Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

Yoru fiddled with his comb-knife slowly while sitting in his tidied-up bed. It was dark outside, it being around eight o'clock, and Yoru just arrived back at the VALORANT headquarters after a long mission. The cuts that roamed his arms had faded into a darker color thanks to Sage's healing. Yet Sage was nice enough to heal him; he even thanked her with a careless tone, he didn't exactly want it to be her who healed him. The thing is, Yoru kept having a fluttering feeling in his stomach when he talked to the other healer, Skye. He didn't know why. They don't talk much, even on missions with her. She's also more of a social person, going to every social gathering. On the other hand, he would rather sit in his room and stay the fuck away from everybody else. Like it's always been. So what was this feeling in his gut telling him?

Not a crush. Yoru was bound to keep his cold-hearted personality and not act like a complete softie for crushing over the girl next door. For the love of God, he wasn't a teenager anymore.

This feeling first happened when he was on his first mission with her. All she did was heal him slightly when a bullet scraped his forearm. Skye, of course, didn't think much of it. Though Yoru was... a little flustered... fuck. Thankful. Just a little thankful, he contradicted. It was just one time. Yoru thought it would never happen again. But one by one, this feeling kept popping up every time she made a slight polite gesture to him.

Present Yoru blushed. Remembering all the times he's felt this way.

Yoru dropped from his sitting position to lay on his back. The weight underneath his eyes sagged further as the expansion of warm comfort engulfed the rest of his body.

His mind wandered further into the thoughts of Skye, recalling every single interaction with the healer. He didn't even feel his mind was shutting down.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

"Fuck," Yoru hissed with his eyes closed. Pulling the body even closer to him as they drew more marks onto his neck. He gripped their thin waists tighter as his breath stagnated every time they made a dent into his skin.

He couldn't exactly tell who, but all he knew was that he reckoned he knew them. And it was a girl. Yoru could feel the warmth radiating from her between the two layers of fabric that separated their skin. It felt so nice and comforting. Sadly yet happily, the girl's sharp teeth and soft lips sketch deeper and deeper into his neck. He wrapped his arm around her waist and dug his flushed face into her freckle-covered shoulder, letting out another whine.

The girl let out a small giggle. "You really like this, don't you?" Her monotone voice shook his entire body as it went straight through his ear. He let out a whimper. "Yeah, I know you do. Don't try to hide it."

Yoru recognized the voice. An Australian.

No. It can't be her...

He tried to concede it but immediately spotted strands of her red hair. And a million freckles scattered from her shoulder to her neck, and so on.

"Skye?"

"Yeah?"

Shit.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Yoru shot his eyes wide open. He was sitting up in bed in a flash.

"What the fuck was that?" He whispered. Drops of sweat splattered his forehead. Did he just... have a dirty dream about Skye? His co-worker and crush? Yoru drew back the vision. It was short, but enough to make him regret himself forever.

Yoru shook his head out of the trance. What time was it? He always kept the blinds in his room sealed from the outside world. Despite the coverage, he knew the sun wasn't up. Rolling over quickly, Yoru checked the time on his phone at his bedside.

1:43 A.M.

Fuck. He only slept for three hours. He groaned while rubbing his hand down his face.

Glancing around the darkened room, it was as tidy as ever—barely a speck of lint on the dark blue carpet. His eyes made it over to where he sat. He still had his uncomfortable 'work wear' on. He even slept on top of his blankets, causing them to be wrinkled all over. Yoru finally pulled the covers over himself and laid down, shutting his eyes with discomfort.

Yoru really wanted to fall back to sleep. To keep his already screwed-up sleep schedule on track. Even trying for twenty minutes straight. Yet his mind kept wondering back to his dream. Skye. His almost intimate moment with her. To Yoru, it felt wrong to divulge that he enjoyed it. Nothing felt right after thinking of his co-worker and friend in that way.

Another five minutes passed, and Yoru was trying to figure out whatever he felt towards the Australian. He really didn't want to admit that he had a slow-burn crush on her. Because it would shatter his reputation. That was his only excuse. How lame.

Okay, maybe he has had a crush on her for a while. Yoru grimaced at the thought of it. For some reason, Yoru didn't know why it was so embarrassing. If only he had someone to talk to. That's the thing about Yoru; he's always thought he doesn't need anybody. But in reality, it seemed nice to have someone by your side. He wasn't the one to poor out his feelings to a person; he was always the one to cause someone to run away and cry to another. Well, Yoru had Phoenix. But still, discussing a relationship with his best friend, with whom he was constant rival, was still out of his comfort zone.

Yoru sat up from his bed.

Fine. If he doesn't want anybody else's help, he'll do it himself, just like he's always done.

At this time, Yoru has finally convinced his mind to tell him the truth. He did have a crush on Skye. Because he did. There's no denying it anymore.

He decided the best option was to start small. A gift, or somewhat. Obviously, he's not going to give it to her in person. What if she found him weird?

A sweet note, simple as that.

Hopping off his bed, he made his way to a small desk and chair next to the bedside drawer. It was mostly untouched; it was only used for mission reports. He pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil. The first thing he wrote was "Skye," and that was it. He couldn't think of anything else. His mind went blank. He wanted the meaning to get across, saying that he loved her but also not wanting it to sound cringe and did not want to move so fast. Yoru kept his stare on it.

Yoru had no idea how long had passed before he finally figured out a stupid message.

Skye,

I’ve been thinking about you for a while now.

Everything about you is amazing, even if no one else can see it.

I couldn’t have met anyone better.

Your eyes are as green as the nature power you hold

And your red hair could mark me forever.

My life was unglued from chains when I met you and has been tied in your loving arms.

Yoru leaned back into his chair to examine his work. He stared at it for what felt like hours. To his eyes, it was cringe-worthy. Skye would never want to talk to him again. Hence, why he didn't put his name on it. But it was the best he could do. Love wasn't his thing after all.

Yoru hopes, with his entire life, she'll like it. Skye was never the fancy-dinner type; at least that's what he overheard. But would this be enough to make her like him? Or will he scare her off? Who knows? They're relationship as 'frenemies' was complicated. He might as well take a chance.

Grabbing an envelope from a small drawer, Yoru folded the paper and sealed it tight in the envelope. He wrote her name on the other side of the seal. He considered sticking a heart somewhere but turned it down, thinking it'd be too much.

Yoru slowly and quietly opened his door with the note in hand. He didn't have to travel far; her room was next to his, after all, due to the agent's order when joining. The duelist stood outside Skye's room, slightly trembling while looking at the paper. Without a second or even third thought, Yoru shifted the note into a pocket meant for messages right next to the door. He rapidly sped off back to his room. With every molecule in his body, Yoru was praying; she found it heartwarming.

Yoru finally did fall asleep after a (maybe regrettable) weight was lifted from his shoulders.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Skye continued to stare at her Philodendron plant for twenty minutes ever since her alarm went off at 4:00 A.M. She was wide awake but had no strength to get up. Finally, she arose from her bed, causing her tasmanian tiger to bolt up at her movements. She groggily trudged over to her closet and pulled out work-out clothes.

Every morning, Skye went for a run for a fresh start. "Everyday is a new day," was her common saying.

As Skye was leaving her room with her key card, she noticed an envelope in her mailbox. She was confused, to say the least. Was it a birthday invitation? But nobody else had one, it seemed, and she doesn't recall anybody's birthday coming up. Skye yanked it out of its position rather roughly, causing small dents in the thin material. She tore it open and unfolded the paper in it.

The first thing she saw was

Skye...

in pretty and neat handwriting.

Skye read the entire thing word for word. And again, but slower. Her cheeks flushed red, and her pupils dilated intensely. A small grin smeared her lips.

Skye didn't know what to say. No one has ever written such a special message for her before; not even her past boyfriends gave one to her. There was no signature to be found, which made her lose a little hope. Who wrote this? Whoever it was, they felt like they meant it. The healer relaxed a bit, looking around for anyone to be watching. But it was four in the morning, and nobody was up. Tucking the paper back in, Skye shoved the envelope into her side pocket before moving on with her daily routine.

Goddamn, that note was the only thing she could think about during her run.

┏━━━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━━━┓

A couple weeks later...

┗━━━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━━━┛

Yoru had no idea what happened to the note he gave Skye anonymously. All he knew was that when he woke up and stumbled past her room, the envelope disappeared. Either Skye saw it or one of the other agents stole it, which he hoped did not happen.

However, Yoru didn't have time to investigate. He had to go on a mission in the evening and would be back around midnight. Yoru was technically forced to go on a mission with a couple of other agents. They said he would be a 'good help' to the team. Like, that was true. He never liked to work with a team and always called them trash because he felt like it.

Throughout the entire jet ride to the destined location, his mind wandered back to Skye. Her physical features, her personality, and everything about her. Yoru didn't want to entitle himself "obsessed" or "a stalker," but he basically knew every detail about her. Would he ever admit this to someone? Definitely not. He would rather fill his body with lethal acid to avoid a conversation focused on that. Yoru kept explaining why he had a crush on Skye through his mind. Her flaming red hair, nature-inspired eyes, and powerful arms could bend a man's spine in numerous places. He's had (sort of) experience with this. Chuckling and remembering the time she broke his nose before healing it slightly after the incident since Sage forced her to. Let's just say that Yoru never dared to get too cocky around Skye again.

Before he knew it, they arrived at their location. It was a simple and small mission.

Well, the mission's purpose was to break into a museum-facility to steal a certain part meant for Breach's mechanical arm. Killjoy needed an important fragment to fix Breach's robotic arm. That was because Phoenix was practicing in the range and didn't hear Breach walk in the room. Phoenix lit a fire in his hand and threw it, which hit Breach, forcing his parts to overheat, and caused a small internal explosion. "It wasn't my fault!" He remembers him claiming. Yes, it was.

Of course, Killjoy was on the mission with them. Along with three others, including him: Cypher, Sova, and Neon. It was an... okay team. Sova was the leader, but he did everything Killjoy told him to, so does that make her the leader? Cypher was there to keep an eye on the people and yell out callouts since they were breaking into an engineering-type museum facility. And Neon's only job was to cause a distraction. It was a last-minute decision since it was her first mission aside from killing the omega clones. She was young and obnoxious—the 'greatest, funny distraction,' as Gekko puts it. And Yoru was only there because the location of the facility is in Japan. And he was the only one who could speak Japanese. What a stupid reason. Yes, it's valid, but is that all he's used for? The goal of the mission was for Sova to get Killjoy to a certain room and get out as quickly as possible.

"Sova here. We are preparing to land now and drop the two off." Sova spoke through the radio with Viper on the other end.

"Good. Make sure to keep the others in the shadows, especially Neon," she vaguely explained, and Sova agreed through the radio.

"Go tell the others." Sova strictly said to Killjoy as he slowly and carefully began to hover the jet in the air. Without hesitation, Killjoy left the cockpit and went down to the other three.

She quickly strapped in next to Neon and began to explain, "So, here's the plan." She cleared her throat before continuing. "Sova and I will enter from the roof with Cypher's help to get to the security office, beat up whoever's in there quietly, and then we'll go our separate ways. Cypher will stay in the security office to watch over the entire building while Sova and I sneak through the entire place to get the part. Although, when we steal it, there will definitely be alarms. That is where you two come in." She pointed to Neon and Yoru. "You guys will go through the main entrance together-"

"Together?!?" Yoru interrupted her with a bewildered expression. "I have to be with her?!" Neon was humorously taken back by this.

