Chapter Text
A rather large explosion of yellow, orange, and red glowed from the big screen attached to the wall. The building had been completely destroyed, along with the group of buildings around it. With countless casualties and a handful of deaths, this mission was considered a failure.
The video replayed itself three more times, and with each click of the replay button, the disappointment and distress rose in the room. The group stood in front of the computers, craning their necks to take in the big screen, their unhappiness about the situation clear on their faces.
Near the back of the group, the cause of the explosion shifted his feet uncomfortably. Yuuichirou Amane bit his lip, shoved his hands into his pockets and fiddled with the pieces of wire and gum wrappers found inside. His heart was heavy with the many deaths he had caused, but at the time of his actions he had honestly believed he was doing the right thing.
Finally, the explosion video was shut off, the big screen going dark. The silence in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
It took another good, long moment before a member of the group turned around, facing Yuu, their hands on their hips. Mitsuba Sangu's glare was as hard as steel, her vivid purple eyes glinting dangerously. Her pigtails were messy and tangled, and there were bags under her eyes. Her cheeks, forehead, and the tip of her nose were slightly red, as she had been a little bit too close to the explosion.
Silence. Then, "I fucking hate you."
Yuu gave a shaky smile. "Heh. That makes two of us."
Mitsuba gritted her teeth. "I'm glad you agree!" She snapped her arm up, gesturing to the screen despite it no longer showing the video. "This is the fourth explosion this month! This time with actual deaths! What the hell were you thinking?"
"He wasn't thinking, obviously," a sing-song voice said from behind Mitsuba. "Like usual." A small girl stepped forward, her hands held behind her back. Even though her tone was light-hearted, Shinoa Hiragi's expression was anything but. "Yuu-san, you were instructed to get in, disable the bomb, and get out, without being seen. Then you were to report back to headquarters immediately." She raised an eyebrow. "Instead, you shoot the bomb, triggering the explosion mechanism, causing-" she paused. "-this?"
"Yeah, I, uh," Yuu mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. His dignity was already through the floor, and it was near impossible to salvage it. "I fucked up. My bad. Sorry."
"Hell yeah you fucked up. You fucked up big time." Crossing his arms, Shiho Kimizuki resembled a harsh mother scolding her child. His hair was slightly messy, and his glasses had smudges on them. "You couldn't follow a few simple orders?"
"I can follow orders!" Yuu protested. "I just didn't think those orders were the right orders!"
Kimizuki stared at him. "Are you serious?"
"Guys, please!" a panicked voice broke into the argument. Waving his hands in the air, Yoichi Saotome stepped forward, nervously chewing on his lip. His sweater was a little bit too big on him, and it sported coffee stains. "I'm sure Yuu-kun had a very good reason for going against the mission! I mean, the objective wasn't really clear to begin with, and the correct orders were given when the mission had already started, so things might have gotten confusing!"
"Bullshit," Mitsuba said. "Get in, disable the bomb, get out, all without being seen. He shot the fucking thing."
Yoichi made a small squeak of "language!" while Yuu took a breath to defend himself. He stopped, then let the breath out in a soft whoosh.
"Look, I'm really sorry, okay?" Yuu pointed to the big screen. "I feel like literal shit right now. My actions resulted in people losing their lives. Innocent people. Do you know how horrible that feels?" When the group didn't respond, he continued. "I honestly thought what I was doing would help, but now I know that what I did was a mistake. A huge one." He dropped his arm, shoving his hand back into his pocket. "You guys can stop lecturing me and just tell me the punishment from Guren already. I accept whatever it is as what I deserve."
The group exchanged looks, remaining silent. Yoichi tugged on his sweater sleeves, giving Yuu a nervous glance.
"Well, Yuu-san," Shinoa finally said, "this whole situation is really serious, more so than usual. You almost killed yourself and Mitsuba, and you're both of high rank, which would have been a great loss for the agency-"
"He doesn't deserve that rank," Kimizuki grumbled. Yuu sent him a glare.
"Surprisingly enough, he's the reason most of our missions succeed," Mitsuba huffed.
"Ha!" Yuu said, grinning at Kimizuki. The latter gave him the finger.
