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Returning to the orphanage, Mashiro found it abnormally silent. Usually at this time, the kids would be playing around in the kitchen, watching someone between Seiya, Naoto and Misaki prepare dinner.
"Are you all playing hide or seek without me?" He shouted. Only more silence followed. "Tch, always leaving me out… how annoying."
Mashiro proceeded to prance through the first floor, checking all the possible nooks and crannies to try to find someone. Except, there was not a soul in sight; not even Naoto, who always hid in open spots for the kids.
'Oh so now they're actually trying. The one time I'm seeking huh?'
Turning towards the stairs, he was prepared to check the second floor when a familiar blue jacket peeked around the corner — Seiya.
"Oi, Seiya. Where the hell-" He didn't get to finish before Seiya shushed him.
"Not now." It was rare for his usually calming voice to take on such a harsh tone.
Knowing better than to test Seiya's current patience, he lowered his voice. "Why?"
"Naoto and Misaki got into a fight."
"Over what?"
Seiya pinched his nosebridge, "it's… complicated. I'll explain it to you outside."
Reaching the backyard, Mashiro found Midoriko and the rest of the kids playing some game — definitely not hide and seek. In hindsight, maybe he shouldn't have assumed that an empty entrance meant they were playing hide and seek. There were many other possible causes for that too.
"If you keep jumping to conclusions like this, you're never going to reach Number 1, kid." He could just hear Naoto's teasing voice if he found out about this stupid blunder.
"So explain."
"Remember all those nights that Misaki came back injured?"
"Uh huh…"
Seiya drew in a sharp breath, "ok- so, Misaki's a vigilante. From what I managed to gather, it basically just entails her taking requests to take out high ranking criminals. She usually performs these hits at night. Said something about keeping us in the dark and reducing the chances of a hero interrupting."
Ok cool, so his housemate was an assassin. Great way to start the afternoon.
"Apparently her most recent hit could only be accomplished in the day. And…"
"And Naoto got involved." Of course Naoto had to. He couldn't step away if there was even a hint of trouble.
"Yeah." The brunet sighed. "I caught a glimpse of their injuries. From the looks of it, the fight was quite nasty."
"Have they talked?"
"You think the two of them are sensible enough to talk it out?" Some time during Seiya's explanation, Midoriko had approached the pair. "You out of all of us should know that Naoto would rather settle things with his fists than words, Mashiro."
"Why are you here? This stuff isn't for you."
She clicked her tongue. "It is. Especially because it involves two people who are living in the same building as us. I do not wish to wake up to find a room thrashed because Naoto and Misaki got into another altercation over this." Turning towards Seiya, she asked, "do you have any ideas?"
Seiya sighed, "usually when I deal with cases like this, my first advice is to wait for the parties involved to calm down. It's easier to come to a mutual agreement when no one is being overly emotional. But I just- I don't trust Naoto to not do something rash."
"I can stay in front of Misaki's door." Mashiro offered before he even processed what exactly he was signing himself up for.
Midoriko and Seiya stared at him with confused looks.
"Are you sure?"
"You've lost it."
Midoriko was absolutely right. He lost it. He did not want to sit down and do nothing for hours. But Mashiro had far too much pride in himself to let her have another victory over him, not after the many times she humiliated him in other games.
"I'm perfectly fine thank you very much!" As if the gods above chose to bless him today, the perfect explanation for his volunteering came to mind. "Naoto wouldn't dare try anything if me, his sidekick, is there." He added with a smirk.
.
.
.
Not even half an hour into his new "job", Mashiro was already getting bored. Pacing along the corridor and boxing the air could only remain fresh for so long.
So far, he'd heard nothing from Misaki. The same couldn't be said for Naoto, who was clearly testing the strength of the walls with how hard he must have been punching his punching bag.
Mashiro shivered; definitely didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of those punches.
===
Misaki hated this. Misaki hated everything.
Why did Naoto have to be so stupid? Interfering in business that was not his.
Why did Naoto have to have such a strict moral code? If he put aside his warped justice for just a moment, their world wouldn't have to come crumbling down.
Why did she have to walk the path of an assassin? All the lies, the excuses, the cover up — she wouldn't need any of that.
The redhead sighed as she leaned against the wall, hearing Mashiro make another pass. Her eyes glanced at the Upright Tower she pulled in the morning.
Change. Upheaval.
She had been foolish enough to believe that it signified moving on from her life as an assassin.
She was back in the room where it all unfolded. Small and dingy, floorboards creaking with even the slightest of movement, furniture beyond repair, cobwebs building up in the corners. Naoto towered over her, a dark expression on his face.
"Misaki. I'm disappointed, I thought you were better than this."
"You'll never understand."
"What more is there to understand? You are just like the rest of the evil that needs to be eradicated."
She scoffed. He just proved her point. Naoto was far too forward in his mindset, thinking it was possible for "good" to exist without "evil". Misaki didn't care if he considered her "evil", every criminal she assassinated was a net positive to the world; she was, after all, one assassin.
What would he say to a teenage Misaki? Flung into the world of assassins, forced to learn their ways if she wanted to survive. Was the her of that time 'evil' for taking the blood of someone else, even if it meant that she'd die otherwise?
He grabbed her by the collar, snapping Misaki out of her thoughts.
"Don't make this difficult for me."
She kicked him in the side, making him loosen his grip just enough to wiggle herself free. She wanted to live, thank you very much.
"Fine. You leave me no choice Kuro-"
"—bane Misaki! Are you even there? You better not have jumped out the window!"
Seems like someone got impatient. But Misaki was in no mood to talk to him. Instead, she grabbed the Tower card and tossed it under her door.
There were a few moments of silence before Mashiro spoke again, "good to know you haven't just decided to ditch us." He paused, "Naoto still hasn't come out of his room but uh- when he does I'll talk to him."
"Listen. I'm still not completely sure what went on between you two — I only know the gist from Seiya. But I don't want this to ruin this- this weird,ragtag family we have." A deep inhale. "I know I don't show it much, but I do care about you guys."
A small smile blossomed across her face. Beneath his 'tough guy' exterior, Mashiro did have a pure heart befitting of his first name.
Maybe that could finally pierce through the dark clouds in Naoto's heart.
===
"Did she talk?" Some time in the midst of his monologue to Misaki, Midoriko had, once again, snuck up on him.
"Aren't you supposed to be playing with the kids?"
"Seiya is keeping them occupied." She calmly replied, "so, did Misaki say anything?"
"Nothing." He bent down to pick up the tarot card she managed to shoot through the floor clearance. "She threw me this though."
Midoriko took the card, inspecting it carefully. "I see. You can go downstairs and help Seiya with the rest, he's likely overwhelmed."
"You think you can stop them from duking it out?"
"I think both of them should be sensible enough not to fight in front of a minor."
Mashiro mumbled a 'you are too mature for a minor' as he walked away.
.
.
.
'Tower in the upright position.' Midoriko noted, looking at the post-it tab stuck onto the top half of the card — how Misaki kept track of whether she pulled a card in its upright or reversed position.
Her mind went through all of Misaki's previous readings, landing on the one for the card in question.
"The upright tower means that there will be a sudden change in your life, one that may bring chaos and destruction along with it." Misaki's voice explained. "But in reality, it represents leaving behind old methods, making room for new ones to form."
Midoriko let a smile creep up on her face. "Maybe there is a chance after all. For everything to become calm again."