, see if he knows anything?”

“Worth a shot,” Nagi murmured. “Just… remember you’re on a break right now.”

Reo paused. “You think I’m trying to do too much,” he realized.

Nagi hesitated a moment before nodding. “You… you push yourself too hard,” he mumbled. “Like I said, I’ve been thinking a lot. And… I think you’re still too young for this kind of responsibility.”

“What are you saying?”

Nagi sighed. “I’m saying that I think you should step down as acting Commander.”

– – –

Isagi had spent much of the morning pacing in front of the Bargetown motel. Countless people had passed by, greeting him as they did, and eventually giving him strange looks as they noticed him still there when they returned a while later.

It wasn’t like Isagi usually spent his time lurking outside the motel, it was just that at this particular moment in time, he was thinking. Or… planning. Or, perhaps, he was trying to come up with some reasonable excuse as to why he hadn’t just introduced himself properly when Kaiser had mentioned needing to meet with him.

Unfortunately for him, his masterful thinking wouldn’t get him out of this one. There was really no logical explanation he could give for why he’d lied, and thus, he found himself delaying his reunion with Kaiser even longer.

“Hey, Yocchan!” A voice called, and Isagi grinned.

Perfect. Bachira was sure to keep him busy for some time, further delaying his next conversation with the man from the Alumni. The man who was probably upstairs and could very well be watching him from the window. Yeah, that wasn’t exactly reassuring. Isagi tried to ignore his worries as he turned to face Bachira.

“Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”

“Just bored,” Bachira said. “Karasu’s hanging out with Otoya and Shidou isn’t back yet. You up to anything right now?”

“Nope,” Isagi said with as much confidence as he could muster. “Anything you want to do right now?”

Bachira shrugged. “I could go for a slice of pizza right now,” he said. “Hey, we should see if Kurona’s free, too! It’s been a while since I last got to see him.”

“Sure,” Isagi said. “I can go check right now, do you want to grab a table?”

Bachira flashed him a quick thumbs up and headed for the pizza place, quickly disappearing up the steps.

The apparel shop seemed deserted as Isagi made his way through the stacks of clothes. “Kurona?” He called, glancing behind the counter.

“Up!” He heard Kurona say.

Isagi glanced up and realized the staircase leading to Kurona’s apartment was left down. “On my way,” Isagi said, climbing up.

“Isagi!” Kurona grinned when he spotted Isagi arrive. “You’re back, back.”

“That’s right,” he said. “Got back a few days ago, actually. I’ve been meaning to stop by, but…”

“No worries,” Kurona said, finally popping out from behind a stack of boxes. “How are you?”

Isagi shrugged. “Tired,” he said, “but I think that’s a given. What are you doing there?” He gestured to the boxes.

“Winter stock, stock,” Kurona said. “Just sorting through it before it goes on the shelves.”

“I don’t suppose you could leave the clothes for a while and come have pizza with Bachira and I?”

Kurona brightened. “Of course!” He said. “I’ll be right down, down.”

It didn’t take long for Kurona to make his way out of his shop and over to where Isagi was waiting. As they passed the motel, Isagi frowned. “Hey, who took over the motel for Hiori?”

Kurona glanced inside. “I believe it was Igarashi,” he said. “Interesting choice on the government's part, but I guess he hasn’t screwed things over yet.”

“Yeah, well, don’t jinx it,” Isagi muttered. He looked away from the motel and led Kurona up into the pizza place. “What happened when Hiori disappeared, anyway?”

Kurona hummed, taking a moment to think. “I think he took a few days off,” he finally said. “Visited Sunrise City for some reason, but I’m not sure of the details. Karasu might know more, more.”

Isagi sighed. “Right. Well, hopefully Shidou can track him down…”

Kurona nodded but didn’t respond. 

The pair arrived at the table Bachira had claimed and sat down. It wasn’t long before Bachira was back with their food. 

“Pretty sure I got everyone’s orders right,” Bachira said as he set the pizzas down. “What’s got you two all quiet?”

“Just talking about Hiori,” Isagi said. 

Bachira’s smile faded. “I hope he’s alright,” Bachira murmured. “That wasn’t exactly the most reassuring news to come home to.”

“Especially after the trip we had,” Isagi added. “I already have so much to look into and we just got back,”

“Plus you’ve got an angry Alumni soldier to worry about,” Bachira added. “How’s that going for you, by the way?”

“Currently ignoring the problem,” Isagi grumbled. 

Kurona grinned. “Apparently I’ve missed out on a lot,” he said. 

Bachira nodded enthusiastically. “We really need to get together like this more. Don’t worry though, I’ll get you all caught up.”

Without waiting for Kurona to respond, Bachira launched into a (slightly exaggerated) retelling of what had happened since they’d first left Bargetown. Before long, Isagi noticed a few other customers nearby listening in. 

Great, he thought. Now the whole town will know what I need to look into… As if he needed that. No, it was more like the least useful thing that could happen. The only thing Isagi hated more than being pulled from his work was other people butting into it. After all, he was the Constable, not them. 

Kurona glanced over at Isagi with a frown. “Every thing alright, right?” He asked. 

Isagi tried to smile, but it just wasn’t in him. “Fine,” he said. “Just… remembering how much work I have to do, y’know?”

Kurona nodded sympathetically. “I still have so much to unpack,” he responded. “If I don’t get things out soon, people will be pretty unprepared for winter.” He cast a glance at Bachira, who seemed entirely unaware of the conversation they were having as he recounted the tale of how he’d tried to rescue Kunigami. 

Isagi gave Bachira’s shoulder a firm pat, cutting off his friend's story. “Don’t you think some of this is a little… confidential?” Isagi asked. “Maybe we could take this conversation back to Kurona’s place?”

Bachira paused. “I guess so,” he said. “If Kurona doesn’t mind.”

“Not at all, all,” Kurona said, shooting Isagi a grateful smile. “We can head out now.”

The trio stopped by the counter to grab takeout boxes and headed back down out of the pizza place. It didn’t take long to reach Kurona’s shop again, and Isagi was halfway through the door when he heard the scream. Before Bachira or Kurona could even ask what had happened, Isagi had bolted back out into the town square. 

It took him a second to find the cause of the commotion, but finally his gaze landed at the entrance of the motel. 

“Constable!” Someone shouted, and Isagi turned. “Come quick!”

Well, if the scream hadn’t already caught his attention, that sure did. Isagi hurried over to the motel and pushed his way through the crowd, stopping in his tracks when he noticed the body on the ground. 

“ Shit,” he muttered. 

Splayed on the ground in a pool of blood lay Igarashi, eyes and mouth open in a last scream. 

He heard Bachira gasp from behind him - Isagi hadn’t even noticed his friend follow him out. 

“What happened?” Isagi asked the man who had dragged him over. 

“Someone pushed him off the roof,” the man said. “Some guy who was staying here. Apparently he and Igarashi have been fighting since the guy first arrived.”

“Do we know who he is?” Isagi asked. 

Before his question could be answered, he heard the sounds of a fight. From inside the motel came cursing - in a familiar voice, no less - and another voice shouting overtop. 

“Constable!” Called out a soldier as he dragged someone out of the entrance. “Thank goodness you’re here, I just found him!”

“You’re not listening ,” the man snapped as he was dragged out into the light, and it was then that Isagi realized exactly why the voice sounded so familiar. “This is all a misunderstanding, just let me talk to–” He froze, his anger immediately melting into confusion as he laid eyes on– “Yoichi?”

“Michael Kaiser,” Isagi said through gritted teeth. He’d already fished out his handcuffs, and gestured for the soldier to turn the now bewildered Kaiser around. As he cuffed Kaiser’s wrists together, Isagi continued, “you are under arrest for the murder of Gurimu Igarashi.”

Chapter Text

Alumni Campus, Public Building Library

Shockingly enough, Kaiser was not at all pleased when Isagi locked him in the Bargetown jail. In fact, he’d made quite a protest as he’d been dragged away, something Isagi was less than happy to deal with.

“You’re making a mistake,” he snapped as the lock on the cell door had clicked shut.

“If that is the case,” Isagi said, retracting the keys, “then I’ll figure it out. For now, though, the public needs someone to blame, and I don’t see any problem with the theory I’ve been presented with.”

Kaiser’s glare only grew sharper. “You haven’t even investigated yet,” he said. “You shouldn’t be able to arrest someone without proper proof.”