An "ahem" drew everyone's attention back to the youngest of the group. Shinoa gave them a disappointed stare. "As I was saying, this is really serious, so-" she looked at Yuu, "Guren has requested you go to his office so he can tell you the punishment himself."
Yuu blinked. "Wait, you mean you don't know?"
Shinoa shook her head, then glanced at the clock. A small smirk flickered onto her face. "Nope! But if you wait any longer, the punishment's gonna be worse!~"
Yuu's eyes widened, and he quickly muttered a "fuck" before racing out the door. Mitsuba grumbled under her breath, watching him go.
"I hope Guren makes him wash the toilets," she said. Everyone wrinkled their nose.
"Aha," Shinoa laughed, "that'll be a little bit too cruel, don't you think?"
"He'll be cleaning shit," Kimizuki said. "Finally reuniting with his people."
Yoichi gave a nervous laugh at the group's antics. "I just hope he comes back alive."
---
Yuu ducked his head as a group of agents walked past him, talking in hushed tones. News of the failed mission has no doubt spread by now, and probably even newbies have a few scraps of information. The fact that Yuu was the reason the mission failed will earn him many glares and whispers.
The walk to Guren's office was a long one, as Guren liked his peace and quiet (and as much distance between himself and the toilets as possible). Smaller hallways branched off the main one, leading to other offices for agents with a lower rank or to training grounds for newbies- or anyone, really. A few vending machines were shoved against the wall, which was made out of brick, and the lights on the ceiling flickered and buzzed.
Yuu was to the point where he figured Guren just wanted to tire out possible attackers when he finally reached the man's office. The door was wooden and a rich brown, and the small window that allowed you to see inside was covered up with duct tape. A gold label below the window said "ICHINOSE GUREN".
Without even knocking, Yuu threw the door open, sending it slamming into the wall. The room was rather small, and it didn't help that books and folders of important documents took up almost every available space. A desk sat in the middle of the room, covered in papers, pens, and coffee stains, and a fan hung from the ceiling, currently turned off. A window on the back wall gave a beautiful view to the city, which was glowing in an early morning light, and Yuu would have appreciated it if a lump of ugly wasn't sitting in his way.
Without looking up, Guren Ichinose opened a folder of documents. "Don't come in without permission."
Yuu pulled out the chair on the opposite side of the desk and sat down. "Whatever," he grumbled, looking down at his hands. After a moment of silence, the only sound being turning pages, Yuu let out a sigh. "Look, I-"
"Oh, save the gushy apologies," Guren said, closing the folder and setting it down. "I don't need more bullshit this early in the morning." Opening a drawer, he pulled out another folder, dropping it in front of Yuu. "There's your punishment."
Yuu sent him a glare before reluctantly opening the folder. Inside were a few pages filled with text, along with small pictures of buildings and certain areas of the city. It took him a moment, but then he realized that these areas were where the agency had failed missions.
Finally arriving on the last page, he stopped, then slowly slid it out of the folder. On the top left was a picture bigger than the others, and it wasn't of a city sighting. It was a picture of a young man, probably early twenties, facing the camera, his face devoid of emotion. The image was grainy, but Yuu was able to make out pale skin, fluffy blond hair nearly to the shoulders, and the brightest pair of blue eyes he's ever seen.
"I... don't understand," he managed to say, looking up at Guren. "What's he got to do with my punishment?"
Guren remained silent. He rested his chin on his hands, staring at the file with a dull expression. Yuu rolled his eyes.
"Are you deaf? What's he-"
"You have to kill him."
Yuu's words died in his throat. He blinked at Guren, who remained still in his seat. "What?"
The older man pointed at the picture. "His name's Mikaela Shindo, and he works for the Sanquinem Agency- our rival agency." Guren raised an eyebrow. "If you don't know that I'll personally kill you. Anyways, he's kinda their main dog and has been fucking up a lot of our missions. The head wants him wiped out." Guren nodded to Yuu. "That's your job."
Yuu found it hard to swallow. "And, uh, why is this my punishment?"
On the desk, the numbers on the clock changed to seven a.m. Guren's eyes flickered to it, then back to Yuu.
"It's because you don't like killing people," he said.