"What's wrong with me?!" Neon raised her voice.

"You have no idea how these missions work, and you'll lose control! Especially if you're with me. You might as well stick with Sage or whoever." Yoru slumped back into his uncomfortable chair with his arms crossed.

Neon was about to fight back but didn't when Killjoy jokingly slapped his shoulder. "She's not that bad, Yoru. Besides, we need someone who speaks Japanese, so you need to be in the lobby with her just so she doesn't get in trouble too early." Yoru looked away with a hmph.

KJ rolled her eyes and continued. "Anyway, you both will enter with paid tickets and walk around the lobby. Cypher will know when we get it and then contact you guys. And when the alarm goes off, Neon, just go wild at the security guards and run circles around them, but please keep the civilians safe."

"Of course, engineer! You can count on me!" She winked.

"Yoru, you can do the same thing and stop her when we need to go. And just run up the stairs to the roof top. Got it?"

"Yeah..."

"Great! Oh, and Cypher, just run up the stairs as well. You got it, team!" They all nodded delightfully. "So we'll drop Neon and Yoru off first, and we'll fly up to the rooftop. Good luck!"

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

The door opened, and Neon slid down the long rope until she hit the floor, while Yoru simply threw a portal to the ground and teleported to the exact spot right next to her.

"Wow, you can't even slide down a rope, riftwalker boy?" Neon stood up and let go of the thick yellow wire, it flung back to the top.

"Why should I have to? It's easier to do it this way." He smirked.

Neon scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You just like being a show-off."

"Hell yeah, I do. Did Viper send you the tickets?"

"Yup." She pulled out a device that the protocol used to communicate with each other. They shared a not-too-long walk to the facility. "I'm surprised you haven't thrown a teleport and left without me by now." She giggled.

"I can't throw portals that far, and I'm also surprised you haven't sprinted away from me." He smirked again while looking down on her 5'3 self.

"I would, but I want to prove myself."

Yoru let out a loud laugh purposefully, "like you could keep it under control long enough to make them think you're worth it."

"Hey! Just because my power needs to be controlled by a stupid machine on my back doesn't mean I'll lose control."

"Oh yeah? You're also one of the youngest agents. More likely to forget about all the rules and go crazy."

"Okay, damn, stereotypical, I see. Now I see how you're the lone wolf out of everybody."

"You know I'm right."

Their argument continued the whole way there. Some stragglers even stared at them. Yoru prayed they didn't think they were a couple. Ew. In his eyes, they looked more like siblings, both being blue freaks and constantly yelling at each other. The argument finally ended with Yoru's last sentence. Neon wanted to respond but didn't have a chance since they just showed up at the entrance. Many people crowed at the entrance for tickets. Thanks to Viper, they already have them. The two eventually made it into the museum around when the sun was almost set.

"I don't get it. Why would this 'important part' that Killjoy needs for Breach's arm be in a museum?" Neon whispered to Yoru, so no one else heard.

"Apparently it's a facility that's hidden behind a museum, so no one suspects a thing and can study those artifacts at the same time. Kind of clever, though."

"Oh. So how did the protocol find out?" She asked. Yoru shrugged in response. "For real, bro."

"Look, I have no idea, sprinter. Just ask Killjoy or Brimstone later." He answered rather vaguely. Neon looked away in defeat.

But soon, her eyes lit up. "OMG! WHAT IS THAT?!" She ran off, away from Yoru (she was not using her powers.) "Neon wait!-" Yoru ran after her. He had one job and he was already failing.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

"Alright, Cypher, do you think you can handle it from here?" Sova asked while looking around at the beaten-up, unconscious guards in the security office.

"Of course, Sova. There is no need to worry about me. Go on now." He sat in the security chair, pushing a passed-out guard's arm off of it. Sova nodded, along with Killjoy.

"According to the map, there's a random door that leads nowhere in a restricted hallway. I'm guessing the entrance to the base is back there." Both of them sneaked down the hallway, leaving Cypher behind to do his thing.

Killjoy was right. There was a door that led nowhere on the map. After beating up some random people, the two slipped inside the mysterious door. The vibe of the rooms completely changed. Gray walls replaced the whitish-tan color. The bright lights dimmed, and pipes ran along the walls with them, creating an eerie water-running sound. They trudged down the hallway silently but then stopped when they heard voices.

"What do you think the boss will do?" A woman's voice could be heard muffled from the other side of a plain metal door.

"I have no idea," a male's voice said. "He's been pissed for months about the stolen mask, and the person here in our lobby has the same exact color scheme as that mask."

"What's so special about that mask anyway? Other than being an ancient artifact," she asked.

"Still, I don't know. The boss won't tell anyone. If I could take a guess, it probably holds some special ancient power or whatever." he finished. Their voices were unreadable as they walked away.

"What mask are they talking about?" Killjoy whispered to Sova.

"I don't have a clue. But it doesn't bother us, so let's keep going." KJ and Sova opened the door silently, appreciating that the door wasn't in the middle of everybody and instead was in the back of whatever gigantic room it was. A bunch of computers on desks was all it really was. "Let's not beat anybody; just sneak around. They're all clueless and stressed anyway." Sova said.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Cypher watched through the many screens visible in front of his eyes. He helped Sova and Killjoy sneak around without attention being brought to them, with Sova using his drone to scout out further. Meanwhile, he giggled and watched the other two maniacs on another screen as Neon ran all over the museum’s main area, with Yoru attempting to catch up. Even without using her Radianite powers, she still seemed to outrun every agent, no matter their height. Though they weren’t the most important part.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

“God dammit, Neon.” Yoru cursed under his breath when his line of sight lost sight of the blue-haired girl. He stopped at his place. She might as well wait here until she comes back, whining like a lost puppy because she didn't know her way around. Before taking out his phone, he glanced around at all the ancient artifacts. He remembers this place. Hopefully, no one recognized him. His eyes trailed around the room but then stopped abruptly at a certain familiar artifact.

There it was. A rusted red and green samurai outfit with a missing mask. The outfit was intact, aside from specks of easily visible dust and tiny scratch marks from it decaying over time. However, the mask was gone. His mask was gone. The one he stole a couple months before he joined VALORANT. Why did it matter, though? The museum didn't deserve his ancestor's valuables and his family heirlooms. His eyes continued to stare, with a smirk planted in him.

"I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but do you need any help?" A young girl with dirty blonde hair interrupted his thoughts. He looked down on her with a cold gaze, his height similar to Neon's. She also seemed to be... trembling?

"No, I'm fine. Thank you, though." Yoru said, and the girl simply nodded and left, maybe even skipping a few steps to get away faster. Was he scared of her?
Moving on, Yoru walked up to the guard rail in front of the samurai armor. It wasn't in a glass, out in the open, with the only safety being a stupid guard rail that even toddlers can jump over. The armor wasn't far, so Yoru reached out to touch it. What an idiot he was; he didn't care. Caressing it with his fingertips, he washed all over the torso. When his fingers touched the oni symbol, the same one on his jacket, a vision flashed across his mind. He immediately refrained from touching the chest and stumbled backwards a little with a wide-eyed gaze. What the fuck was that? It wasn't a lot to see, but he knew exactly what it was. On a battle field, lifeless corpses surrounded him, and a bloody samurai sword was placed in his hand. No man was left standing, only him. Although it wasn't his body, it was somebody else's.

"Yoru! There you are!" Neon ran next to him. He didn't even turn to look at her as a drop of cold sweat dripped down his forehead. "You okay?" Neon asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Huh?" Yoru whipped out of his trance.

She stopped in her tracks, right in front of him. "Are you okay, bro? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Um..." Yoru was going to answer but was cut off when Cypher's voice rang through the earpiece they both had.

"Yoru, Neon, be ready. Killjoy and Sova are about to retrieve the part."

"Copy," she responded. Yoru nodded. Before moving, Neon asked again, "Yoru, are you seriously okay?"

"Yeah, I am. Just shut up. Let's go." He brushed off Neon rather harshly, pushing her out of his way. She didn't say anything, only following him with her mouth shut.

"Okay, let's just wait here until the alarm goes off." He stated. Again, Neon didn't say anything, only nodding along. She wanted to help him with whatever he was doing when she was off running all over the place like a madman, but if someone wanted to be alone, then she respectfully accepted it. Also, her friendship with him was shit.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

The mission was a success in the end. The team got the part they needed and got out when the alarms sounded. Neon quickly blew off the situation with Yoru from before when she got the hang of running circles around the security guards, laughing like a psychopath. Yoru stood in the back and let her do her thing. He even left through the door to the roof without her, starting a tantrum from her when the ship picked her up.

"What? You looked like you had it. Why would I do anything?" Yoru said over his shoulder.

"That doesn't mean you can just leave me!" Neon pouted, twitching a bit from her recently-used Radianite powers. Yoru simply shrugged with a smug smirk on his face.

"Did you get the part?" Sage asked when Killjoy and Sova entered the ship.

"Yes! And I got multiples so we wouldn't have to go back in a while!" Killjoy said, ecstatically. Sage nodded and smiled.

Cypher wasn't far behind them, "though I do have to ask, Killjoy."

"Yes?"

"Why was this particular part so important to initiating an entire planned-out mission? He asked, twiddling with a trip wire between his gloves.

"Uhm, probably just that specific part is one of the main motors in Breach's arm and is very expensive. Better off to steal it!" The German chuckled and left. Didn't the VALORANT Protocol have a lot of money? The three stared at her while she walked to the others, then to each other. Without a word and with an awkward silence, they went back to their constructed duties. Sova and Sage sat in the cockpit together to prepare for takeoff. Cypher sat next to Killjoy as she giggled at Neon and Yoru's fight that quieted down when they felt the ship move.

┗━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┛

Chapter Text

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

The clock struck eleven in the main lobby, where the bar was. And there sat a lone Yoru, caressing his finger over the rim of his wine glass filled with some random alcohol. He had barely drunk any of it. He didn't feel like it. His mind kept going back to the vision he saw.

It wasn't his body; he was sure of it. He always loved killing, especially those idiotic clones who were imposters of them, but what he saw was a mass murder of probably thousands. Innocent life's stripped away. None of them even looked like they were in the army. Or maybe it was him. But how? In his entire life, he had seen nothing like that.

"What's up, bruv?!" Yoru groaned at a familiar British accent.

"What do you want, Phoenix?"

The man sat next to him. "Why the long face, riftwalka'?" Yoru stared at him with a stare that could make someone's blood run cold. "What?"

"Just leave me alone." He said, looking away and finally taking a sip of his drink after forever.

"Oh, c'mon, bro. Don't be like that. Neon said she was worried about you after the mission and asked if I could go check on you. Now I'm here. Watching you drink your misery's away." Phoenix crossed his arms. Silence followed. "Did you get rejected?"

"What?" Yoru whipped his head around.

"Did you get rejected?"

Yoru thought for a second. Ever since the mission, he hasn't thought of Skye once. "No, I heard you—no! Love's for weirdos, Phoenix. And we can't date anyone because of the no-fraternization rule that Viper invented."

"Hey! You just called me a weirdo! Rude! And it seems to me you weren't rejected."

"Yeah, pretty obvious," Yoru grunted. "Also, the rule I just mentioned."

"Ugh, we both know Brim and Viper won't notice some secrets." He added, "Though it sounds like you do have a crush on somebody." Phoenix giggled and nudged his shoulder. Yoru felt a blush creep on his cheeks.

