A month had passed since then. Most nights, you would stay at your apartment. Every few days you would visit your father back at the family villa, or even his condo in Shinagawa. Your father called you from time to time, trying to get you to come home. You refused, of course, coming up with the excuse that you were interning at your university. He seemed alright with it, but he kept pestering you about how he wanted to see you again and that he missed seeing his daughter. You kept promising him, saying "Soon, Dad, soon."
It was a good thing you were with Takeda most the time, he would always vouch for you and promise your father you were doing alright.
You were at your childhood best friend, Mika's, apartment. You hadn't seen her in a while, and you missed her. Her family was very close to yours and since you never really had all that many close friends, she was always there to lean on. It worked the other way around, too. Her parents never paid any attention to her, like your parents, only seeing them during forced family events. Daichi always treated her like his own sister, too, since she never had siblings. You were lucky enough to have a caring older brother, but she wasn't as fortunate. Naturally, you kind of adopted her as your sister.
She went to a different college, though, which is why you didn't just move in together. The two of you had just come back to her place after meeting some of your other mutual friends. You both sprawled out on the couch and threw your feet onto the coffee table.
"Tell me about this boy, please, show me a picture. Is he hot? I wanna see," Mika pleaded. "I spent all afternoon telling you about mine."
You rolled your eyes, "I want to meet this Suguru character first. I need to make sure he fits the criteria, then maybe I'll approve of him dating my best friend."
"Okay, when he's not busy, I'll arrange dinner for the three of us. But forget that," she shook your shoulders, "tell me his name. And what happened, please."
You laughed a little and said, "His name's Tooru. We hung out this one night and then I slept with him. That's it. We're just friends."
Ever since Oikawa and your little talk, the two of you had been walking on eggshells around each other. You tried to limit your interactions to just training or sometimes when he would pop up in the middle of your conversations with Iwaizumi and the other boys. Oikawa was acting stranger than usual, sometimes he would be his snarky cocky self, flirting with you to the max, and sometimes he would ignore you completely. And you didn't want to admit it, but it was making you want him even more.
Mika irritably scrunched her brows, "Friends don't sleep together."
You sighed, "Yeah, I know."
She gasped, "Oh my god! You have a crush on him!"
You pushed her away, trying to argue, "I don't."
She gave you a Really? look.
You slapped your palm against your head and admitted, "Ugh, fine. I'm in love with him, but we work together, and he's my superior. All he wanted was to fuck me."
"You're his intern? You're interning at Date Technologies again?" she quizzed. "I heard the CEO died in the bombing last month."
You nodded, agreeing with the lie. Even though she was your best friend, you didn't think it was safe to tell her about Helix and risk her safety. You interned at Date Tech last year, so it was just easier for her to assume you knew Oikawa through that.
"Well, did he say that he only wanted sex from you?" she asked.
"Not exactly, he said it was a one-time thing," you explained. "He said that it was wrong because I'm his subordinate. But he seemed fine up until the hour before he said all that to me. Before that, he was being all romantic and what-not."
Mika held her chin between her index finger and thumb as she pondered.
"It seems a bit strange to me," she commented. "I have a feeling there's a specific reason for him changing his attitude all of a sudden. Maybe someone said something to him."
You thought about what she said, "Maybe you're right. But I don't know what someone might've said to him to change all of a sudden."
"If I were you, I'd tell him how I feel. But knowing you, you're probably going to go along with some petty plan to make him suffer," she groaned.
You smirked, "Hmmm, I'm just going to make sure he remembers that we're just friends."
Mika playfully punched your arm, and you tossed your head back and cackled, she joined along with you. The sound of your ringtone led to your fit of laughter dying off. You grabbed your phone and checked the text, it was Coach. He and Takeda were outside waiting for you in the car since you had to work with Kenma today.
"Mika, I've got to go," you told her, still staring at your phone.
"Dude," she whined. "We haven't seen each other in so long. Just go later."
You pouted, usually you were the one whining, "I'm so sorry. I just got a text from my boss. He needs me to work."
She perked up, "Your boss? Is it that boy?"
You shook your head grumpily, "No."
She clapped, "It is. He wants to see you!"
"Whatever," you said as you hugged her.
"Good luck on your date tonight, by the way" Mika patted your back, referring to a guy you planned to meet tonight.
You let her go as you replied, "It's not a date. I'm just hooking up with him. There's no way I'm getting my emotions involved again with another guy."
She pursed her lips in pity. Truth is, you had gotten attached to Oikawa since that night, and not being able to have him infuriated you. You needed to move on, and you thought maybe taking out your frustrations sexually will help.
You left her apartment building and spotted the black Range Rover that Helix lent to Takeda. You hopped into the back and greeted Coach in the passenger seat, Takeda was driving.
"What's up?" you said bouncily.
"We might have a lead on the bridge bombing," Coach explained to you.
"Whoever had it out for Jin Sato was probably not directly linked so we think there's a third party involved," Takeda further clarified.
You squinted at them from the backseat and grilled, "This was a paid hit mission? A planned assassination?"
They gravely nodded. The car ride was brief as Mika's apartment was several blocks away from the organization's entrance in the alley way. You were a bit confused when Takeda drove towards a grassy hill in a field on the outskirts of town instead. Takeda clicked a button on the car's console as he came to a halt. To your surprise, the grass on side of the hill began splitting open, like a garage door.
This must've been the entrance for vehicles in headquarters, it was your first time entering through it. The location of the opening was ideal, it was detached from the city and in an area no one ever ventured off into.
The car drove through the gate which shut afterwards. The passageway for the cars was significantly wide and it was lit by white, fluorescent lighting along the side. The walls were grey, matching the rest of the headquarters' color scheme.