Isagi gave him an exasperated look. “Clearly this is your first time in Bargetown,” he grumbled. “Besides, we have *multiple eyewitness testimonies placing you on the roof *with Igarashi only minutes before he was killed. So unless *you can provide us with more than ‘I didn’t do it’… well, let’s just say things aren’t looking good for you.”

Kaiser’s eyes narrowed. “How so?” He asked. “How long will I be stuck here?”

“If you’re found guilty?” Isagi clarified, meeting Kaiser’s eyes. 

The Alumnus gave him the smallest of nods, never breaking eye contact. 

Isagi paused, studying Kaiser’s gaze. He liked to think he was pretty good at figuring people out, but Kaiser… there was something off about everything he did. As if he saw himself as completely superior to everything and everyone. It was evident enough in the sharpness of his gaze, the way he seemed to look down on Isagi even through the bars.

Now, though, there was something else hiding beneath. Something that seemed so raw, so true that it couldn’t possibly be found in such a man’s eyes. Nothing so sincere could possibly have come from Michael Kaiser. 

Perhaps Isagi was faltering, slipping off his usual intuition.

Something about Kaiser seemed to pull that out of him. Pulled out the messiness, the rougher edges of inexperience Isagi remembered from his first case. It left a feeling of complete and utter helplessness, something he hadn’t struggled with since…

Well, since his first encounter with Oliver Aiku.

Kaiser frowned, and Isagi realized he’d been staring at Kaiser in silence for a while. He tried to ignore the way his face heated up. The man really was bringing out the worst in him - losing himself to his thoughts, becoming so inefficient–

Isagi sighed. Now wasn’t the time for him to dig into his own problems - there were more important things to worry about. Lives, faction relations, and the town’s sense of security were all at stake.

Isagi finally broke the stare, eyes drifting away from Kaiser as he recalled the wording of Bargetown’s Legal Statutes. “If you’re found guilty,” he repeated, taking a deep breath before continuing, “you’re facing execution.”

The first step in any investigation was examining the crime scene. If an investigator slacked off and waited to check out the crime scene, it wouldn’t be long before the evidence was contaminated.

So, while Kaiser was being processed in the legal building, Isagi made his way back outside. The entrance of the Bargetown motel had been roped off, and Igarashi’s body had already been carted off to the hospital for examination, but all the evidence Isagi needed was right in front of him.

Noticing the spooked looks from the townspeople as they spotted the pool of blood, Isagi made a mental note to try and make quick work of his investigation. He wouldn’t slack off by any means, but the faster he finished up, the faster everything could be cleaned, and the worries of Bargetown’s residents would be slightly relieved.

Isagi couldn’t blame them for their fear. While violence in the town was anything but rare, it wasn’t every day someone was found dead in a pool of blood. For an average citizen like Igarashi, even less so.

Of course deaths happened, it was unavoidable. But murder of a Bargetown resident in broad daylight by another faction? Well, that was completely unheard of. Which, of course, made the case a top priority, thus increasing Isagi’s workload as the government pressured him for answers.

Isagi sighed and crossed the rope barrier. The quicker he got his investigation done, the more at ease the townsfolk would be. Plus, the sooner he got through this, the sooner he could get on with questioning the rest of the witnesses. And, of course, the sooner he could speak to Kaiser.

First, though, he had to do a thorough sweep of both the entrance where Igarashi had landed and the rooftop he was pushed from.

Time to get to work, he thought, and began his examination of the entrance. There wasn’t a whole lot to see - besides the pool of blood quickly drying on the wooden floor, almost no evidence of a crime could be seen.

That wasn’t a surprise. Whatever had happened between Igarashi and the culprit had happened on the roof - Isagi was bound to find more evidence there.  

He glanced one last time at the blood before hurrying into the motel, taking the stairs two at a time until he reached the roof. Goosebumps prickled his skin in the cool autumn air, a sure sign of a nasty upcoming winter.

Isagi pulled his coat tighter around him as he took a slow walk about the roof. Sure enough, there was a lot more to be seen than down by the entrance. A cracked table, shards of glass strewn all over the roof - likely remnants of a broken lamp - some small potted plants knocked over, spilling dirt over the smooth wood. 

Isagi took careful steps, making sure to avoid any contact with the dirt. There were a few places where it had been pressed down in the shape of a shoeprint - perhaps he could get something from that.

From his bag, Isagi pulled out a few plastic markers to make sure the area he wanted kept safe would be noticeable to anyone passing by. Luckily, the motel’s roof was still blocked off, but until he could come back, it was worth the extra caution.

Once he finished, Isagi surveyed the area again. Everything he noticed pointed to one thing - a struggle. Which, admittedly, was a bit odd - Igarashi wasn’t exactly known for his strength. In fact, against someone like Kaiser, Isagi would’ve expected that Igarashi wouldn’t have stood a chance.

He jotted a few notes down on his suspicions, and made a mental note to return to check the shoeprint once he was done talking to witnesses. As if brought on by the thought, Isagi’s PDA beeped with a message that his next interviewee was ready. 

Isagi sighed. Well, there was nothing else he could do with what little equipment he had on him. He could worry about the struggle and the potential fight that had happened after. Back to his office it was, then.

Isagi forced thoughts of Michael Kaiser out of his mind once again as he strode toward his office. No matter what the man claimed, the evidence said it all. Every single clue, every suspicion he had only led straight back to Kaiser. At this rate, the only thing he had going for him would be his own testimony.

Of course, Isagi wouldn’t get a chance to hear Kaiser’s statement for a while yet - some of the GLA members had rounded up a few other witnesses from the crime, which apparently took precedence over talking with the accused. (This was a part of the investigation process that Isagi never understood - somehow, everyone else always seemed to have more control over his schedule than he did).

Isagi sighed and pulled open the door of his office. At the time of the murder, there had only been two tenants of the motel - Kaiser, of course, was one, and the other was Otoya. Thus, due to his proximity to the victim and the accused, Otoya was waiting in Isagi’s office for a formal questioning.

As Isagi stepped inside, Otoya shot him a thin smile. “Hey, man,” he said. “How goes the investigation?”

Isagi shrugged. “Slowly,” he said. “I’m not really supposed to share information about an open case.”

“Right,” Otoya said. “So what am I doing here, exactly?”

Isagi took a seat behind his desk and pulled out his notebook. “You were the only other person staying in the motel at the time Igarashi was killed,” he began. “We’ve heard from some of the other witnesses that Kaiser - that’s the man we arrested - hadn’t quite got along with Igarashi. Can you confirm this?”

Otoya shrugged. “I mean, I haven’t been around the motel a whole lot,” he said. “I think it was mostly just complaints about the room quality, nothing serious.” As Isagi was writing that down, Otoya added, “although…”

Isagi looked up. “What is it?”

“Just… when I left the motel this morning, they were arguing again,” Otoya explained. “Like, worse than usual. Normally it was just complaints, a bit of disagreement, some annoyance, right? But this morning they were really going after each other. I didn’t hear what about - I left as quickly as possible at that point - but they were starting to shout, too.”

Isagi frowned. Yet another piece of information painting Kaiser as the perfect suspect. Heck, it was almost making him doubt Kaiser’s guilt - nothing ever fell together this easily, ever.  

He proceeded through the rest of the most standard questions to ask someone - he confirmed Otoya was out of the motel at the time of the crime, checked on how well Otoya had known Igarashi, and the rest of the standard procedure.

It didn’t take long to finish, and just as Isagi was about to set down his pen, he paused. “One last question,” he said.

Otoya raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah?”

“If it had come down to a brawl, how quickly would it have been over?”

“You mean a fight?” Otoya asked. “Within seconds. No way the motel guy was strong enough to fight back against your suspect. I’m surprised you didn’t just assume that.”

A small grin worked its way across Isagi’s face. “I’m an investigator,” he said. “I don’t assume anything without confirming. I just needed all the information before I get him brought up here.” He glanced over his notepad one last time before setting it down. “That should be everything. Thanks, Otoya.”

Otoya smiled in return. “Anytime. Hey, make sure you’re careful talking to him, okay?” Otoya said as he stood up. “I’ve only spoken to him once myself, but… he has a sort of dangerous air to him. Which, considering the charges, isn’t too surprising.”

Isagi gave him a tight smile and followed him out the door. Nearby stood a GLA soldier, so Isagi called him over and instructed him to have Kaiser brought down to his office. Hopefully now he could get some answers, clarify some of the doubts he was harboring… at the very least, he’d finally get to fully hear Kaiser’s side of the story.

Dangerous… Isagi thought. He sighed. That was exactly what the GLA soldiers had said too. To be fair, Kaiser hadn’t exactly made things easy for himself. Not with the way he’d acted the last time Isagi had spoken to him.