"I don't, idiot."

"Oh, c'mon, bro! I can tell by how defensive you got. You can tell me who it is! Friendship bonding!" Yoru could not count how many times Phoenix said, 'Oh, c'mon, bro.'

Phoenix tried to get through Yoru, but just couldn't find the words to try. Yoru didn't want to admit it, but Phoenix was right. He probably had a big crush on Skye. But would he tell anyone? Absolutely not. The two kept talking, but nothing seemed to work. Long story short, Phoenix kept trying, and it ended up on Yoru leaving his cup in its spot. Phoenix yelled after him, "Bro, c'mon! Come back, please!" Yoru was already gone. Ready to check in for the night, or that's what he would say to others. He had another thing to do.

Yoru's conversation/friendship argument with Phoenix led him to think about Skye again. It might as well be about time to write Skye another love note. It's been over two weeks. Instead of triple-checking his words, he wrote whatever came from his heart. That's what most girls want, right?

Skye,

I don't know if you got my other message.

But if you did, I want you to know I meant every single one of those words

You're the most wonderful, nicest and prettiest person that's ever come in my life

And I'll take that for granted, even if you end up with someone else.

Just know that if you're having a hard time and need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here and I hope you'll be there for me as well

<3

Yoru cringed at his message and the little heart at the bottom. He didn't like it, but he didn't know what else to say. Slouching back in his chair in disappointment. Whatever. Maybe Skye'll think differently than he does. As the saying goes, "you are your worst critic." Yoru stuffed the note in the envelope and stuck it in Skye's mailbox/pocket. He wasn't as nervous as last time, at least. And he simply stumbled back to his room.

Let’s just say Yoru had a hard time falling asleep that night. Tossing and turning every second. His mind kept wandering about that vision. All he did was touch it. Maybe that’s what he gets for touching an artifact in a museum. But it was technically his family heirloom, so it basically belonged to him.

(That’s not how it works, bro. *facepalm*)

The only reason he fell asleep that night was because he thought of Skye and all her beauty. It seemed she was the only thing that could get his mind away from this vision. It’s just a stupid crush. He’s not in love.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

His body trembled to the brim with a sword in hand. No, not just a sword. It was a samurai sword. The ancient Japanese language was carved along the sharp blade. An orange and blue oni symbol barricaded the blade and handle. It looks familiar.

Though the sword was nothing as shocking as millions of bodies scattered across a wide, empty, bloodied-up field, his legs shook more, and they threatened to break underneath him any second. There was a huge lump in his throat, and his breath stiffened. Glancing at his clothes, it revealed that he was covered in blood, as was the sword.

“What the fuck?” Silence followed his cursing. Tears threatened to spill.

For the first time in a long time, he was actually about to let them fall until he heard them shuffling behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see an old Japanese woman struggling. His eyes widened, and he immediately rushed over to help her up. The woman groaned in pain as blood from her wounds leaked out onto her blocking hand.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” He asked.

She coughed up blood before speaking. ”Is he gone?” Her voice was rigid.

“Who?”

She began to loop up. “You don’t know who?” She tilted her head to thank the person who helped her up. "Thank you, kind sir-" Her eyes widened, and she stared into deep brown eyes. He was about to ask her what was wrong until she vomited out a blood-screeching scream. She let go of his helping hand and crawled away from her, continuing to scream. "Get away from me! Please! Please! Don't hurt me!"

All he could do was stare in shock as a dreaded feeling of guilt settled in his gut. Was he the one who committed a mass murder? "Uhm, I'm sorry..."

"You're not sorry for what you did! You murdered thousands of innocent people for your own enjoyment! You're a monster!"

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Then, Yoru jolted awake. Sweating and trembling. He sat up almost immediately. "What the fuck was that?" He whispered. A nightmare. It was just a stupid nightmare. He hasn't had one in a while. Maybe Fade finally got into his head.

He brushed off like he wasn't just quivering like hell. Yoru tried to fall back asleep, but nothing would help—not even thoughts of Skye. Yoru gave up. There was no point in trying to fall asleep anymore. It was around four a.m., so there wasn't time to go back to the bar and maybe get drunk to forget about everything that just happened.

Yoru stood up; his shaking had gone down a lot already. He put on his iconic jacket, and his body shuddered at the sight of the familiar Oni symbol. He didn't care about the spikes located in the shoulder area. His hands still shook slightly. He then combed his hair into it’s natural look. Nothing fancy. It was too early in the morning to care. Quietly opening the door, Yoru sauntered out.

He was about to stroll down a hallway when another door suddenly opened, and Skye walked out. She froze when she saw him too.

Well, this is awkward.

“Oh, Yoru. I didn’t know you got up at this time.” She smiled, and Yoru blushed a little. Her hair was fresh in a braid, and she was wearing her established outfit, just without the chest plate and armor.

“Hey…”

“What’re you doing up?” Skye asked and turned around to her mailbox. He could feel his heart skip a beat, and his breath quickened. Yoru watched as she snatched the envelope snuggled in there. She opened it up and took a glance at it, then chuckled. Wait, did she like it or was she making fun of it? “Anyways, Yoru?

“Huh?” He snapped out of his thoughts.

“What’re you doing up?”

“Oh. I just couldn’t sleep.” He said this, recalling bits of his nightmare.

She hummed and nodded. “Since four in the morning?”

“Uhhh, yeah.” He looked away. She was not convinced.

“Well, I’m going to go out. You wanna come with me, riftwalker?” Skye knitted one of her hands on her hip. Yoru looked back up at that before shrugging. She rolled her eyes. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

He couldn’t process what she meant fast enough when the girl grabbed his wrist and dragged him down the hallway. Her strong muscles were no match for him.

“What are you doing?” His eyes widened, and more blushes crept up.

"I'm forcing you to come with me to the forest! What? It's not like you have anything to do in here at four in the morning." She was practically dragging him. Usually, Yoru would yank out of whoever's grip and punch them, then not talk to them for days. But this was Skye. His crush. How could he hurt her? Physically and emotionally. "I hope you're fine with that! Yeah?"

"Yeah, I guess." Oh, ew, what a weird response. Yoru had no idea what to say; he was too flustered to think of phrases that wouldn't sound like he was trying.

"Great!"

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Skye dragged him out of the bunker into the fresh morning air. The sun was beginning to peek above the mountain. The light grew brighter, illuminating the sky in shades of orange and pink. Birds began to chirp, and the air was filled with the sound of their singing.

Skye took a deep breath. "Ah, doesn't that smell nice, Yoru?" She looked up and saw him staring off into the distance. Her hand was still wrapped around his wrist, though it had loosened a bit. "What's the matter, riftwalker?"

Yoru then gazed into her eyes. "Um, nothing." There it was again, lying as usual. She'll ask him later, rolling her eyes. She's sure of it.

"Alright then. Well, I was going to go on a run, but now that I found you, I thought we could watch the sunrise together. Sound good?" The Aussie generously smiled.

Yoru was taken back by her suggestion. "Uhm, I thought that was for people who are in a relationship." He blushed a little. He fucking wishes he was with her. There's no denial here.

She giggled. "Oh, Yoru, people dating aren't the only ones who can watch it. Friends can as well! And I'm tired of watching it alone. I never had someone wake up this early for me."

"I didn't wake up early for you."

"Really? Then what'd you wake up for?" Yoru was speechless. He didn't want to tell him that everyone was scared of the stupid nightmare he had. "That's what I thought."

"No, it's not like that."

"Sure, sure, mate."

"NO!"

"Shut your mouth." She started walking on, leaving Yoru stumbling over his words. He swears if anybody calls him submissive...

"Anyway, there's a cherry blossom tree on a hill by the lake. That's where I sometimes stop to watch the sunrise. C'mon." Yoru ran after her. Dammit. He liked her offer and would definitely take it any day.

Skye sat down in between two big roots, patting the next smooth natural seat next to her. Yoru sat in the exact spot. At first, they didn't say anything. He was waiting for her to say something or start a conversation. But instead, she stared at the dancing lake as the sun was seconds before rising. Yoru stared as well, but not at the sunset. He tried to make it unnoticeable, but he kept glancing at the Aussie's pale face. Admiring each and every freckle that scattered her face. The sun rose higher and higher, spreading its warmth across the land, including her face. The giant solar star was now half way peeking out. How was she not getting blinded by it's flares?

"Skye?" He finally said.

"Hm?"

"Are we just going to sit here or..."

That finally made her look away from the sun and at him. "I mean, do you want to talk? I'm not going to force you to say anything."

He somehow found himself scooting closer to her. "Uh, I guess. But I don't know what to talk about." He said this as he started fiddling with a growing weed.

"Okay, “Although, can I ask you a simple question?” She said he looked back into her eyes. “Are you okay?”

Yoru didn’t answer for a while. He stared at her with a confused expression. This is a stupid question. Of course, he’s fine. “Yeah. I’m fine.” He spit out an unintended taste of poison.

Skye looked like she didn’t seem convinced at all. “Okay, mate. Just stop lying. You like to, but you can’t seem to convince me. What exactly is the reason? You were shaking like a leaf this morning,” Skye crooked, her head to the side. He shrugged without an answer, and she mentally groaned.

“It’s… embarrassing.” He muttered. Skye could barely make it out.

“How is it embarrassing? Can you tell me? ...Please?"

Yoru groaned, looking away yet again. He didn’t want to say it, but he felt like he had to. He’s pushed it away from Flower Girl for too long. And she was being so nice; she didn't deserve to be manipulated or lied to. “I had a nightmare.” There was silence. Yoru got nervous, then glanced back at Skye’s facial expression. She wasn’t laughing, but she was scowling. “What?”

“That’s it? You were lying to me because you didn’t want to tell me you had a nightmare. Fade probably just got to you.”

Yoru’s face was flushed with embarrassment now. For him, it was funny to say he was scared of a nightmare. But in reality, it was a normal occurrence for someone to dream.

“What was it about?” She asked. He didn’t want to say anything. Even to the only person who knows when something is wrong.

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t want to say.” He pouted, bringing his legs to his chest. She was lost for words. Nothing came to her mind about what to say to him. Tension was high between the two.

“I think I’m going to go.” He confessed, standing up.

Skye didn’t want him to go. She was now just getting through his heartless personality. “W-why?” She stuttered, her eyes pleading up at him.

Yoru stared back; a sense of guilt sank in. He shrugged and looked down at her while shoving his hands into his pockets. Fuck. He couldn’t just leave her like this. “You want me to stay?”

“...Kind of.” He relented and sat back down. Dammit, she got to him again. Stupid crush. She smiled gently in return. “Thank you… I… I don’t know. I just don’t want to be alone. Does that make sense?” She began to fiddle with her fingers. He nodded and murmured something. The Aussie did not want to ask what he was saying. Attempting to not make him pissed like he always is ninety percent of the time. This was a rare time where he wasn't scowling.

They were silent for a while. His head was in his hands, which leaned against his knees. Obviously, he wasn’t paying attention to her at all. Skye learned one thing about herself that morning. She seemed to be the only one who cared about sunsets, apparently.

More time passes with tranquility, and Skye finally says something: “Yoru. You want to head back now? The sun is basically up.” No answer. She sat up and crouched over to him.

Nudging him a little, “Yoru?” Still nothing. She was going to shake him until she heard soft, steady breathing. Skye giggled at the sleeping man before going back to her spot right next to him. Now that the sun was above the mountains, she stopped paying attention to it. Instead, she slowly caressed Yoru’s arm, drawing zig-zags across each corner. Watching his face buried into his jacket sleeves.