Yuu froze in his seat. He tried to scoff, looking anywhere but at Guren. "What- I- I work on the front- I- I go on missions, I kill lots of people-"
Guren's glare silenced him. He closed his mouth, sinking lower into his seat. Guren watched him for a few moments, then let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair.
"I didn't decide on this, blame the head, cuss at them for all I care," he said. "But you were assigned this, and you have to suck it up and do it." The glare came back. "You've been quite good at explosions lately."
Yuu let out a loud groan.
---
Sitting silently in his car, Yuu hunched further into his jacket, green eyes trained on the house in front of him. The house wasn't all that impressive, just a regular-sized, white painted building with a wooden door and shutters. A bush of tulips grew on either side of the entrance, which just made Yuu's heavy heart even heavier.
Earlier that day, Yuu had planted small bombs around the house, checking again and again to make sure he got the right place. It would really suck if this turned out to be a family of four's house or something. However, after checking a few picture frames, he was certain: this was Mikaela Shindo's house.
The pictures were rather interesting. In one, a man with short purple hair made a face at the camera while another man with black hair sat beside him, watching him with a strange expression. In another, a man with long silver hair pulled back with a ribbon waved into the camera, but someone had drawn on it with red marker, giving him a mustache, Harry Potter glasses, and a bowtie. Another picture had Mikaela himself in it, being hugged by a small woman with long pink hair. He looked in pain while she wore a huge smile.
There were a few other pictures, but one in particular had caught Yuu's eye. The frame was silver, designed to look like a butterfly with blue jewels embedded into the wings. The image in the middle held a girl around the age of twelve, smiling softly into the camera. Her brown hair had been made into a braid, draped over her shoulder, and her brown eyes twinkled happily. She wore a bright yellow sundress, and the lighting from the picture told the viewer she was in the middle of a sunset. A small inscription on the bottom in fancy lettering said, "My Darling Akane".
Yuu shook his head, checking the time on his watch. It was almost one in the morning. Mikaela had yet to come home. In his hand, he held the clicker that would detonate the bombs, completely destroying the house and everything inside.
"I don't like killing people," Yuu murmured. Now that he thought about it, Guren was right- he didn't. He especially didn't if he knew their name. Knowing their name made it all the more real. Like he was killing a friend.
'Cut it out, Yuu!' he thought. 'You don't have a choice this time!'
'My Darling Akane.'
He sighed, rubbing his eyes. Mikaela had friends, family. So what if he worked for an agency? He shouldn't be killed just because he was a pain in the ass!
Sudden movement outside caused Yuu to look up. A car was pulling up into Mikaela's driveway, the color a dark gray. It came to a stop, the lights flickering off. The door opened, and the driver stepped out.
Mikaela Shindo.
Yuu let out a shaky breath, watching as the blonde locked the car behind him and made his way to the front door. He moved with a strange grace, as if he was dancing on water. His hair looked softer than it had in the picture, and even from this distance Yuu could see Mikaela's pale skin glow under the moonlight.
He was going to die in less than a minute.
Yuu squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back the guilt. He cracked his eyelids open to watch Mikaela pull out his house keys, unlocking the door and stepping inside. It closed behind him with a faint thud.
"Three," Yuu whispered, starting the car. He turned on the headlights, lighting up the road. "Two." The car started to move, sliding past the house as silent as a bat at night. He lifted his thumb over the clicker, releasing a sigh as the car completely passed the house. "One."
He pressed the button.
A rumble sounded from within the house, quickly becoming louder. The walls blasted outward, the windows shattering, glass shards flying in all directions. Fire engulfed the building, lighting up the neighborhood. Dirt, glass, and pieces of wood and furniture rained down, hitting nearby houses. Screams sounded from up and down the street, the explosion waking everyone up in a panic. The boom echoed through the air, fading into silence. The only sounds were the cries of neighbors and the crackling and snapping of the fire.
Yuu watched it all happen in his rearview mirror. His gut twisted, and he clenched down on the steering wheel. He had murdered Mikaela Shindo.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. He swallowed, then stepped on the gas, zooming down the road and into the night.
Hidden by the flames, blue eyes watched him go.