A hand curled around the collar of his shirt, blue eyes boring into his. 

“What do you mean , execution?” Kaiser snarled. 

He was frustratingly close now, despite the old metal bars between them. Kaiser’s grip didn’t waver, keeping Isagi pressed right up against the door of the cell - the only thing separating them.

Isagi returned his glare, reaching up to wrench Kaiser’s wrist off (which he managed, albeit with some trouble). “It means exactly what you think it means,” he snapped back. “If the evidence continues to point to you as the culprit, that’s the punishment you’re facing."

Kaiser’s mouth twisted as he spat, “you’re pretty fucked up, Yoichi.” His voice was laced with venom as Isagi’s name came out of his mouth. “Putting someone to death for a crime they didn’t commit? And here I thought you were supposed to be the good guy.”

Isagi grimaced. He knew, of course, that Bargetown’s government had its share of… problems. What he hadn’t expected was to be blamed for simply following the laws said government had created.

If Kaiser noticed Isagi’s discomfort, he didn’t comment on it. “I thought I was sent here to meet with you because you were someone the Alumni could trust,” he continued. 

“If you wanted me to play nice,” Isagi argued, “maybe you should’ve thought twice before you murdered someone!” A clang sounded, and Isagi jolted back from the cell door. Kaiser’s hand remained clenched in a fist where he’d slammed it against the bars.

“God dammit, Yoichi, I didn’t kill him!” Kaiser shouted. 

Isagi swallowed thickly, his mouth feeling drier by the second. Kaiser looked… different like this. Desperate. His chest was heaving, breaths rapid and eyes wide as he stared at Isagi.

It was possibly the most sincere he’d ever seemed since Isagi had first met him. The thought shook Isagi, perhaps more than he’d care to admit. 

Before he could respond, a few GLA members came rushing up from the first floor, drawn by the commotion. As Isagi was ushered away, he cast one last glance into the cell. Kaiser was still watching him.

Damn, Isagi thought. Now you’ve really got a lot of work.

The door to Isagi’s office creaked open only a few minutes after he’d sent the soldier to fetch Kaiser, and in walked the man Isagi had spent much of the day thinking about. Once Kaiser was seated across from Isagi - hands still cuffed - Isagi dismissed the soldier to stand guard outside.

“Good to see you’ve calmed down,” Isagi remarked when Kaiser didn’t speak. 

Kaiser rolled his eyes. “Thought you’d already made your mind up about me,” he said, leaning back in his seat. 

Isagi simply shrugged in response. “I’m an investigator,” he said. “No matter what, I will follow the evidence.”

Kaiser’s avoidance of their earlier interaction did not go unnoticed by Isagi. It was possible, Isagi supposed, that Kaiser at least felt some embarrassment, some shame for his immature actions (though previous interactions made him doubtful).

Well, in the end, it didn’t matter too much. Isagi made a mental note, and proceeded on to the questioning. He’d already crafted up a list of questions in between the repetitive process of questioning all the witnesses. Not the best investigation etiquette, he knew, but he couldn’t help it.

It was the first time in quite a long time that an investigation had piqued his interest so much. Or rather, the first time a suspect had.

Isagi could feel Kaiser watching him as he skimmed his notes. He had enough experience with people to know exactly how long the man’s gaze lingered– on Isagi’s fingers, slowly flipping through pages, and on his face, downturned to avoid meeting Kaiser’s eyes.

Perhaps a part of him was worried Kaiser would be able to read him too - that he would be able to see just how curious about his story Isagi really was, how impatient he’d been to get to this interview.

After a few long minutes of silence, Isagi finally looked up. He kept his gaze level, studying Kaiser’s expression. 

The Alumnus leaned back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest as though unbothered by the whole affair. He didn’t hesitate to meet Isagi’s gaze, eyes narrowed. Yet, Isagi could see cracks in the facade. The way Kaiser’s hands were clenched a little too tightly, or how tense and stiff he appeared. 

He’s nervous, Isagi realized. Though, if Kaiser really was as innocent as he claimed, he shouldn’t have any reason to be nervous. Isagi had to force himself not to frown. If something else was wrong, he’d figure it out through his investigation.

“So,” Isagi began. “I suppose we can start simple. At the time of the murder, where were you?”

Kaiser let out an annoyed sigh. “I was up on the rooftops,” he said through gritted teeth. “My discussion with the motel guy wasn’t getting anywhere, so I was taking a walk to clear my mind.”

Isagi nodded, taking a few quick notes as Kaiser spoke. “And where were you when the soldier brought you down to me?”

“I don’t know,” Kaiser said, each word coming out harsher than the last. “I don’t exactly have the layout of the town memorized, believe it or not.”

He has a point… Isagi thought. Obviously, Kaiser hadn’t grown up in Bargetown like Isagi had, and even though the Alumni and Coalition were allies, it wasn’t often that the Alumni sent over visitors. Especially not a Valedictorian. 

“Fair enough,” Isagi said, trying to hold back a sigh. “Now, the victim. You two had your share of disagreements. Care to clarify what about?”

Kaiser shifted in his seat. “Does it matter?”

“A man is dead , Kaiser,” Isagi said, voice flat. “Every little detail matters until we know exactly what happened.”

Kaiser let out an obviously frustrated sigh. “Just– petty disputes. It wasn’t anything serious. Complaints, mostly, seeing as I don’t think he was qualified to run the motel, but obviously, that wasn’t exactly my decision.”

“Did these disputes ever get physical?”

“What?” Kaiser’s eyes widened. “No, of course not! I just said it wasn’t anything serious. Besides, he was tiny. I’m pretty sure if I ever did push him around, you’d be able to tell.”

Isagi paused. Right. “He wouldn’t have been able to put up much of a struggle?”

“Not at all,” Kaiser said. 

Isagi skimmed his list of questions. There were more on there, and even more whirling around his mind that he was desperate to ask, but there wasn’t time. He still had work to do, a lot of it at that, and if he was going to make any progress today…

He sighed and closed the notepad. “The guard will take you back to the cell,” Isagi said, gesturing to the door. “I don’t have anything else to ask right now.”

Kaiser frowned. “Really? There was a lot of empty space on your notepad there.”

“I’ve had other interviews,” Isagi said. “If I need you again, someone will let you know.” He strode to the door and called for the guard. It didn’t take long for Kaiser to get escorted back down to the cells.

Isagi tucked his notepad away in his bag. With any luck, he’d have settled his doubts by the end of the night, and could spend the next morning focusing on piecing the clues together. The case would be all wrapped up by the end of tomorrow. 

For the time being, however, there was still work ahead of him. Questions, doubts, and even bigger problems. He’d get to the case that night. Now, though, it was about time he went down for a drink.

– – –

The air at the Campus was abuzz with whispers of a strange guest by the time Rin finished his daily patrol. Visitors weren’t uncommon, and the market had been getting busier recently, so it shouldn’t have had such an impact.

Yet, something about this visitor had everyone on edge, and Rin was determined to find out what (at the very least, it would give him a break from his usual monotonous schedule). 

He’d planned on eavesdropping for information (if he had to, he would’ve asked people himself), but his plan was interrupted before he learned anything of use. Everyone he had managed to listen in on knew about as much as Rin did.

“I don’t suppose this is very important,” a voice said from right next to him, and Rin jolted. Standing next to him was the renowned young Prothesium, Niko. Though they’d met before, perhaps speaking on occasion, it was the first time Rin had ever really had a conversation with him.

He sighed, taking a few steps back. “No, not really,” he muttered.

“Good,” Niko said. “Loki wants you in the public building. We’re having some kind of meeting in the library, so please hurry.” He glanced at the group Rin had been listening in on. “I don’t think eavesdropping is a very productive way to spend your time,” he added. “You could just ask Loki about the guest.”

Rin flushed and turned away. Was I really that obvious? Pathetic. He did his best to ignore the second half of Niko’s statement. “I’ll be there soon,” he said. 

Niko nodded and headed off in the direction of the building without another comment.

A laugh from the group nearby caught Rin’s attention. He glanced back at them once more, itching to know if they’d said anything important. Instead of listening any longer, he turned away and began the trek toward the public building.

If Loki had the answers, there was no sense in playing the investigating game any longer.

The meeting, as Niko had referred to it, wasn’t what Rin had expected. He’d expected high-ranking Valedictorians, something official. What he got instead was a small cluster of people he already knew, hiding out in the back corner of the library.