When ten minutes turned into an hour later, Skye finally woke Yoru up after many attempts. At first, Yoru groaned and went back to sleep immediately. He was never a morning person, and he didn't get much sleep that night. Skye kept trying. It was starting to get hotter out, and she wanted to head back. But she didn't want to leave Yoru all alone, slightly away from the headquarters. And the rest of the agents would think he was missing or had snuck out and gotten himself stuck in some dangerous territory.

"C'mon, Ru, we've got to head back now." She shook him. Yoru responded with a whine. Many attempts later, Skye could not get him to get up on his own. So instead, she used her strength to pull him up onto his feet by his arm. He groaned louder when trampling over Skye to regain his balance. He didn't have enough sleep for this. Many baby steps later, Yoru was walking without Skye's help back to the base.

They both shared a peaceful silence while tramping back to the bunker.

When the sun began to set the same day, Yoru sat in his chair with a note and pen in hand. He was prepared to write another note. For the entire day, he had been thinking of what to write her. She had transformed his mind into a happier mood ever since the nightmare. He needed to thank her. Also, she might've liked his note; seeing the smile she had when reading it made his heart twist and turn in several directions.

Skye,

You don't know it, but you've helped me so much

Loud thoughts crowd my mind but they seem to quiet down when you're around

I've always never understood love, but you changed that

And I know you will always be by my side. Even if you don’t know who is writing this,

You will always have my heart Skye

He created his exact steps to Skye’s door, planted the note in its designated position, and giggly skipping back to his room. Yoru was hoping. Wishing and hoping that she will discover that he was the one who sent those sweet notes. He was always the cold-hearted person of the protocol. Though, for some reason, he wanted somebody to see the sweet side of him. Only one soul. And he wanted that person to be Skye.

Yoru slept great and did not have another nightmare that night.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

The device on the wall blended into the color of the wall, with only a blue and green light flashing occasionally. Staring at Yoru as he shoved an envelope into Skye's mailbox. The man behind the camera giggled underneath his mask. It was joyful to Cypher's eyes to see Yoru making a sweet gesture for one of the agents.
"It looks like little Yoru's got a little crush."

When setting up cameras late at night, Cypher spotted a piece of paper peeking out of the pocket. He had no idea who it was, and nobody else had mail. But now...

He giggled again. He wouldn't say anything since it was sweet to finally see Yoru find at least one person he isn't a jerk to.

Cypher was going to let the young radiant fall in love without the no-fraternization rule getting in the way. Everyone deserved someone special in their life

┗━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┛

Chapter Text

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

There was a mission—just a classic five versus five against the omega agents on Bind. It wasn't different from any other mission, unlike the last one Yoru went on and others like it. 

"Idiot." Yoru spat out as he shot the Ωmega Iso in the head near A cubby. Reloading his gun, Yoru erupted a blue kinetic orb into his hand and tossed it behind him for later. The duelist quietly patrolled past the teleporter and into A lamps, his gun up, ready for anyone in the line of sight. 

"We're all clear here." Viper's masked voice echoed through the earpiece. "Though we only got three, Yoru, you copy?" 

Yoru slightly settled his gun down. He forgot about his team. As he stated before, he never liked working in a team. "Yeah. I killed one of them at A. I have no idea where the other one is." 

"Good. We'll pack up now. You look out for them. Jett will help by sneaking from B to A in the attacker's spawn." Viper elucidated, cutting out. Yoru rolled his eyes. He could do it by himself, for the love of God. 

The duelist quietly trudged out of the lamps into the main site. Walking around the blocks, he made sure to check the tower and the bathroom before. Nothing. No enemy was in sight. Yoru put down his gun and turned around, looking at the floor. Muttering something under his breath, he could barely hear the gun reloading at his head.

"Bonjour Yoru." A similar voice echoed in front of Yoru. His eyes widened, and he whipped his head upwards. Chamber. The omega Chamber. He pointed his golden sheriff straight at him. "Surprised, aren't you?" 

"Um. Yeah..." Yoru tried to not show that he had a backup plan. He also had no idea what he said. He hoped the enemy Chamber didn't see him place a teleport in A short. "What do you want? He muttered.

"Oh nothing. I might as well kill you, since your team killed mine. Fair trade."

"You know they can just get revived, meinu."

"Oh, but it's just more fun this way, isn't it?" Chamber grinned with that cheeky smile he always had. 

Yoru always hated it. He never liked Chamber anyway. "Nani demo meinu." Chamber focused his aim in between Yoru's eyes. The duelist wasn't that surprised, rolling his eyes, then thrusting his arms back towards his chest and teleporting to the designated location that he had previously placed. 

Yoru stumbled a bit on the wall but raised his Death Wish Sheriff up to Chamber's head as he was turning around. A loud gunshot rang out. Chamber dropped to the ground in a flash. Yoru was looking forward to celebrating his victory, but a sharp and deep pain stung in his abdomen. Yoru toppled backwards onto the ground. Dropping his Sheriff and grasping his stomach. He hissed but didn't scream. 

"It's Yoru. I got the last one." He said it through the coms, trying not to show he was in pain. Viper responded, though he wasn't paying attention since his focus was all on the throbbing pain. The womb wasn't bleeding, but god did it hurt like hell. 

"Yoru!" He snapped out of his trance as Jett's voice could be heard. Yoru looked up to see Jett running towards him before kneeling down next to him. "You okay? Where are you hurt?" 

Yoru didn't want to admit that he needed help. 'Never show weakness, ever.' That was what he always said, and he'll stick to it. "It's nothing; I'm fine." He spit out, slowly and painfully getting up. Jett tried to help; however, Yoru shoved her away. It took a second, but soon Yoru found himself on his feet again. He moved his hand away from his chest to create the illusion that he was fine. 

They both walked back to the other three in silence. Jett strolled behind him. Occasionally glancing up at Yoru with concern,. 

"Fuck." Yoru whispered under his breath, low enough for Jett to not hear. God damn, did it hurt like hell. He needed to check it out. It could be a giant scar, and at least someone would demand healing for what it was. Probably Phoenix. 

Soon, the two duelists met up with the rest of the team: Viper, Sova, and Raze.

"Stealthy Yoru! Did you get the rest of them by yourself?!" Raze shouted with her iconic, bursting personality. In return, Yoru rolled his eyes. Such a stupid nickname that only someone like Raze could come up with. "Impressive!"

"Yeah. I did." He groaned. The discomfort that palpitated got rid of his good mood, which was often rare. 

"We've packed everything up. Brimstone should be landing the jet soon, so hold tight." Viper said, removing her mask. The group nodded in return. Viper went back to whatever she was doing before, and Sova seemed to help her.

Raze didn't take long to run over and force Yoru into a hug. "I can't believe you did so much by yourself, buddy! You almost don't need us!' Yoru flinched at the Brazilian's action. She was always a supportive friend and one for hugs. However, Yoru was basically the opposite. Raze knew this, but yet she didn't care. Thankfully, she didn't touch his scar on his abdomen. Jett only stood back and smiled, fidgeting with one of her knives. 

When Raze didn't let go quickly, Yoru started getting a little impatient. "Raze. Let go."

"Aww, come on, amigo. You can't stand hugs?"

"No, I can. Just can you let go?" He rolled his eyes once again. Raze dropped her arms and backed up, still grinning like a mischievous cat. Yoru walked ahead, leaving the other two behind. Jett and Raze started a conversation about looking forward to that one day every month that they can have a free day without him. 

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

An hour passed when the five of them were finally allowed to go off the mission and do their desired activities. Yoru finally had the chance to check out how bad his scar was. Sadly, he had run into Breach along the way. The initiator tried to ask how the mission went, but Yoru was not in the mood. He simply screamed at Breach to "Piss off!" Now, thinking back, Yoru kind of felt bad but he should've seen the bad mood the duelist was in. Plus, he never liked Breach, anyway. Somehow, the Swede can't see that he dislikes him the most out of everyone. Yoru clutched his side once more.

Right when he was scanning his key card, he heard a familiar and lovely voice. "Yoru?" Yoru turned to scream at whoever got in his way, only to see Skye with a wood carving in her hands. "Are you okay? You look hurt." 

If this was with any other agent, he'd probably just yell at them like he did with Beach before. Though this was Skye, he couldn't yell at Flower Girl, no matter how mad he was. Without saying anything, Yoru ran into his room and closed it roughly behind him, leaving Skye standing alone in the hallway. 

Yoru sat at the end of his bed in a rush. He lifted up his shirt to see the damage. His eyes widened when he saw a large blue scar that roamed across his abdomen to his waist. It illuminated and glowed a dark and a light blue. Yoru was stunned, to say the least. Tinier blue cuts surrounded his waist, but the giant one was the best eye-catcher. He traced his fingers along the cut; it stung further like a stinging wasp. He hissed in pain. 

So that was what the pain was. 

Yoru needed to examine more. How many more cuts like this were on his body? To answer his question, Yoru took off his jacket and threw it farther up on his bed behind him. He ran a hand through his hair before tearing off his shirt. More little scars, about the size of a couple centimeters, crowded his chest. There were several more on his arms. 

Yoru's heartbeat started to race faster. What the fuck were these? How did this happen? According to the color, he theorized it could be his teleportation ability, though he hasn't gotten any of these types of scars before. So what could it have been? He needed to let Sage know. Yoru did not sleep well that night. Every time he turned, a wave of pain quivered his entire body, specifically the large one. He decided it was best to sleep shirtless, hoping it could be more comfortable, but it really wasn't. 

Skye had asked him what was wrong, though he pushed her away. His stomach fluttered, thinking of how caring she was before it soon disappeared because he didn't take the chance to treat her nicely. She didn't deserve that. In fact, she was probably trying to help. At least he didn't curse her out. He thought until he passed out. Yoru wanted to write another note to Skye that night but didn't have the chance to. He had a tough day, so the sleep was needed.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Skye stood speechless in the hallway after Yoru had left her hanging. She was worried for him. She recalled him clutching his side and hissing. Something was torturing him at the looks of it. It probably happened during the mission he just came back from. She knew he looked like he wasn't in the mood to talk about it. Well, he never was in the mood; that didn't help.

Skye plunged her carving into one of her side pockets on her sweat pants. She stopped in front of Yoru's door, knocking slowly. There was no response, and Skye started getting worried. Once more, she knocked, and Yoru did respond with a strict "What?."

"Are you okay in there, mate?" 

There was a pause from the riftwalker, then "yeah. I'm fine. Just go away."

The healer rolled her eyes. Another day, another lie. She knew she couldn't force him to say anything, especially when he locked himself in his room. So, Skye would figure out a plan to get him alone and probably force him to spit whatever he was hiding.

Although, for now, the only thing Skye could do was just wait. She knew she could get through him. She seemed to be the only person on the protocol who could... for some reason.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

To him, Icebox was familiar before he joined the VALORANT Protocol. A Kingdom base is located on a small Russian island north of the Arctic Ocean. The place where he stole his mask back, leaving the rest of the armor behind in the dust. 

Goddamn, did he hate that place, yet he craved answers? Yoru requested a day off early in the morning, and Brimstone granted it since he already had a mission the day prior. To his dismay, he slept in so late that he decided it was best to leave late at night. There was no way he could fall asleep on time that night anyway.