The driveway was curved and extremely long. You were getting a little restless, so you crossed your arms and propped your feet onto the armrest in between Coach and Takeda. You blew locks of your hair away from your eyes and waited to for the car to finally come to a stop. Once it did, you were in what resembled a car showroom, there were many impressive vehicles ranging from motorcycles, minivans, sports cars, and much more.
Coach and Takeda got out and you followed suit. As you hopped off the car, you dusted off your jeans and cropped pink shirt. Your father hated when you dressed like that, so did your mother. When you weren't around them, you took pleasure in dressing however the hell you wanted. It would get frustrating always dressing in preppy clothes and looking all prim and proper. Not that you didn't like it, you just wanted to dress according to your mood, not your parents'.
You followed the executives down to the end of the showroom where there was an elevator to take you up to the pit, the three of you walked down the ramp to where Kenma was with Hinata and Kageyama.
"Where's Suga?" you asked.
"He's working a case with Asahi, Noya, and Tanaka in Fukuoka," Kageyama replied. "They left this morning. They won't be back until another week."
You released a sigh. In all honesty, you were hoping to see Sugawara. Over the past two weeks, you began to develop a bond with most of the Karasuno boys, especially the captain. He and the rest of the team had been so helpful with you, helping you with training and hanging out at HQ here and there. It was only natural for you to want to see your friend . . . right?
"Hi," Hinata piped jovially.
"Hey," you patted his back, painting a smile on your face. You turned to Kenma, "How's everything looking?"
Kenma fiddled with his thumbs as he softly said, "All our evidence so far is leading to a specific gang that does paid hit missions. They're called the Nohebi tribe, they're led by Suguru Daishou. They own a restaurant in Shibuya where we think they handle meetings."
A picture of a dark-haired man appeared on the screen, labeled Suguru Daishou. The malicious glint in his eye being reinforced by his predatory grin. Looking into his eyes sent chills down your arms. Cold and poisonous.
"Oh, great," you looked at all five men. "So why don't we send a swat team to arrest them and bring them in for questioning?"
"That's risky," Kenma said. "Strategically, it's not the best option. It would make sense if we handled this with a discreet approach."
You hummed in agreement, "Yeah, you're right. But how would we even confirm that it's them if we can't bring them in?"
"We send an agent to the restaurant and get information off their devices. See who they do business with," Kageyama mapped out.
"Alright, great," you nodded. "Who are we sending in?"
Takeda seemed all but panicky, Coach cleared his throat and said, "You, kid."
Your eyes dilated, "Me? I haven't even been on a mission before. Shouldn't you send someone who has more experience than I do?"
"If we always send in agents with more experience, how will you get any?" Coach pointed. "Besides, we primarily need someone with hacking experience and Kenma isn't a tactical agent. You've been training for almost a month now and you're more than capable."
You nervously gulped.
Kageyama placed his hand on your shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll be your partner on the mission."
He gave you a comforting smile, which you returned as well.
"Okay," you straightened your back. "I want to tell Iwa, he is my commanding officer, after all. I'll need his help to prepare."
"Yeah, sure. He's in the cafeteria," Coach said, sending you off. "Don't change, just grab Iwaizumi and come back."
You gave a thumbs up as you headed in the direction of the cafeteria. The cafeteria and med bay were one of only few places that didn't have dim lighting. Since the canteen was significantly large, there were over a hundred round tables with built-in benches, so looking for your commanding officer was a bit hard. You scanned the lunchroom for Iwaizumi, Oikawa, Hanamaki, and Matsukawa, soon enough you spot them at a table in the middle of the room.
You walked over to them and cheerfully called, "Iwa, I need you."
Over the past several weeks, you also became close to your team, especially the highest-ranking agents—and Kindaichi. You and Iwaizumi had become pretty close, which Oikawa couldn't help but be a bit jealous about. He stared at you as you sat down next to his friend, not even sparing him a glance.
Iwaizumi was chewing on his sandwich which he set on his tray when you plopped down next to him. "What's up?"
"I got assigned a mission, and I need my favorite commanding officer to send me off," you said.
"A mission?" Oikawa buzzed.
"Iwaizumi is your favorite? That's not fair, I thought I was your favorite," Hanamaki piped.
You tilted your chin up defiantly, "No, because you guys are having lunch without me. Besides, Iwa spends the most time training me."
"I can arrange for us to have one-on-one time," Matsukawa suggested in a perverted manner.
You rolled your eyes and without your knowledge, Oikawa kicked his foot under the table.
"Let's go, Coach and the others are waiting," you pulled Iwaizumi's arm and he got up.
As you both walked into the hall leading out the cafeteria, you felt someone grab your shoulder from behind.
"Iwa, you go. She'll be there in a few," Oikawa informed his friend.
Iwaizumi nodded and walked away, leaving you alone in the corridor in the arms of the brunette. You ripped yourself out of his hold and folded your arms, not looking him in the eye.
"You got assigned to a mission?" Oikawa asked.
You didn't move or say anything, keeping your eyes transfixed on the ground.
"Answer me when I'm speaking to you," he said venomously. "I'm still your superior."
You whipped your head around, glaring at him as you did. "Yeah," you hissed back with an equal amount of poison. "I'm going on a mission. Happy?"
You began walking away and he grabbed your wrist again, "Stop acting like I'm your enemy, okay! I'm trying to look out for you."
You looked him in the eye and said, "I don't need your protection. I've spent the past year on my own, I don't need anyone to look out for me."
You walked away and he stood there for a moment. He couldn't tell you, but he was hurt that he had been watching over you and keeping you out of trouble for a year without being able to even come twenty feet near you. He couldn't explain to you how he truly felt because he would be screwing over his dead friend.