Niko and Loki were there, of course, alongside Sae (which Rin shouldn’t have been surprised about at this point - it seemed his brother was there, almost everywhere he went). Leaning against the wall behind them was Ness, who looked about as happy as the day he’d returned to the Campus.

And sitting at the table they were all crowded around was who Rin could only assume was the mysterious guest he’d heard so much about. 

Finally.

Loki glanced back and waved Rin over. “Glad you could make it,” he called as Rin approached. “We’ve got a lot to discuss.”

“Finally,” Ness muttered. “Are you going to tell us why we’re here now?”

Loki cast a weary glance at him and sighed. “Soon,” he said. “There are a few things that require our attention, but I need your assurance that what we discuss here will remain a secret between the six of us. Is that clear?”

A varying murmur of ‘yes’ and ‘sure’ accompanied a few nods as the group stated their agreement.

“Alright. Most of you here have at least some awareness of the project we had in Sunrise City recently,” Loki began. 

That garnered a frown from the stranger. Instead of questioning what the project was, however, he simply sat back, seeming to tuck his questions away for later.

Interesting. He didn’t seem to be the observant type, as far as Rin could see. Then again, it wasn’t like they’d ever met before - the man was an unknown variable of sorts. Whether he’d come to the Campus of his own volition or if he’d arrived on Loki’s orders, there was something about the timing of his arrival that didn’t quite add up in Rin’s mind.

“It involved a very important piece of tech,” Loki explained. “Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I had it sent off with Kaiser on his way to Bargetown. I had hoped he’d be able to meet with the Constable there and make sure the Coalition was aware of what was going on.”

“Hoped?” Ness interrupted. “Did something happen?”

Loki sighed. “I… was going to get to that later,” he said, “but yes. It seems Kaiser has been arrested.”

“What?” Ness looked horrified. “Arrested? For what?”

“I’m not certain,” Loki said. “I haven’t had much time to go through the Coalition's message. But with this development, I need to send in a team to check on the situation and manage any diplomatic talks necessary.”

Rin frowned. “I’m guessing that’s where we come in.”

Loki glanced at him and gave a short nod. “Right. I’m sending four of you in to help resolve whatever might have happened to warrant Kaiser’s arrest. Ness, since you know Kaiser the best, I’ll have you lead this team.”

“Good,” Ness muttered. 

Loki gave him a tight smile and continued, “As for the others, I would like the Itoshi brothers to act as guards for the group. Make sure everyone makes it to and from Bargetown safely, and Sae,”

Sae glanced up, meeting Loki’s gaze.

“Your job will include a bit of clean up once again.”

Sae nodded. “Got it,” he said.

“As for the final member,” Loki said, turning away to face the table. “I would like Kiyora to join you, if he’s willing.”

The stranger - Kiyora - blinked a few times, looking surprised. “Why?” He asked.

“Extra protection, mainly,” Loki explained. “You’re the strongest here when it comes to close-quarter combat, and your past experiences in Alumni affairs will be of great use when it comes time for diplomatic talks.” Loki paused for a moment, studying Kiyora. “I won’t force you to go, of course. I understand that this isn’t why you returned. The decision is yours to make.”

Kiyora shifted, looking uncomfortable. “It’s fine,” he muttered. “If you really want me there, I’ll go.”

Loki smiled. “Perfect. Both Niko and I will keep consistent communication with you all while you’re away. The project involved is very… well, sensitive. If anything were to happen to this information…”

“We understand,” Ness said. “We’ll make sure we get both Kaiser and the tech back safely.”

Loki gave him an approving nod. “One more thing,” he said.

“Yes?” Ness responded. He looked tired, like it was taking everything in him not to get out of there as soon as possible.

Which, all things considered, seemed very likely. With what had happened in Sunrise the last time they’d all worked as a team, Rin couldn’t imagine Ness would be very thrilled at the prospect of working together.

Actually, if Rin thought about it, there really wasn’t a group he’d want to travel with less than this. It seemed the mission was off to a poor start before it really began. He let out a small sigh and glanced back at Loki.

“Under no circumstances should you jeopardize our alliance with the Coalition,” Loki said. “I don’t care if you’re upset they arrested Kaiser, this is our strongest ally on the isles. If anything in your diplomatic talks becomes too much for the four of you to handle, I will join you via call. Do not try to fix things yourself. This is far too complicated an issue for that. Understood?”

Ness nodded, muttering his agreement, and the rest of the group was quick to follow. 

Loki sighed. “All right. I won’t take out any more of your time today - I want you to be leaving by noon tomorrow. Get packed and get some rest. You’ve got a trek tomorrow.”

Rin frowned as the group dispersed. Before his logic could tell him not to, he followed Loki through the shelves. He had almost reached Loki when a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Don’t,” Sae muttered, pulling Rin back.

Rin scowled. “What is it?” He asked.

“I know you’re curious about Kiyora,” Sae said plainly, “but you shouldn’t be bothering Loki with an issue like that.”

“And why is that?” Rin asked.

Sae glanced around before speaking. “It’s complicated. There’s a history there that doesn’t need to be remembered. At least, not right now. If you’re that desperate… I suppose I could share what I know, but this has to stay outside of Loki’s knowledge, okay?”

Rin’s frown deepened. “I still don’t understand.”

“You don’t need to,” Sae muttered. “Just… this is a more personal topic for both of them. I don’t think you should be dragging out a past that neither of them is interested in sharing.” He glanced around once more before backing away, leaving Rin with one last sentence. “Trust me.”

Rin slumped against the nearest shelf. His chance to learn anything new about the visitor had been effectively thwarted. He could only hope he’d get his answers later. For now, though, he had other problems.

Namely, a surprise trip he hadn’t wanted.

Well, then, Rin thought. Better get to packing.

Chapter Text

The Quarry, Temporary Voyageur Camp

“You’re joking,” Karasu deadpanned, starting at Otoya. “For the love of god, please tell me you aren’t being serious right now.”

Otoya offered him a shrug. “Look, I don’t know what you want me to say,” he said. “The motel is a literal crime scene right now, so they kicked me out.”

Karasu responded by fixing him with a silent stare as he heaved up the crate full of ingredients. 

Otoya groaned. “It’s only a few nights! Just until Isagi closes this case, and then I swear I’ll be out of here.”

“I am not lettin’ ya stay with me!” Karasu snapped. “I barely have enough space for me . How do you even expect me to make room for anyone else? Besides,” he muttered, “yer probably an awful roommate.”

“Oh come on, ” he said with an overly dramatic eye roll. “Who else am I supposed to stay with?”

Karasu sighed. “I don’t know,” he said. “Bachira? You two are friends, aren’t ya?”

“But I like you better.”

Karasu felt his face heat up and he turned away. “Look, I really don’t have room,” he said. “My place is tiny, we’d barely be able to fit another person, and it wouldn’t be comfortable.”

“Don’t care.”

“Plus,” Karasu continued, “it’s right above the bar. It’ll be loud and bright and busy for most of the night.”

“I’m fine with that.”

“And I’ll probably wake ya up super early and make ya do chores,” he said.

“Okay.”

Karasu groaned. “Will ya stop agreeing with everything I say? Just– I dunno, find anywhere else. Why do ya wanna stay with me so badly?”

Otoya raised an eyebrow. “I think I already answered that,” he said. “C’mon Karasu, please?”

He had to resist the urge not to groan again, but finally Karasu said, “It better only be a few nights. I can’t let ya stay forever.”

Otoya smirked. “Even if I helped with rent?”

“Just drop it.” Karasu scowled. “If ya want any say in where you’re sleeping, you should head up and set up your area right now. Extra bedding should be in the closet.”

“Perfect,” Otoya said, grinning wider. “Thanks, man!”

Karasu sighed as he watched Otoya bound up the steps to the apartment. Somehow, in the span of only a few days, Otoya had flipped his world upside down. His usual monotonous schedule was interrupted by showing the man around town, eating out with him at the popular restaurants, and staying up far too late on the roof of his home, crisp wind rushing by as he and Otoya talked.  Perhaps the strangest part of having a new roommate was that his newfound schedule would largely remain the same.

Karasu dropped the crate on the counter with a grunt and began restocking the kitchen's ingredients. As he did, he ran through a list of factors - weekend, recent arrest, and the rapid onset of winter… He sighed. It was going to be busier than usual.

His eyes trailed toward the staircase, and he found himself frowning. Busier than usual, plus his newfound roommate. He sighed, dragging the now empty crate over to the corner of the room. Tonight was going to be full of extra work, that was for sure.