He took this time to visit Icebox for a minute and take time to recall the time he broke into a Kingdom base and stole the mask without hesitation. The Kingdom Company sure got mad about it. Luckily, VALORANT didn't care about their rage since nobody liked Kingdom anyway. Jett did make fun of him, saying it was probably him who made them furious, which it was. The armor set in Icebox was taken away to the museum, with only remnants of radianite filing out of it. Kingdom was proud of their discovery and even displayed it as a trophy. Although that didn't end well since he straight-up stole the mask without a trace, they did not expect that. Now, they had a broken, ancient samurai armor set that was pouring glowing radianite out of it, which made it useless. How could they know someone with the same power would steal the armor in the future? Eh, the mask was the only thing that mattered to him.

After about five minutes, Yoru went back through the teleporter and immediately went to Split to wonder around his homeland for the rest of the day. Or maybe find answers.

"Kuso." Yoru cursed as he stumbled out of it. He always hated those teleporters. They were always different from his abilities. His seemed more natural, while the headquarters teleporters seemed more sluggish and gooey. He hated the feeling. The others didn't seem too bothered by it, he guessed, probably because they didn't have the same powers. Chamber and Omen could perhaps agree with him.

It didn't take long for buildings and architecture to start looking familiar to Yoru. He knew Tokyo, Japan, like the back of his hand. He grew up here in the end. Along with the shops he's known since he was a kid, there were new businesses rolling in that probably just moved in. Yoru doesn't remember the last time he requested a day for just himself to visit Tokyo. Even passing by a new flower shop that wasn't there before. He paused in his tracks. A flower shop. Smiling, he thought of Skye. He knew she liked any type of flower and would be more than grateful to receive them as a gift. Don't call him creepy, but of course Yoru knew her favorite flower, a paper daisy flower topped with a few pink rock lily flowers scattered between the leaves of the daisy. He had overheard Skye go on a rant about her favorite flower to Sage once in the cafeteria. On his way back, Yoru was possibly going to stop by and buy a flower that looked pretty to his eyes. 

Yoru continued on his way. Now that he was thinking, Yoru had no clue where the answers were. His mind and body were so eager to solve those blue scars that haunted him all last night. He hadn't told anyone about them. Instead, he wrapped the biggest scar up with bandages. He was sure he did a poor job, though he did his best. 

The first places he could think of were ancient temples. These scars may have had something to do with his family. Maybe. However, he doesn't recall a temple his ancestors owned back then. Perhaps ancient artifacts?

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head. At that museum, he went on a mission a week ago. When he touched the armor, he had a vision. Then that night, he had a nightmare. A nightmare that actually shook him up. Yesterday's mission was the first time he had gotten those scars. That armor he touched could be the reason why he started experiencing those blue scars. 

Yoru's corner of his lips twitched upwards. He actually had a lead. The problem is, he had no idea where that museum was. It was kind of cut off from the rest of the city, so he couldn't pinpoint any landmarks. The only solution was to ask Viper or Brimstone for the coordinates of the museum. Sadly, It was pretty late back in the United States (I'm assuming it's in the US) which meant there was a high chance of Viper being fast asleep. 

What a shame. If he had just thought of it sooner, then he might actually have a solution. Though Yoru enjoyed admiring his motherland for the entire day. 

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

He still had about two hours left until this curfew before he was entitled to be treated as a traitor. The only thing that could get his mind away from longing for answers was either a bar that was around the block or going back to that flower shop to get Skye a flower. He decided to make a more responsible decision. 

The chimes twinkled as the door opened. The smell of fresh flowers engulfed Yoru. There were so many beautiful colors surrounding him. He knew there was no way he could find Australian flowers in a Japanese flower shop, so he'd try his luck. There were some of the classics, such as red roses, white daisies, pink orchids, and sunflowers. But one caught his eye. A camelia. A flower that looked like it was plucked from Lotus. It had vibrant and elegant pink petals that folded on top of each other like paper and a long, attractive stem with broad green leaves. 

Pink wasn't really Skye's type, but it was a really pretty flower. He bought a single one at the price of 1,051.76 Yen (seven dollars.) He thanked the young girl at the counter and walked out of the shop. 

Now, thinking about it, he had no idea how to give it to her. It was so hard to even put an anonymous note into a girl's mailbox. How could he give the same girl a flower right in front of her?! God, he really didn't think this through. Maybe he'll give it to her... soon.

It took a while to walk back to Split. Everyone on the protocol agreed to not use their radianite power around innocent citizens. So he couldn't just teleport back home, which was a shame. The clock struck eight-thirty when he entered the VALORANT HQ.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

"Hey Brim," Skye announced her presence as she entered Brimstone’s office. She was embarrassed that she had caused him to be sidetracked. “Oh… sorry.”

“All good, kid. What do you need?” He responded in a stern voice. Skye walked in but didn't sit down.

"I was wondering if you knew where Yoru was." 

"Oh, he asked for the day off. At least he's causing trouble somewhere else than here." Brimstone said.

"Um, okay, do you know where he went?" Skye asked, and Brimstone stared back in silence. She was starting to get nervous until he spoke up.

"Japan." 

Of course, he went there.

"Where in Japan?"

"Look, kid, I don't know. I don't have any legalization to track him unless he's in trouble or didn't respond to any of our messages. The only thing I can do is message him. But anything else, I can't do anything." Brimstone explained with a sigh. Skye glanced down with disappointment glinting in her eyes. "Sorry, kid. I don't even know why you're looking for that rascal." 

"Um," Skye's hope was dropping. "Okay, thank you." 

He was finally able to get back to his work. "No problem," ending the conversation as Skye trudged out of his office. Guessing she has to wait until he gets back. Whatever time that would be.

Her eyes moped downward, and at the same time, she mumbled something under her breath while walking back to her room. 

"Greetings, Skye," a Moroccan accent uttered from the shadows. Skye looked up to see Cypher fiddling with his tripwire between his two fingers with a slight nod when she spotted him.

"Umm, hi, Cypher." She said rather nervously. She was kind of confused, what did Cypher want with her? He never talks to her in the first place. "Do you need anything?"

Cypher stayed silent. It seemed like he wanted her to go on. Skye's eyes dragged around the hallway, then on to herself. Was it her?

"What is it, Cypher? Just spit it out." She crossed her arms, and all previous motivations evaporated.

The Moroccan finally said something. "I couldn't help but overhear you're conversation with Brimstone. You're looking for Yoru, I see." Skye furrowed her eyebrows. Of course he heard the conversation; he hears and sees everything. 

"There is no need to start an argument, Skye. I just wanted to help you accomplish whatever you wanted to know about that riftwalker. " Cypher spit out Yoru's nickname harshly. 

"Listen, mate, I don't need to know anything about Yoru. I just needed to talk to him about something. It's not like you care; you'll capture it on camera or something like that."

He giggled in response. Skye wasn't known for getting too mad—not as mad as Reyna, so she tried to keep her temper low. 

"I see. You're fine on your own. But do you really want to see where he is?"

Skye shrugged. "What do you mean?"

"I've tracked his location, and I know where he is. There's even footage of him on street cameras." Cypher exclaimed. 

Skye's eyebrows raised. Now she was intrigued. "So you can show me where he is? Am I hearin' that clear?" Cypher nodded, and the grin behind his mask widened. Skye thought for a moment. This guy, who kept all the secrets and whom no one trusted, was willing to spy on someone for her. Well, she'll take it for granted.

"Do I need to pay anything?" For someone to grant access to know what Cypher has found for them, they had to pay a hefty amount of money for it. Nevertheless, for Skye, she got lucky.

"No payment is needed. Follow me."

Skye followed Cypher to a hallway that she had never bothered going down before. They stopped in front of a door, and he took out a key from his belt pocket. The two stood in silence as Cypher fumbled a little with unlocking the door. It soon burst open, and they walked inside, closing the metal door behind them.

Skye was amazed to see two computer monitors neatly placed on top of a desk. The room was spotless; there was no garbage or lint to be found, and even the walls were coated with lifeless metal. There was no dry wall or paint. The chair was perfectly in it's place as it secured the keyboard and mouse to the monitors. To power everything, the main computer was sitting a little ways from the equipment on the desk.

"Damn, mate! So this is where you've been spying on us!" Skye couldn't express any other motion than impressment and shock. 

Cypher chuckled at the praise. "Well, yes, my dear. There's got to be some place for me to find out secrets. It can't be my room; that's just too obvious."

"Clever to hide it in a hallway that nobody goes into." She exclaimed. Cypher sat down in his chair, turned on the computer, and began his search. 

Skye admired his dedication, even if he knew things about people that they didn't want out. The only question that Skye was wondering was: why was he showing his exact working spot? The place where some people dislike him because of it?

She stood right next to him while he moved files around on his monitor. "Hey, Cypher?" she asked. 

"Yes?"

"Why are you showing me this spot?"

"What do you mean?" Cypher paused his work, looking up at her.

"Like, why are you showing me where you work? Don't you think I'll tell everyone, and they'll come after you?" She finished. Her hair stood up when Cypher kept on staring at her aimlessly.

"No, I don't think you'll tell everyone. I trust you and your promises. So if you promise to keep this place a secret, I'll promise to keep your secrets safe." He smiled behind the mask.

Skye stared back into the blue orbs he called eyes. It did make sense in the end, but she didn't like the way he said he had secrets about her. If she promised... this could benefit her in the future, so she can ask him for more information if she desperately needs it. Skye made up her mind: "You know what? Sure, mate. Let's make a promise." Skye said, sticking out her pinky like she was back in second grade. 

Cypher stared at her pinky. What a weird way to make a promise, he thought. He finally shook her pinky. And so the deal was sealed.

"Okay, good. Now back to the riftwalker." Cypher targeted his attention back at the screen. It took him a minute, but he was able to navigate a certain file. It brought up security camera footage on the other monitors.

"I have multiple clips. I've been tracking him down all day. He doesn't seem to be doing anything except wandering, maybe looking for something." Cypher explained as he showed Skye one clip of Yoru just walking down a street.

"Where is this exactly in Japan?"

"It seems to be next to the Nezu Museum in a town called Minami-aoyama. Speaking of Aoyama, he stops at the Aoyama flower market, the head office of the company on Kotto Street. It seems he walked out with a flower. I'm not sure which, but I'm pretty sure you will know." The sentinel leans back in his chair to give Skye a better view of the screen. And there that little jerk is. Walking out of a cute little flower shop. She had no idea what it meant, but it probably was just a small market he mentioned, hence the flowers inside and outside of the building.

"Huh... that's it?"

"Well, no. But all he does is take his sweet time admiring the architecture of his motherland. I would do the same. He isn't far from the city of Shinjuku, which is where the Kingdom base, aka Split, is located."

"Oh, that makes sense. But why would he buy a flower? Out of everything he would do in Japan on his day off." Skye questioned, continuing to stare at the repeated loop of Yoru walking out of the store with a pretty flower. Cypher looks up at her. He tried his best, but he couldn't hold back the little laugh from his lips. 

That made Skye glance back at him. "What?"

It took a moment for Cypher to stop his laughing fit. "Sweetheart, you know how I have cameras everywhere in this place?" Skye nodded slowly. "Well, that gives me more secrets, and of course I've seen little Yoru sneak out at night."

Skye's eyebrows furrowed. "I swear if he did anything bad-"

"No! No, nothing bad!" Cypher reassured her, and she relaxed a little. "So you know those little notes you've been seeing in your mailbox?" Skye nodded again. Was this going where she thought it was?