The time sped by as Karasu busied himself with preparations. He made sure all the dishes were clean, double-checked his food stock, prepared bottles for pouring, and all the while, Otoya hung around - not in the way, not bothering him at all. Just… there.

Karasu couldn’t tell anymore if he found the man’s presence annoying or comforting.

Late in the afternoon, Karasu finally gave in and enlisted him to help, sending Otoya off to the pantry with a list of last minute ingredients to stock up on - just in case. By the time five p.m. hit and Karasu flicked on the ‘open’ sign of the bar, he was more than confident in his preparedness for the oncoming crowd.

His regulars were the first ones in, a crowd no bigger than usual. Karasu got to work serving up drinks, keeping an eye on the door as more and more people began to trickle in. Just like I thought.

Before long, he had Otoya taking orders and delivering food to keep up with the rush of customers flowing in. He barely got a minute of rest before Otoya handed him a slip with the next order, and it was back to pouring a glass of whiskey, grilling a plate of chicken skewers, or whatever was next.

It was well past ten by the time the crowd finally began to thin. Karasu scanned the crowd and finally dismissed Otoya to head up for the night, ready to finish the last hours of the night alone.

Otoya went without much of a fuss - too tired to argue, Karasu imagined.

He got back to work delivering drinks when Isagi slid into a seat at the bar.

Karasu glanced at him. “I hope you’re not thinkin’ of having a conversation tonight,” he muttered. “I haven’t got the energy to deal with that.”

Isagi shook his head. “No,” he muttered, “I’m just here to drink.”

Karasu placed his hands on his hips, looking his friend up and down. “That, I can help with,” he said. “Somethin’ strong?” He asked, noticing the exhaustion lacing Isagi’s features.

Isagi gave him a short nod, and Karasu pulled out a glass and a bottle. “Knock yourself out,” he muttered. He got back to work attending to everyone else at the bar, stopping by the other tables to clear dishes.

By the time he looped back to the bar, Isagi was already multiple glasses into the bottle, looking worse and worse by the second.

Despite his earlier statement and his own exhaustion, Karasu let out a sigh and pulled the bottle away from Isagi. “Okay, fess up. What’s wrong?”

Isagi blearily glanced up at him. “I’m so done with this case,” he grumbled. “None of it makes any sense.”

Karasu raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought ya’d already apprehended the suspect.”

“Exactly.”

Karasu stared. “Okay…” he said, dragging out the end of the word. “So… what’s the problem with him? He have an alibi or something?”

“No.”

“Right,” Karasu muttered, pursing his lips for a moment. “I don’t get it. You already have a suspect with no alibi, who you’ve already arrested .”

Isagi groaned. “I just… call it instincts but it doesn’t seem right.” He chewed at his lip, staring off into the distance for a moment. 

No– not the distance, Karasu realized as he followed Isagi’s gaze. He was staring off at the second floor of the law building. Exactly where the jail cells were located.

“It’s just too perfect,” Isagi mumbled. “Everything fits too well. It feels like a setup, but I don’t have any other leads. I just… I… I don’t know what to do.”

Well. That’s a surprise. Karasu swallowed, giving Isagi a hesitant pat on the back. “You’ve done this for years, Isagi. You’ve caught more criminals since you were appointed than the entire law enforcement branch had before you. I trust your instincts. You should, too. It’s what’s got ya the truth in every case so far, hasn’t it?”

Isagi nodded slowly, and for a moment, Karasu thought it had gone right over his head. But the corner of Isagi’s mouth was turned up ever so slightly, just enough to let Karasu know he was getting through.

Karasu chuckled and gave him one more pat on the back. “Get to bed, Isagi. The town needs yer brain up and ready to solve this case.”

Isagi followed his advice, paying off the drinks and stumbling out over to the law building without another word. Slowly but surely, the rest of the customers followed suit as closing time drew near. By the time Karasu finally switched off the ‘open’ sign and closed the bar doors, his legs felt almost too heavy to move.

He stopped to rest against the wall, leaning back and closing his eyes for only a brief moment… he had to catch himself and force his eyes open as he began dozing off.

Just make it upstairs.

He flicked off the lights in the bar and made his way up the steps, stumbling around in the darkness as he made it to the second floor. Bed. Where’s the bed again? 

He took each step carefully, hyper aware of how his room was always laid out. His hand brushed against his desk. Almost there.

Of course, in his exhaustion, he was forgetting one thing. 

Karasu’s foot came in contact with something he didn’t recognize, something about his room that he hadn’t committed to memory, and he stumbled, tripping over… the edge of a mattress?

Shit.

Otoya grunted and jolted awake as Karasu landed on top of him.

“What the hell, man?” Otoya grumbled, attempting to push Karasu off.

Shit. “Sorry,” Karasu muttered, winded from the fall. “Forgot you were here.”

Otoya groaned. “You didn’t think to turn a light on?”

“Shut up,” Karasu said, grateful that Otoya couldn’t see him flush in the darkness. “I don’t usually need one,” he mumbled. “ Usually , I know how my room is laid out.” He pushed himself up and crawled past Otoya. “Ya better not be staying long, I might trip and actually die if this continues.”

Otoya snorted. “Hopefully you won’t be taking me with you, then.” He paused for a moment, his slow, even breaths the only thing Karasu could hear. “Go to sleep, Karasu,” he finally murmured. “I know you’re still down here. Haven’t you been awake long enough?”

Karasu grunted in response, a small agreement as he clambered up onto his bed. As he laid down, it struck him once more how different things were with Otoya around. How clumsy it seemed he was becoming, how clueless he felt around Otoya.

Perhaps worst of all, the fact that despite his words, he was beginning to hope Otoya would have to stay longer than a few days. The fact that he was enjoying the man’s presence, their conversations, teasing, bickering.

The fact that when he’d landed on top of him, chest to chest, his heart had begun to beat twice as fast.

Karasu rolled toward his window, away from Otoya as he felt his heart speed up once again.

Shit.

– – – 

A sharp wind blew through the Quarry, stinging Sendo’s cheeks with cold as he huddled around a fire. It was only a temporary camp the Voyageurs had set up, with almost no actual buildings in sight. Shelter from the wind was few and far between, so many had taken to building fires near their tents for at least some relief from the cold.

“If this is what fall is like out here, I am not lookin’ forward to winter,” a voice said from somewhere behind Sendo.

He glanced around to see one of his fellow Voyageurs approaching the fire. “Agreed,” Sendo muttered. “Last camp we had was in Sunrise City, so we at least had some shelter… don’t know why we came out here.”

“Southpoint State has been travelling further north,” the man said. “I heard from some of my sources that they’ve been running rampant in Sunrise City for the past week or so. Good chunk of the residents have left.”

Sendo nodded approvingly. “Those are some solid contacts you got,” he said. “Though I guess that’s a benefit of having you live with other factions.”

The inside man smiled. “I certainly take what I can get.”

“And you’ve done a good job of it, too,” A voice said - one that could only belong to Oliver Aiku - a voice Sendo could recognize in a heartbeat. 

The inside man frowned. “Somethin’ tells me there’s more to that than just a compliment.”

Aiku smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Good instincts, too,” he said, pulling a cigarette out of his jacket pocket. His gaze slowly flicked back up to the inside man as he lit it. “We need you to head back to your post. If we’re not careful, the factions will start figuring out the Captain’s plan. Step in wherever you see necessary to make sure they stay ignorant. Got it?”

The man nodded, a small smile playing across his lips. “Not my first rodeo, Commander,” he said. “I’ve been workin’ as yer contact for years now. This’ll just be more of the same.”

Aiku nodded. “In some ways,” he said. “But this is more serious than sneaking the Voyageurs into town. We need to get the weapon from the Alumni no matter the cost. Without alerting the Coalition of what’s going on. Understand?”

The man responded with a quick nod, mirroring Aiku’s.

“Good,” Aiku said. “Get packing, then. You’ll leave in the morning.”

With a sigh, the man loped off into his tent, a heavy silence settling once he was gone. Aiku didn’t move from where he stood, lurking just in the shadows where Sendo couldn’t quite see his expression. He blew a long breath out, the smoke dispersing in the sharp autumn wind.

The quiet felt almost nice. Comforting, even. In all the chaos - from the Voyageurs relocating to the Quarry, to the constant adjustments made to their plans - downtime like this had become a scarcity. The near-silence save for the crackle of the fire, time spent without a gun in hand, not worrying about a surprise attack… it was the brief moments of peace like this that Sendo missed while he was on the job.

“The boss needs us to prepare for another battle,” Aiku said, breaking Sendo out of the trance he’d fallen into. “Hopefully our inside man can meddle with the Coalition’s current affairs some, but you know how these things are.”

“Complicated?” Sendo murmured, still watching the flames dancing before him.

Aiku nodded. “We have to prepare for the possibility that things will go south. I’ll need you to keep an eye out for the Alumni. If they even step foot on the North Island, you let me know. Make sure there’s no reason for them to confide in any of the Coalition’s members. Especially the Constable.”

Sendo frowned. “The Alumni have an alliance with them already,” he said. “What’s to stop them from spilling everything the second they can?”

“Because,” Aiku said, “this weapon is the kind of thing that could completely destroy the isles as we know it. The Alumni and Coalition would have very different stances on how it should be dealt with. The only thing they’ll agree on is keeping it out of our hands. So…”

“We can’t let them find out it’s what we’re after,” Sendo muttered. “Got it.”

Aiku was staring at him now, he could feel it. “Well, don’t you sound enthusiastic,” he replied, sarcasm dripping from his words. “You’ve barely spoken to me all week, Sendo. What the hell is going on with you?”

He didn’t answer. Aiku didn’t press him. Instead, the both stared into the flames, barely acknowledging that the other was there as the seconds dragged on.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Sendo broke the silence, looking up at his companion. “Don’t you think there’s something else going on here?” He asked, soft enough that the nearby groups wouldn’t hear. “Something suspicious, I mean.”

Aiku glanced down, meeting Sendo’s eyes for only a brief moment. A calculating look, one Sendo had experience with. The kind he could never quite read.

Smoke trailed from the end of the cigarette as Aiku lowered it. “There’s always something suspicious going on,” he murmured, voice sending shivers down Sendo’s spine. “Don’t tell me you’ve lost your appetite for the job?”

Sendo rolled his eyes, turning back toward the fire - doing his best not to let it show how true of a statement it was. “I just mean there’s more going on than what we’re being told,” he said. “If not, why all the secrecy? Why the men on the inside, the deals with the Coalition?” His doubts were rising faster now. “And why haven’t we heard anything from the Captain himself?”

Aiku’s head snapped toward him, a warning written on his face. “You know why,” he snapped, voice bordering on loud enough that a few other Voyageurs glanced in their direction. Aiku winced, noticing the curious glances too, and finally took a seat next to Sendo, his knee brushing Sendo’s thigh. “We have to have trust in the Captain. Regardless of whatever… personal feelings we might have.”

Sendo winced. He hadn’t realized how easy he was to see through. “I just miss the way things were,” he said, locking onto Aiku’s gaze. “Don’t you?”

Another beat of silence elapsed before Aiku finally broke off the stare, turning back to the fire. His gaze was distant for a moment, and Sendo didn’t miss the slight twitch of Aiku’s eye before he finally spoke. “Are you suggesting–”

“ No, ” Sendo hissed before Aiku could finish his sentence. He dropped his voice softer to avoid attention as he said, “I just think that perhaps things have changed. That the Captain has changed and we’re all getting pulled along for the ride.”

“And I think that you need to watch your words,” Aiku said, voice cold. “We can’t have any unloyal soldiers now, can we?”

The blood drained from Sendo’s face, but he gritted his teeth. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “I’ve been around a lot longer than most of our soldiers. I think I have a right to know what’s going on. Don’t you, Oliver? ”

He felt Aiku tense next to him, saw the way Aiku’s jaw clenched. “I’m a commander now, Sendo,” he hissed. “My position is reliant on my loyalty to the Captain.”

“And you have to stand by him no matter what… ” Sendo scowled. “Don’t you dare try to pull that act with me. I know you better than that. Regardless of how you might like to act, I know you have doubts, too.”

Aiku met his eyes briefly, and Sendo saw a flash of something raw in his eyes - something other than the usual confidence he liked to portray. Something softer, more… real. Aiku sighed. “We have to follow through,” he muttered. “Keep an eye out for the Alumni, like I said. We’ll deal with whatever comes of it, battle or not.”

“And then?” Sendo whispered, looking Aiku dead in the eyes.

Aiku’s hand brushed his, the briefest moment of contact before he turned away. His voice was barely audible as he spoke. “We leave. Hide away in the city until it all blows over.” He cast one last glance at Sendo as he stood up. “We’ll run away just like you wanted three months ago.”

Chapter Text

Bargetown Jail

When Isagi returned to the Bargetown prison in the morning, the cells were empty. 

On almost any other day, this would be completely normal - after all, Bargetown rarely had prisoners, and most of those who were arrested became Marked Men not long after.

Of course, things got more complicated when the prisoner was that of another faction. No action could officially be taken until a representative from that faction was there to act as a defense lawyer on the prisoner’s behalf. 

So, besides one brief interview with Isagi, Michael Kaiser had remained locked up in the Bargetown prison since his initial arrest. Meaning that when Isagi came to work that morning, he should’ve been faced with an overconfident smirk and piercing blue eyes.

The only problem? His cell was empty.

Door left slightly ajar, and not a single trace of Kaiser in sight. (This was, of course, the reason Isagi had been called in so early - any other day he would’ve gotten at least a few more hours of sleep… not to mention, he likely wouldn’t have been nursing a hangover.)

He had vague recollections of waking to his PDA beeping, headache throbbing as he listened to the panicked voices of GLA members trying to explain what had happened. One quick nap on a shift and Kaiser had disappeared.

Isagi scowled. People didn’t just disappear. Evidence couldn’t be erased. So there he was, back on the job far too early in the morning, trying to figure out exactly how Kaiser had escaped and where he’d run off to.

“Sir!” A soldier yelped as Isagi snapped on a pair of rubber gloves. “We’ve deployed soldiers to watch the town border as per your instructions. Most of our personnel are focused around the main gate since the lake hasn’t frozen over yet. Is there anything else we can do? Hang up wanted posters, perhaps?”

Isagi thought for a moment. “No. The citizens are already in a panic because of Igarashi’s death,” he said. “I can’t imagine what they’d do if they found out the prime suspect has gotten loose. Keep it under wraps for now, but station a few undercover soldiers around town to keep an eye on things.”

“Yes, sir!” The soldier said, bounding away to relay Isagi’s instructions.

Isagi sighed. Now that that’s dealt with, he thought, it’s time to get to work. He surveyed the scene, gaze sweeping across the limited space – door: open, lock: busted, damage– he paused. “Oh,” he murmured.

“Already got something?” A member of the evidence crew asked from her station by the stairs.

Instead of answering, Isagi turned to her with a frown. “Do we happen to have a list of what was in this cell before he got out? No ‘ifs’ or ‘maybes’, I need an exact list.”

The woman looked taken aback. “Um, I can check,” she stammered, “but we confiscated all his personal effects when he was first arrested. There shouldn’t have been anything else in there.”

Isagi nodded slowly. “I see,” he murmured. “Bring me his personal effects too, as well as a list of everything we confiscated upon his arrest.” He watched her leave and sighed, muttering under his breath, “well, this’ll complicate things.”

He let himself take another slow sweep of the room while he waited, checking each and every possible exit. His head was still pounding, flashing with memories and regrets from the night before - blurry and hazy of course, the lingering sense of intoxication clouding the details.

He remembered drinking, of course - that was what had got him there. He remembered talking with Karasu - in fact, the man’s words had been echoing in his head since he’d left the bar.

‘I trust your instincts. You should, too. It’s what’s got ya the truth in every case so far, hasn’t it?’

Trust my instincts, he vaguely recalled thinking as he stumbled up the steps to the legal building. What happens when those instincts conflict with my duty to my job? He paused, halfway up the steps. His mind was a mess of questions, facts, evidence, and the infuriating sound of a criminal's voice.

‘Goddammit, Yoichi, I didn’t kill him!’

He must have been out of his mind. Or maybe he was just drunk. His hands were shaking, fiddling with the tools clipped to his belt. The world was swaying, too, twisting enough to make him feel nauseous. Or was it just the reality of what he was about to do? 

Fuck. He was definitely losing it now.

The woman from the evidence crew rushed back up the stairs, snapping Isagi out of his trance with a jolt. He was sweating, head pounding, but he still had a job to do, cases to solve. He wiped his forehead and took a few deep breaths before heading to meet her.

“Here it is, Constable,” she said once she spotted him. She sounded a bit out of breath, as though she’d sprinted to complete the job.

Well, Isagi thought, that’s not a bad thing with a situation as sensitive as this.

She held out the box for him to see. “Everything we’ve confiscated from the prisoner should be in here. The list we compiled is right on the top.”