"They were- here; let me just show you." He went back to the keyboard and brought up another security camera video of a hallway that showed their rooms. Silence passed, and it wasn't long until Yoru's door opened. In the top right, it showed 12:37 A.M. He had an envelope in his hand. He went over and placed the said envelope in Skye's mailbox before quickly rushing back to his room. Skye's eyes widened, and a blush corrupted her face. Cypher then fast-forward the footage to four-thirty in the morning to see herself opening her door and grabbing the same note that Yoru put in. On the footage, she read it and then smiled once again.

Skye was speechless. Those heartwarming notes were from someone she least expected. "So it was him all along?" 

Cypher nodded. "I saw him do it, and it was so cute that I just had to show you. Hopefully you don't hate him." 

Words could not find their way out of the healer's mouth. Out of everyone, the agent who acted like he didn't like anybody was sending her secret love notes. Nobody else had done for her in her lifetime until he came along. 

"Skye."

She looked over at the voice that said her name. 

"I need to ask you. Are you fine with him doing this, or does it make you uncomfortable? Because I can certainly make him stop."

"Don't." She said it rather roughly, staring back at the sentinel.

"Alright then."

"So that flower... is it for..."

"I'm guessing so. Who else would it be after those love notes?"

Skye grinned, and her cheeks became more flushed into a light pink. "Is he back yet?"

"Maybe. It only takes about an hour to get back to Shinjuku City from Shibuya." Cypher leaned back in his chair.

"Um, okay, thank you, Cypher. I really appreciate it." Skye said to him, trying to hide the smile but poorly failing. 

"No worries, dear. Glad to see you and Yoru are going to get along."

She said her goodbyes and walked out of the secret room. When she got out of the hallway, her heart kept skipping so many beats that it could've probably exploded. Skye had no idea what to say to Yoru after finding out that he liked her. No wonder he always teased her and kept calling her a flower girl. Was he the best at flirting? Probably not, but it was cute to see his attempts. Also, she did notice she was the only one that could yell or control Yoru without getting a fist to her face. Not even Viper or Brimstone could do that (maybe Viper). Now, how would she talk to him now? She would get too flustered to even speak. 

"I see you're in a good mood." A female voice spoke in front of her. Skye looked up to see Sage and Omen walking in a pair. 

"Oh! Hey, Omen and Sage! Yeah, I am!" She couldn't stop her smile from growing.

"You want to talk about it?" Sage grinned at her. She hasn't seen her this happy since she joined the protocol. 

"Not really, but thanks!" Skye said this before she skipped off around the corner

"Is she usually that happy?" Omen waited until she was out of earshot.

"Not really. Something really good might've happened. I haven't seen her this happy since it was just us two before the protocol was created. She didn't want to talk about it, which is fine. I needed to see that smile again." Sage explained. She missed the adventures they had when they were younger. 

┗━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┛

Chapter Text

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

Yoru's feet fucking hurt from walking all day long for him only to accomplish an idea. It didn't take long to get back to the VALORANT headquarters. All he needed to do was request another day off from Brimstone tomorrow and ask Viper for the coordinates of that museum/facility that he went on a mission to a couple weeks prior. His mind was so crowded with thoughts that he didn't hear Jett's call his name the first time. 

"Yo, Yoru!" He looked ahead of him to see the annoying Jett running up to him across the hall with Neon tagging along. Ever since Neon joined, she followed Jett and Raze around because they were the most female extroverts of the protocol, just like her. "Where've ya been, buddy?" The two surrounded him like bees.

"None of your business." Yoru spits it out. He just wants to be left alone and go to bed. 

"Oh c'mon! Just tell us!" Jett cheerfully yells while nudging his arm. "Skye's been looking for you, you know?" 

That made him actually pay attention to them. Neon's grin widened humorously, and Jett's tone turned into a teasing one. "Yep! So... what's the chemistry between you two?" 

Yoru hid the light blush that spread on his face as he continued to walk on to try to loosen them; nothing worked. He was stuck in a risky situation. If they knew he had a crush on Skye, then they'd tell Raze, and it'd be done for him. Raze will spread the rumor, which could lead to Viper or Brimstone finding out. And knowing that there is no fraternization allowed, he would get a stern talk that didn't mean anything. It's not like a stupid rule could stop someone from catching feelings for someone. Besides, everyone knew Jett and Phoenix had a thing, and Killjoy and Raze were not even trying to hide it anymore. Maybe it didn't matter as much as he thought. But Skye... would she not like the rumor and start to hate him? 

"Yoru!" Neon yelled. Spinning him out of his overprocessing brain. "Oh my gosh, you do have a crush on her!"

Yoru whipped his head at her. "No! Why do you think that?! We don't even talk!" 

"Woah, don't get too defensive." Jett put her hands out in defense. "And besides, just because you claim you two don't talk doesn't mean you can get feelings for each other." Yoru was going to defend himself, but Jett wasn't done. "You even tease her the most by giving her a nickname, then get jealous when someone else uses it. And you can't forget how you get really shy around her. It's actually really cute. Stop being in denial, Yoru~" Jett jabbed her pointer finger into his shoulder with a smirk on her face.

Dammit. She really did pull out every single reason from the book. Neon looked back at Jett, impressed. Jett didn't show it, but she was running into walls from excitement in her head after seeing Yoru's bewildered face.

"Fine! You got me! Just do not tell anyone else, especially Raze." Yoru didn't like it, but he admitted defeat. How could he compete with the Korean after she took note of every time he and Skye interacted? 

Jett's smirk faded into a pout. "Awwwww, c'mon. What was the fun in exposing you now?" 

"I'm only doing this for Skye's sake. I don't want her to be uncomfortable because a stupid rumor decided to spread. You got it?" Yoru spit out, and Jett slowly nodded. "If you do tell anyone, I will report your constant flirting with Phoenix to Viper and get video evidence from Cypher to show her. Don't test me." And with that, Yoru had his control back. 

Jett's eyes widened. "B-but-"

"And you." Yoru turned to Neon, who was on the other side of him. "Um, I'll tell Brimstone that you were the one that stole all the alcohol and hid it."

Neon's eyes also widened, but she didn't say anything. Jett also stared at Neon with shock. She was one of the agents that searched for alcohol that night when Raze hosted a party.

"Do we have a deal?" Yoru demanded an answer. They both nodded. He finally turned the corner, leaving the two behind in the empty hallway.

Yoru was really hoping he could enjoy the rest of his day, but those two just had to get in the way. And they had to pressure him into admitting that he had a crush on one of the other agents. At least he had facts about them that didn't want to be released to the two leaders. His head hurts from all the stress that pounded his head like it was being hit with a rock. There were two more things he needed to do before he could call it a day. Yoru knocked on Viper's door. 

"Come in." She responded. Yoru opened the door to see her shuffling around some papers. "What do you need, Yoru?"

"I just wanted to ask you for the coordinates of that museum/facility I went on a mission to with Sova as the leader. That's if you still at least have it." He said this, sitting down in the chair across from her desk.

"I do. Though I thought you knew all of Tokyo, Japan." Viper smiled slightly while reaching for a folder.

He chuckled in return, even if it wasn't funny to him. "Tokyo's a big city, first of all, and I never knew there was a secret building out in the middle of a forest." The last thing he would do was get Viper mad.

"That makes sense. And here. A copy of the mission report from Sova. It has the coordinates in the introduction." Viper slipped the folder across her desk to Yoru, who gladly took it.

"Thank you, Viper."

"Anytime." 

Yoru closed the door to Viper's office and made his way to Brimstone's. He was hoping to quickly pop in and ask him a question like he did to Viper, but this wasn't the same case. Before he could knock, he heard Brimstone talking to someone already. He was groaning because he was going to wait a while since it was Chamber that Brimstone was yelling at for sneaking out for the fiftieth time. Knowing Chamber, he loved himself too much to back down from a fight even if he was in the wrong, and he knew it.

"I really am tired of your bullshit, Chamber. We really are tired of tracking only to find you at some fancy party." Brimstone started getting angry. He wasn't as scary as Viper, but if he put Chamber in front of a furious Viper, he'd just keep flirting with her and probably call her hot or something like that.

"You see, old man, I have a life out of this protocol, unlike everybody else. I still need to keep up with my rich friends." Chamber said. Brimstone didn't like the use of the nickname a lot in one of these situations.

"Well, you can at least tell us where and when you're leaving. If you have one of your rich bastard parties, request a day off like the rest of the agents. You understand?" Yoru could hear the force in Brimstone's voice and Chamber's agreement that would never be true. "Good. Get out." Chamber always got on every older agent's nerve. 

Unlike the other younger agents, Yoru hated Chamber. His 'charm' he claimed to have was never understandable to Yoru. He also assumed that everyone liked him since the younger agents gave him a lot of attention. It didn't help Yoru's exhaustion when the door opened and Chamber walked out, taking note of the duelist standing there, waiting. 

"Oh, it's nice to see you, Yoru." Chamber said, winking. Yoru just scoffed, pushing him out of the doorway. "Hey, no need to be in a grumpy mood." Without another word, Yoru shut the door behind him, and Brimstone looked up at him. God, he didn't want to hear that French accent anymore. 

"What do you want, Yoru?" Brimstone asked, leaning back in his chair. Yoru sat down in the chair across from him.

"I was just hoping to have another day off tomorrow." Yoru was waiting for clearance, but the other person's answer shocked him.

"No can do, kid."

The duelist looked up at the leader, confused. "What? Why?"

"Because you already had a day off today, and I need you for another mission tomorrow." Brimstone exclaimed, crossing his arms. 

"Oh, c'mon, Brim. I never asked for days off until today. Why can't I have this?"

"What I just said. I need you for another mission."

"For what stupid mission?" God dammit. 

Yoru was mad and exhausted, but Brimstone was more infuriated due to Chamber's actions. "I need someone who can teleport."

What the fuck? Omen and Chamber can teleport; why did it have to be him? "You want someone that teleports? Go ask Omen or Chamber. I can't."

"Yoru, I am not in the mood to fight with you, and you will go on this mission since you are a duelist, an important role. Got it?" Brimstone jabbed a finger at him. Yoru didn't say anything. Only staring back at him with a disgusting look plastered in his eyes. Brimstone could see Yoru's anger without another second of looking at him. "Look. I'll let you have a day off in three days. Got it?"

"I'll take it. Thank you." Without even saying goodbye, Yoru simply walked out with his arms crossed. Luckily, no one was hoping to talk to Brimstone outside. He didn't want to deal with anyone else today.

The duelist headed back to his room with his signature scowl. Astra and Harbor passed him at one point and tried to say hello, but he really wasn't in the mood and walked right past him, not even acknowledging their presence. The other two just shrugged it off. He was always in a bad mood anyway.

Yoru shuffled his key card around and cursed when he dropped it the first time. He could hear someone skipping down the hallway around the corner, but yet again, he ignored them. His key card was finally able to scan through, and he entered his room. The door shut behind him.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Skye rounded the corner of the hallway to head back to her room. And hoping to see him. However, just as she turned around the corner, she saw the certain riftwalker's door shut close without him in sight. Skye's mood dampened. Well, screw that moment. Dammit. Was she being too childish? Crushing over someone and then skipping in the halls because of it? Okay, now her mood isn't good anymore. Maybe she was. The initiator now wanted to go to bed and forget all about what she was feeling. Why did she switch up all of a sudden? Because she knew Yoru would've called her cringe or an insulting name because of it or thought of her weirdly, even if he had a crush on her, and she knew that. Skye called it a night.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

It was way rougher the next day. Yoru didn't sleep at all last night, no matter how hard he tried. Even the entire day of walking didn't help. Now he had to fight in another dreadful mission. All he could feel was pain all over his body. He guessed it wasn't even wounds from the enemy's Jett's knives, but those damn blue scars. They probably got bigger since they had the same balance of pain as the first giant one he got. However, this time, they were all over his chest and arms, and he could feel it slightly in his legs. 