Isagi nodded, taking the bin and setting it on a nearby table. “Thanks,” he muttered as he began to rifle through the items inside. He carefully combed through the bin, checking each item against the list provided. 

“ Shit, ” he grumbled, checking the list again. “Dammit, of course .”

One of the nearby guards glanced over. “Something wrong, Constable?” She asked.

“Kaiser’s gun is missing,” Isagi said. “Whatever kind of breach we had last night is more serious than we thought.” He frowned, thinking aloud. “He must’ve had an accomplice of some kind… but how did he get in contact with them?”

The woman from evidence frowned. “How did he know where our evidence was stored? Do we have an internal breach?”

“More importantly, we don’t know what he could be planning,” the guard said. “He obviously wasn’t happy with his arrest, he almost attacked you, Constable! Do you think he’s still here, waiting for revenge?”

“There’s not much we can be certain of at this point,” Isagi said. “Just that he’s still in town. You heard the other guards - we have plenty of eyes on the main gate. Since we can’t rule out a revenge attack, we need to stay on guard.”

The guard nodded. “Regardless of what his plans are, he’s probably found somewhere to hunker down for now,” she said. “Do you think anyone in town would hide him from us?”

Isagi sighed. “It’s certainly possible,” he said. “He had to have an accomplice, so it’s likely there was a place ready for him. Right now we need to try and locate him without causing panic in town. That means relying on the few undercover soldiers we’ve sent out. I need you two to do a thorough sweep of his cell and area - make sure we haven’t missed anything.”

“Where are you going?” The evidence officer asked with a frown.

“Home,” Isagi said, staring at her blankly. “We don’t have enough information to work with about the breach yet, so I’m going to try and take care of some of my other unfinished work. Shoot me a message if you need me.”

The officer nodded, seemingly satisfied with his reason, and got to work, beckoning the soldier over to join her.

Isagi sighed, turning to head up the stairs. As one of (if not the ) highest ranking officers in Bargetown’s legal building, he had a place provided for him on the fourth floor of the legal building. 

His head was still pounding, and he had a hell of a lot bigger issues to deal with than the current panic two floors down. Isagi hesitated in front of his door, knowing his headache was only about to increase.

With another heavy sigh, he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

“Trouble at the jail?” 

Isagi scowled. “Get off my bed, Kaiser,” he snapped, meeting the man's sharp gaze. “I’ve got a lot more problems to deal with now, thanks to you.”

Kaiser raised an eyebrow at him. “I didn’t ask you to break me out, Yoichi,” he said, a smirk playing across his lips. “You did that all on your own.”

“I am surrounded by reasons why I should quit drinking,” Isagi muttered, rolling his eyes. “I seriously need to stop jeopardizing my career for hunches like this.”

Kaiser’s grin never wavered. “All I’m hearing is that you believe me,” he responded. “That alone is music to my ears.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Isagi said flatly. “My hunches mean nothing unless we can find solid evidence of your innocence. Which means until I find that, you cannot, under any circumstance, leave my place.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kaiser grumbled. “I figured as much. You gonna be bringing back food for me, then? Won’t that look suspicious too?”

Isagi frowned. “I don’t think anyone in town is worried about how much I eat,” he said. “The biggest problem is going to be making sure no one tries to visit. The GLA soldiers are mostly too scared to come visit me, but some of my friends are known for coming over unannounced…”

“What are you going to do if that happens?”

Isagi shrugged. “Convince them to go out somewhere, I guess,” he said. “That or I’ll shove you in my closet and hope you can stay quiet,” he added with a snicker.

Kaiser scowled at him. “Yeah, not so sure about that one,” he muttered.

“Worst case scenario,” Isagi said, “that’s all. It’s not like I want you contaminating all my clothes, either. We’re just gonna have to roll with the punches, though.”

Kaiser sighed. “You sound like you harbor wanted criminals all the time,” he said. “You are far too prepared for this, Yoichi. Bet you faked your way through that investigation with ease.”

“I didn’t lie to them,” Isagi responded. “I just didn’t give them all the information I happen to have. I do that with cases all the time and it's never been a problem.” He flashed Kaiser a small smirk.

“Wow,” Kaiser said flatly. “Should I be impressed?”

Isagi rolled his eyes, shoving Kaiser over and sitting down next to him on the bed. “You should be helping me clear your name,” he said. “We have to figure out who else was in the area at the time of the murder. I also need to know exactly where you were, and what you were doing.”

Kaiser’s eyes narrowed. He was tensing up, Isagi could tell, similar to the last time they’d talked about the murder. Which, as far as Isagi could tell, meant one thing - Kaiser was still hiding something. 

“Haven’t we discussed this before?” Kaiser said, voice even. Whatever he was hiding, he was doing a good job of it.

Isagi sighed. “If you saw anyone else on that rooftop, it could lead us to another suspect. Right now, we don’t have a clue who else would’ve had the opportunity to push him, and that’s the biggest strike against you.”

“I thought everything was a strike against me,” Kaiser grumbled. “Motive, opportunity, bias, whatever.”

“Motive is a good point too,” Isagi said with a frown. “Igarashi is… well, he can be a bit much at times, but it’s not like anyone in town would hold that against him. Bargetown has its own load of problems, but we look after our own. The fact that you’re not from here, and you had your share of disagreements…”

“Doesn’t look good,” Kaiser finished softly. “I know.” He was silent for a moment, lips pursed as he avoided Isagi’s gaze. Finally, he murmured, “there… is something else. I don’t really know how much it impacts this case, but it was… I don’t know, really fucking weird?”

Isagi turned to stare at him, and found that at some point, Kaiser had turned toward him as well. He was close - almost as close as that time in the jail, where the bars were the only thing separating them… now there was nothing there, just Kaiser, directly in front of him, blue eyes boring into his own.

Isagi had to tear his gaze away as he asked, “What is it?” He tried to ignore the waver he heard in his voice.

Kaiser didn’t move for a moment, just studied Isagi’s face. “I don’t know how or why,” he finally said, shifting further away from Isagi, “but Igarashi had information. Insider information that only a few highly ranked Alumni soldiers are privy to. Not something an outsider should know.”

Isagi blinked. Insider information?

Kaiser let out a slow breath. “When he was… the day he was killed, that’s what we were arguing about. I left to get some fresh air, clear my head… I was trying to contact my overseer when the guards found me.”

“You made a call?” Isagi asked.

Kaiser nodded. “Never got through to him, but yeah.”

“Does your PDA have a record of that call? The time it was made?”

“I… I think so,” Kaiser said. “Why?”

Isagi flashed Kaiser a small smile. “If we can compare that record with the time of the murder, we might be one step closer to proving your innocence.”

– – –

Over the course of the past two days, Reo had been in and out of more meetings than he could remember. He’d also received far more scolding than ever before, but he was perfectly content ignoring it if it meant getting his job done.

Reo stifled a yawn as he clicked through the documents on his computer, forcing his eyes to focus as he scanned each page. Progress updates on the entrance repairs, confirming the salary for the work contractors, documents listing the recently processed imports from the NEU…

Reo resisted the urge to groan as he fired up the BMC’s intranet and opened his in-base email. The number of unread emails had only piled up since he’d last checked, but even with all the time in the world he knew he wouldn’t get to them all.

He scrolled through the emails, glancing at the senders and titles for anything that seemed urgent. It didn’t take long for one to catch his eye. 

From: Kenyu Yukimiya [IDENT: WORK CONTRACTOR #395]

To: Reo Mikage [IDENT: COMMANDER, ACTING]

Subject: Internal Affairs Update || OCT. 29, 2164

Reo hesitated, staring at the subject for a moment longer. Internal Affairs… It had come in earlier that morning. He chewed at his lip. It had been over a month since agents from the Central Security Bureau had been stationed around the Complex. In theory, it was long enough to get used to the idea of being surveilled.

In reality… well, the Military Police had joined without much fuss, and he’d adjusted to their presence within the complex. But… there was still something… unsettling about having agents from the ESS around the building, keeping an eye on things. Yukimiya, at least, was someone Reo was working with at the moment. But the other members of the secret service?

Reo shuddered. He could only hope they weren’t keeping an eye on him. He knew each of their covers - after all, he was the Acting Commander, and it was his job to ensure their continued discretion as they tried to weed out any conspiracies. Unfortunately, he also knew how fickle their loyalty could be in the face of potential disloyalties.

He took a deep breath, forcing the thoughts out of his head. There wasn’t time to dwell on paranoia now - not when one of those ESS agents had an update for him. Reo slowly clicked open the message.