Yoru tried so hard to hide it, but fuck was it hard. Sage tried to heal him, but he pushed her away. He claimed he was fine and walked it off, but we all know he was lying. Yoru was the first one on the ship after the mission ended and immediately sat down, hoping to relieve the pain due to the lack of using any muscles. His hands trembled when fastening the seat belt. The scars screamed at him as the belt rubbed against them. Raze walked in not long after

“Amigo! You did great today!” She yelled with her cute boombot in her hands. Yoru muttered out a thanks. “Though I do have to ask, we’re having a party tonight since there was a successful mission. You want to come?” He looked up at her to see her cheerfully smiling. He actually really wanted to go to get his mind somewhere else behind bars of alcohol, but those scars were saying otherwise.

“Sorry, Raze. I don’t think I can.”

“Aw, c’mon. You barely come out of that dome, which you call a room. Just let loose! There’ll be drinks…” She said the last part in a teasing voice. A drink could probably get his mind away from all the stress. 

“Skye will be there~” Yoru looked up at that. Why was she, out of all the people, bringing this up with him? "Yeah, you heard me…” Then she sat right next to him, fastening her seat belt like he did.

“So, what’s going on with you and Skye? I’ve heard some stuff.” She smiled, leaning in.

Yoru’s mind immediately went to Jett and Neon. He swears, if they told her, god damn, he was going to kick their asses when he gets the chance. 

Raze’s eyes widened. “No, no, not any rumors; I just have seen signs. That’s all.” Thank God she clarified, because that probably wouldn’t end well for her if she didn't.

“Why do you think that?” He asked while his nails dug into his palm out of anger.

“I don’t know! Jett keeps making funny jokes about relationships she would find cute and keeps mentioning you and Skye.” Raze smiled to not show her nerves tense with the cold stare she was given by the other duelist. At least she didn't tell it directly to Raze. "So... are you going to show up?"

Yoru didn't answer her, and Raze began getting annoyed at the silence. The ship started to take off, and there was still no answer from the Japanese. Like an impatient child, Raze pouted and started lightly hitting his shoulder, kicking, and screaming. Yoru looked away. Not only to annoy her more, but because she was touching a scar—not a big one—it still hurt a lot with contact. He held back the tears and hisses.

After five minutes of pouting, Reyna had enough and yelled at both of them and threatened to beat her to hell. That made her quiet, but Yoru was put to blame for ruining Reyna's mood by being a 'bitch' for not answering Raze the first time.

"Please just answer the question. I'll love to have you." Now she brought out the puppy eyes, whispering along with it. 

Yoru wasn't one to fall for that, unlike Killjoy, but whatever makes her shut up will work.  "Ugh. Fine. I'll go! Now will you shut up?" He scoffed. Raze humped in joy in her seat. "The only thing you promise to do is not make me participate in anything I don't want to!"

"Fine by me!" She didn't care; she was just glad her friend was getting out of his room for once. 

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Hours passed when the team got back to headquarters. Thankfully, as promised, Raze left him alone to sit in his thoughts while she blasted her music into her ears. 

The party wasn't until after an hour, so Yoru finally got some quiet time for himself. He will definitely use it wisely after how much he used his powers today. Trembling into his room, he didn't hesitate to throw his jacket on the bed first thing. He needed to look at these scars. Unlike last time, he could feel them forming. He could feel them slowly ripping open his skin. 

Just as he predicted, blue scars covered his entire chest, back, and arms. Some were creeping up to his collarbone, hoping they wouldn't form there. That would cause suspicion. It was specifically on his upper body; he only felt a little pain on his legs. Surprisingly, when he took off his gloves, there were more scars, ones that he couldn't feel earlier forming. With any more abuse of his powers, they were definitely going to start showing up where people could easily see them. These scars acted just like normal scratches, only disappearing perk was blood. However, all the pain and visible evidence is still there, including them stinging when it reaches hot water, which is why he started taking cold showers. It sucked, but it was the best you could do.

God did this suck. Yoru honestly didn't know what to do. Nothing has happened to this for any of the other agents. 'Perks' of different types of radianite powers. Despite his personality, he was going to burst into tears. There was no one to tell. No one is there for him during this. He has no idea if these are scars that are actually going to kill him because they aren't bleeding, but maybe he would give out one day because of the pain. There was no way he was going to tell Sage, Brimstone, or Viper. Definitely not Viper. She would probably experiment on him, which was probably the better choice, but for the love of God, he didn't want to be treated like a lab rat. Nobody did. Was this what Omen felt?

Yoru slid down at the end of his bed to the floor before regretting it when the scratches let out a loud scream of pain. He didn't want to feel it, but tears began to fall. These scars were going to get worse, and he couldn't do anything about it. His eyelids close to stop the fall of tears. That was when his brain decided it was his time to shut down. Yoru fell asleep shirtless on the floor. 

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

A loud knock echoed through the room, causing him to burst his eyes open. "You bro! The party's started! Where are you?" Phoenix's British accent sang through the door.

Yoru stood up. He was still shirtless and on the floor. Shit! He forgot to wrap the scars up! "Um. Yeah, I'll be there in five minutes." He grumbled, grabbing the bandages he used for the first giant scar. Obviously, he'll need to use more this time. 

"Well, hurry up! Raze is getting anxious!" With that, Phoenix walked off. 

Yoru didn't have time to properly put on the bandages. Some of them fell off during it, which made him curse a lot. They fell off so much that it came to the point where he just had to ditch the bandages all together. All he hoped was that nobody hugged him or touched him at all. Though he was going to be in a room with drunk twenty-year-olds, most of whom loved hugs, he doubted he wasn't going to get what he wished. This wasn't going to end well.

Yoru rushed his jacket onto his body, ignoring the cries of pain he wanted to let out so desperately. He was a little nervous about the scratches on his hands. So he put his battle gloves on to try to hide them. Hopefully, nobody questioned it.

Everybody seemed to be busy with their declining sober bodies and drinks in their hands. Phoenix and Jett were stupidly close to each other, with Neon and Gekko joining in on their conversation. Iso was also there, but he was new and had no idea how to communicate with the others. Raze tried to connect herself to the conversation but kept getting dragged away by Killjoy. They always seemed to be tied together and inseparable. Reyna was sipping her wine in the back while she kept a close eye on Sage, who was having a light conversation with Sova, Cypher, and Omen, who was the one who stayed quiet most of the time. He probably got dragged here by Sage. Viper was working the bar as usual, where Chamber would not step away from her. Brimstone wasn't there to drag him away because he was probably waiting not far away from the bar room to hear if anything went wrong. Fade was in the back at a table, alone as usual, just as she liked it. Kay/0 was absent from the occasion. Breach's loud voice could be heard across the entire base, where he was responding to gossip with Astra, Harbor, and Skye listening. Deadlock was right next to Skye but didn't say anything. She liked to be included but also didn't at the same time. 

Of course, Yoru was the last to walk through. He was hoping nobody would notice him... "Yoru!" Raze screamed, drawing every single eye in the room as she ran up to hug him. Well, screw everything that he was planning on. Raze wrapped her arms around his waist, trapping his arms in the process. 

Yoru did everything in his power to not punch her because of the pain she was causing him. The one thing he didn't want was to be hugged. To hide the torture that stung like venom through his veins, his face scrunched up in disgust. His eyes didn't want to land on anybody since he knew everybody was staring at him. That didn't last long when his eyes went straight to a familiar flower girl. Skye stared right back and took a sip of the drink. He didn't like that, so he blushed. 

When Raze wouldn't let go, Yoru pushed her off. Everyone seemed to go back to what they were doing before he walked in.

"I'm so glad you actually came, Yoru!" Raze cutely clapped like a toddler. 

"Yeah.... Now, as we promised, leave me alone." Yoru coldly said, walking off.

"Awwww, why'd you agree to him, Raze!" Jett pouted while she crossed her arms. 

Yoru could hear Raze arguing back behind him. He didn't feel bad at all. Raze agreed to the promise; it's her fault if he sits in a corner the entire night, which is what he was planning on doing. But first, a drink from the bar.

"Viper, just give me a strong drink or whatever. I'm not too picky." Yoru asked her, and he ignored the smirk Chamber gave him. Viper nodded and turned her back to the two. He did not want to talk to that douchebag right now. All he needed was a drink, and he'd be good.

"So, what took you so long, riftwalker?" Chamber slurred his words unintentionally. The duelist ignored him. At least Viper was quick with her drinks.
"Yoru?" he asked again. 

"Shut the fuck up, brief case. Leave me alone." Damn, his temper was quick because Chamber barely said anything, and he was already furious. The name calling was already spitting out. The sentinel chuckled as Viper handed him a glass.

Without a thank you, Yoru walked off to the corner of the bar. Finally, he was away from everyone. That's what he needed.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Skye watched Yoru stroll away from everybody else. Somehow, he didn't see her eyes following him. She was worried for him, to say the least. She saw the scrunch on his face when Raze wrapped her arms around him. It wasn't a disgusting look, but one that looked like he was in pain. Her brain thought back to when she saw him rush into his room while holding his side like he was bleeding, but there was no blood pouring out. That's what stumped Skye that day. She also remembered the morning they accidentally ran into each other. He was trembling and thought she wouldn't notice. Skye guessed she helped because the same night she received a love note. Skye could taste on her tongue that he was hiding something. Well, he was always hiding secrets. But this time, she knew he needed help but didn't want to look like it.

"Skye!" Breach slammed down on the table they were sitting at. Skye whipped her head at him. Everyone at the table was staring at her. "Are you listening?!"

"S-sorry. My mind was..." She looked at Yoru, then back to the group. "Elsewhere."

"Well, you should listen to this. So, this girl..." Breach trailed off.

Only Astra turned to where she glanced away, then smirked, excited by what she saw. Skye could see it through her and gave her a death glare. Astra giggled, then turned her attention back to the other's story.

She didn't understand, but Astra was really invested in Breach's story and kept laughing at it. It was just about a girl from his high school who had about ten boyfriends and played each and every single one of them. Apparently, she even had sex with three of them. Harbor had the same reaction as Skye, confused and disgusted. When he came up, she got one of the teachers fired for framing him for being a predator. That's when Skye excused herself. She had no idea if the story was true, but if it was, she did not want to hear it.

During the gossip talk, Yoru seemed to look more relaxed and tense. Maybe this was her time to talk to him. Filling up her drink with more red wine, she made her way over to Yoru, who was dosing off in space and didn't notice her until she tapped his shoulder.

Skye smiled as Yoru whipped his head at her. He looked angry, but when he met her eyes, they softened. 

"What're you doing here all alone, riftwalker?" She asked, tapping her short nails against the glass, waiting for an answer.

"Um..."

"Do you mind if I hang out with you for a bit? Breach is telling a... disgusting story from his childhood." Skye asked, and Yoru didn't hesitate in his nod. She used every muscle in her body to hold back a giggle because of his shyness.