Commander,

I’ve been following your instructions and investigating the matters we spoke of in our last meeting (see: <Meeting Notes - OCT. 27,2164.pdf> to jog your memory). While I haven’t been able to dig up anything specifically relating to the Voyageurs or what the purpose of the conflict might have been, I have found something interesting about the other issue you mentioned. 

Please read through the attached documents (note that I’ve highlighted the areas most pertinent to our current interests). Once you’ve finished, set up a secure line between us so we can further discuss.

– K.Y.

Attachments (3)

< SITREP#02-OCT25-2164:BMC-CONFLICT.[SEI.NAGI].pdf > 

< SITREP#04-OCT25-2164:BMC-COMFLICT.[SHO.BAROU].pdf >

< SITREP#01-OCT09-2164:AL-TRADE.[SEI.NAGI].pdf > 

Reo frowned, hovering the cursor over the attachments. His eyes were focused on the name tagged in two of the situation reports. Nagi. Every time Reo thought about him, he recalled their last conversation. 

‘I think you should step down as Acting Commander.’

Two days - that’s all it had been, but Reo had spent each minute of those days avoiding all contact with Nagi. A small part of Reo, even now, had the urge to click away, to avoid reading anything written by him.

He took another deep breath, calming the child inside of him yearning to run away, and opened the reports. He glanced over the documents. They were cleanly formatted, concise - just the way Reo preferred.

Good. At the very least, reading them wouldn’t take too much time away from his other responsibilities. 

There wasn’t much on the first report that Reo hadn’t already heard from Nagi himself - details about what the drone operators had been doing to assist with the conflict, the arrival of the intruder, and the conversation that had followed.

The strangest part, perhaps, was that the entire conversation about the Alumni had been completely omitted. As if it had never happened.

Reo frowned, though he didn’t dwell on it. He simply moved on to the next report, prepared by Barou. Odd, Reo thought. Considering the matters he and Yukimiya had discussed, he couldn’t see why this report was included… 

Though, he wasn’t sure how much it mattered. Yukimiya wasn’t one who made mistakes - not with an issue like this. There had to be something worthwhile in the report.

– – –

Prepared By: Shoei Barou [IDENT: PART-TIME INFANTRY #06]

Approved By: █████ █████████ [IDENT: COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER #██]

SITREP #: 04

Date of Issue: October 25, 2164

Location: Black Mountain Complex

Contact: [email protected]

1.0 || Situation to Date

→ October 25, just outside the Complex. On patrol with two other soldiers when shots were fired. One of the soldiers in our group went down (see < Conflict Medical Report 01 [OCT 25] > ). A group of five soldiers sporting Coalition gear came out of hiding to attack.

→ Radioed for reinforcements right away. Attacking soldiers surrounded us - no more shots were fired.

→ Nearby bomb went off - where the group of five had been before emerging. Too close - the third of my group (closest to the explosion) was hit by loose chunks of rock and fell unconscious.

→ Reinforcements arrived and the true conflict began.

2.0 || Actions to Date

→ Dragged injured soldier to safety where the Corpsmen could find him.

→ Engaged in conflict with the attacking soldiers - reinforcements arrived on both sides (estimate - 40 USRF soldiers and 50 attacking). Sustained injuries (see <Conflict Medical Report 16 [OCT 25]> ).

→ Injuries proved too much for me to continue fighting. Decided to retreat back to the complex. 

3.0 || Actions to be Completed

→ Awaiting medical treatment

4.0 || Issues

→ In the middle of the fight, one of the attacking soldiers reached my unconscious companion before the Corpsmen. I lost sight of them, then saw someone in a USRF uniform heading toward the complex. 

→ Uncertain, but very possible that an attacking soldier made it into the Complex under the guise of a USRF soldier.

– – –

Reo groaned. Barou’s statement fit with Nagi’s earlier suspicions - there was just no way of confirming a time on any of it. Could it have been that same soldier Reo had spoken to? The same one who had tied Nagi up?

It fit, but it only led Reo to more questions.

Focus, he thought. Now wasn’t the time to get caught up in conjecture. He still had one more report to read, and more discussions awaited once he could get a secure line with Yukimiya. He just had to be a bit more patient.

One more.

– – – 

Prepared By: Seishiro Nagi [IDENT: DRONE OPERATOR #29]

Approved By: █████ █████████ [IDENT: COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER #██]

SITREP #: 01

Date of Issue: October 09, 2164

Location: Alumni Campus

Contact: [email protected] 

1.0 || Situation to Date

→ Arrived at Alumni Campus with shipment of drone technology

→ Was supposed to help show Alumni technicians how to use technology, but they refused the offer (should this go in 2.0?)

→ Alumni were not talkative (less than usual, I mean)

→ Trade felt rushed

2.0 || Actions to Date

→ Helped unpack drones

→ Offered help setting them up (refused)

→ Processing papers and whatnot had to get signed so I stepped out 

→ I think it was in the ██████████?? Got a bit lost and wound up outside a meeting room on the super techy floor. Sounded like an intense meeting was going on.

→ Eventually found my way back to the proper place

3.0 || Actions to be Completed

→ Finish signing tech transfer papers

→ Double-check on if they want help setting it up

→ Get home (meeting with ████ ████████ to confirm trade details and discuss the ███████ situation).

4.0 || Issues

→ Dunno if this is an issue but I overheard some of the Alumni’s conversation. Not much, just mentions of a weapon blueprint? 

→ It sounded like they were trying to create this weapon or whatever. Not sure what it is or does but we’re barely on the ‘friendly enough for a trade alliance’ level with the Alumni so we could at least be cautious?

→ Side note - one of the Alumni definitely saw me outside that room. He didn’t look happy. Maybe the weapon has something to do with the sudden order for drones? Spare parts or something. Could also be why they were so secretive.

→ Is this what I’m supposed to put in this section? I think I usually leave it blank

→ Oh right I think I heard one of them mention a ‘project ████████’ so maybe that has something to do with the weapon too.

→ █ █████ █ █████ █████████ ██ ██ ████ ████████ ██████ ██ ██ ███████ █████ ███ ███████ ██ ███ ██████

– – –

Reo blinked, slowly rereading the report. What the fuck? It felt like more than he could comprehend. The Alumni were… creating some kind of a weapon? One with a whole project seemingly dedicated to it - a project that’s name had been redacted.

It wasn’t just that, either - Nagi’s entire report was littered with redacted words.

Reo took a deep breath as he quickly typed in the commands to open a secure line of communication with Yukimiya. He barely registered the way his fingers were trembling as they slid over the keys.

He waited a minute. Two.

Finally, a message popped up.

< Finished reading?>

Reo sighed in relief.

<What I could.> He typed back. <Did you do that?>

< The redactions? > Came the response. <No. It was like that when I found it. The comms officers ident is redacted too - and not just in that report. All three I sent you seem to be approved by the same person.>

Reo frowned, checking the first two reports. Sure enough, the name and number of the communications officer who’d approved the reports had been completely blacked out. 

<Okay, so what does that mean?>

<It means we’re starting to see some problems within this division.> Yukimiya messaged. <Someone is hiding something in the complex - covering up bits of evidence. They had to know someone would dig these reports up. The redactions are just a statement.>

<A statement?>

<Sure. If this was done by that officer - and I’m fairly certain it was - they could’ve easily deleted passages from the reports. So why bother redacting sentences?>

Reo sighed. Damn. 

<To send a message.>

<Exactly right, Commander.> For a minute, there was nothing else. For a minute, Reo thought the conversation was over. Finally, Yukimiya sent another message. <Another thing. Only Nagi’s report about the Alumni was redacted. I’ve checked the reports from the other officers who were there - they were even sent through a different comms officer.>

<What’s your point?>

<I’m saying that regardless of what’s being hidden, we do know one thing: Nagi knows far more than he’s letting on. One way or another, he’s involved in this.>

The blood drained from Reo’s face as he stared at Yukimiya’s words. Yukimiya was ESS. Regardless of what Reo asked him to do, he was there to weed out any conspiracies. If Yukimiya was so suspicious of this… then there was a real threat there.

A real threat that he thought Nagi was a part of.

Reo tried to swallow away the dryness in his throat. Nagi’s words, the same ones that had been looping through his head all day, had returned. Step down.

If Nagi really was involved in some sort of conspiracy, those words had taken on a whole new meaning.

Now, it wasn’t just a concerned friend looking out for Reo’s well-being.

Now, there was a good chance that it was a warning.