“Why aren’t you with the rest of them like you usually are?” She asked and pointed at where Phoenix was laughing his ass off. He shrugged, taking a big sip of his drink. 

“Are you okay, Ru?” Skye asked, leaning against the wall the same way he did. She could see the blush that grew on his face at the choice of nickname. He still didn’t say anything. Skye scooted closer to him. Now their shoulders brushed against each other. 

She continued. “C’mon, tell me what's wrong.” Yoru shook his head. Her eyes trailed down his arm to his gloved hands. That’s strange. He never wore his spiked gloves other than on missions. That is, until she saw little blue scratches peeking out. She refused to ask him or even let her eyes widen. If those were just little ones peeking out, then there could be more bigger scars hidden elsewhere.

“You want to talk to me about it or just keep drinking your alcohol in silence?”

“Just keep drinking.” He muttered loud enough for her to hear it over the music. Speaking of the music, Raze turned the volume so high that it felt like the room was going to explode. But at least no one could hear them.

“Okay… whatever you’d like. But I’m not leaving, just so you know.” Skye stated sternly, and Yoru didn’t answer. All he did was finish the last gulp of his drink.

“Mmk, I’ll be back.” He mumbled, leaving to fill up his glass.

Skye was actually surprised when he came back. She wasn’t expecting it. He tumbled when trying to lean back against the wall. They were the same height at 5'9. Skye helped him stand up straight.

"Ru, how many drinks have you had?" Skye asked when Yoru pushed her helping hands away.

"Mmm, only three. This is my fourth one." His words were slurred. So that's probably why he wasn't talking much before. "Skye," he said.

"Yes?"

"Are you worried about me?" Yoru asked, staring at her with those dark brown eyes. Skye stared back and held back a flustered laugh.

"Well, yeah. You've been a little odd lately."

Yoru shuffled closer to her. "Does that mean you like me?" They were sharing the same breath now, drinking half of his glass. 

The alcohol stung his insides. Guess Yoru spilled his topics that sat at the tip of his tongue while he was drunk. Which sober him wouldn't dare speak about. That was proven with "Because I like you a lot." Skye blushed hard. She was speechless. She already knew he had a crush on her, but it was different when he confessed it right in front of her. 

The alcohol was getting to Yoru. He would definitely regret this later, when someone tells him. Skye, on the other hand, was as red as a tomato. He was so close to her, even almost dragging his finger tips across her neck. 

"You know what, c'mon, Yoru. Let's get you to bed." She couldn't hide her blush anymore. She wrapped her arms around his and tried to drag him out of the bar, but they didn't get far when he hissed loudly and stopped.

"Ow, flower girl. That hurts." He hisses again, then continues in a flirtatious tone that made Skye squint her eyes with disgust. "I don't want to go yet. I want to stay here with you~"

That made Skye roll her eyes and tug on his arm again to keep going. 

He yelped as she yanked him. "Ah, flower girl. That really hurts. Please stop." She then stopped, as he asked. Okay, he seriously doesn't say that randomly. There was no sarcasm, so that made Skye more confused. 

"I'm barely gripping you. Seriously, what's wrong?" Skye had alcohol in her system too, but not as much as Yoru.

He was quiet for a moment, then said, "I don't have to tell anything. Just stay here with me. Please..." He confessed, not attempting to wiggle out of her arms.
Skye sighed. She'll do it; she'll stay with her riftwalker. "Okay, but let's at least sit at the table." 

Yoru agreed with a nod.

Skye guided him to a booth, not in a corner like Fade, but where none of the others could notice them if they were drunk enough. When Skye sat down, Yoru leaned into her and nuzzled his head on her shoulder. Skye was grateful that Yoru was drunk enough to not pay attention to the warmth that spread from her neck to her shoulder; otherwise, he would make fun of her for it. Yoru wasn't so happy about it, but Skye banned any more drinks for the night. Four was enough for him.

The healer let her hand rest on the table while Yoru's arms wrapped around her waist. She shivered like it was winter when one of his hands held her side, where her bra was. Okay, now there is no way at least one person hasn't noticed the pair. 

Although the other agents seemed to be busy with their own things,. Playing games and all that. Reyna was talking to Sage at the bar with Omen next to her. It looked like he didn't know what he was doing, so he just stayed by Sage's side the entire time. Chamber finally left Viper alone after thirty minutes, with no response from her, and went off to Jett's group. The group still had the same people, but this time, Neon was being so chaotic that Gekko was having a hard time keeping her under control. Phoenix and Jett were the same as the electric agent. They were drunk enough to release a dangerous disease by accident because they were that crazy and oblivious. Iso left to go to the bar after being tired of their antics. He sat alone, not even touching his drink. On the couch, Killjoy was blacked out on top of Raze. That's right, when she and Yoru were talking, she was dared by Neon to make out with at least five people here, or chug ten drinks. A bit too much, right? Well, that's not what everyone else thought, which led her to not be called a coward and pass out. Cypher and Sova joined in on Breach's third story of the night with the group she was with before. The only person who seemed to pay attention to her and Yoru was Astra. She kept on looking over and giggling when she saw the situation Skye was in. Thankfully, she didn't tell the others.

Skye lifted her drink to her pink lips. She then stopped when Yoru whined and reached up for the glass. "No, mate. You don't need anymore drinks." She shooed his hand away, causing him to whine again but not lift his head. "Yeah, cry about it." 

To be honest, Skye was not expecting to be in this sort of position. A drunk Yoru begs her to stay with him as he clings to her like a little puppy. It's not like it could get worse. Yet she was wrong. Yoru lifted his head from her shoulder and nuzzled his face into her neck.

"Mmm, you're cozy." He mumbled, and Skye shivered as his lips twitched on her skin. 

She had no idea how to stop him. It's not like she wanted to push him off, but it just didn't feel right. There was no way Yoru was going to show this much affection ever again. Skye knew Yoru wasn't the type of person to confess to something like a crush, according to when he claimed "love is embarrassing" when Jett and Phoenix were flirting for the millionth time. This was a once-in-a-lifetime moment for the pair. (Girly pop, wait for the future.) So she had to take this for granted. And for the love of God, she hoped Viper didn't yell at her because it sort of looked like they were breaking the no fraternization rule.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Raze glanced around the room to see if most of her friends were still here because she had nothing else to do when Killjoy was passed out on her lap. Her eyes glazed over to the bar and then to where Breach and some others were sitting in the booths. Fade had left a couple minutes before. Though she wasn't focused on Fade,. 

A pair of certain agents caught her eye. Yoru and Skye were sitting at a table together. Expect a situation between the two to happen that she thought she would never see. Yoru's arms were wrapped around the healer with his eyes closed and his face nuzzled into Skye's neck. Skye looked like she was going to explode from how red she was.

Raze grinned widely. She didn't need anymore rumors to confirm some of Yoru's relationships. It was kind of cute. Yoru being a whiny brat because that's just who he was when he was drunk, and Skye helping him as much as she could. 

Killjoy wiggled in her grasp, causing Raze to jump out of her thoughts and look down at her. The duelist shifted a black lock of hair out of her face. Her glasses were half off her face, her beanie was nowhere in sight, and her hair was a complete mess. People would definitely take note of the two.
When Raze looked back up at the two, Skye was stirring him awake and forcing him to his feet. Despite the music, she could hear Yoru's little, grumpy whine. Skye escorted the riftwalker out of the bar. Raze stared at her the entire way, and Skye glanced at her before turning away quickly to avoid eye contact. Raze giggled.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Skye finally got Yoru out of the bar and into the hallway where the dorms were. He had put up a fight along the way but gave up when Skye scolded him out. Unlike before, Skye had been extra careful when dragging him away, not wanting to hurt him.

"C'mon, Ru. Where's your key card?" She asked as they stopped in front of his door.

"Um, in my pocket, I think." He said. 

Skye searched his pockets and pulled it out, scanning the key pad and walking in. The door shut quickly behind them. She ushered the duelist across his dorm to his bedroom. Now, thinking about it, she had never been in his room before. Well, she had only been in Sage's, Breach's, Harbor's, and Astra's rooms for the record, but not her riftwalker's. It was a struggle, but Skye finally got Yoru right next to his bed.

He didn't waste time getting under the covers to get comfy. The head ache was starting to get to him after all. Skye watched him. His pouted face with his eyes closed was kind of cute to look at. She was always jealous of the non-appearance of pores on his face. Such smooth skin. Wait- that's weird to think about. Like, really weird. Skye then cringed.

She snapped out of her trance when Yoru reached up to tug at her loose shirt. They locked eyes before he patted his bed. "Stay with me, please, flower girl." He pleaded.

Okay, him clinging onto her the entire time was one thing, and she thought it was cute, but spending a night in the same bed was too quick for her taste. "Sorry, Ru. Maybe another time." She tried to keep her answer vague to not cause him to break out into a fit. Although he still let out a whine, "Look, I'll stay here until you fall asleep. So it basically means I'm not leaving you. Alright?" She reassured. That seemed to do the trick. Yoru nodded, then closed his eyes.

Skye only sat down slightly at the part he patted. She lightly ran her fingers through his already messed up hair, and Yoru leaned into it. 

As she watched the duelist fall into a drunken sleep, she took a look around the room. Looking around it, the first thing she noticed was that his room was pretty neat, to say the least. Mostly everything was organized, and his floor was speechless. Skye was kind of impressed. Not even Killjoy's work place was as neat as his room. It was probably because of Raze.

Her eyes trailed over to a small desk. Beyond the dark blue color of his room, a bright pink flower sat on the desk like a sore thumb. Skye giggled. It was the exact same flower she saw him buy on a security camera when he went to Japan. However, the sight of the planet not in water made her cringe. If he was going to give her a flower, at least put in vase Eh, whatever. She'd be happy with anything.

Yoru was fast asleep in no time. Even in his sleep, he still craved Skye's affection. He nuzzled against her leg. Sadly, she forced herself to pull away, standing up. Before she walked out of his room, she ran another hand through his hair. The blue dye was starting to fade slightly. He looked adorable when he was sleeping so peacefully. 

Skye demanded that her legs move and leave his room. If she didn't, she probably would stay the night accidentally.

Looking back at him, she debated searching his body for whatever those blue scratches were but regretted it. That would be weird. Maybe another time. Skye left the room without thinking another thought.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

This is the exact reason Yoru didn't get drunk. No matter how nice it was to chug your problems away for at least one night, the next morning jet lag was never good. Yoru sat up, clutching his throbbing head. Hissing when another pound rung throughout his skull. Looking around his room, it was still as neat as ever. Good. He did not feel like cleaning after jet lag.

Brimstone was giving him a day off tomorrow, so he had one more day to kill. Why'd he have to wait an extra day when he was doing nothing? He doesn't know. Maybe Brimstone had thought ahead of time ever since Raze planned the party. Speaking of the party, he remembers nothing from last night. Only up to finishing his third drink. Snippets of Skye popped up in his mind from last night, but he thought it was just his imagination since he's overextended his thoughts of having a crush on her a lot. Especially when he was drunk, it was probably just the alcohol. 

Yoru shuffled the blue covers off of his body. Now that makes him think that someone had to drag his arrogant self to his room. Whoever they were, he thanked them mentally. Settling his feet on the ground, Yoru just realized he slept with his shoes on. Weird. He quickly flicked them off.

Yoru stumbled over to his sink in the kitchen. He hissed as he tumbled into the counter because of those scars. Though that didn't stop him from snatching a glass and filling it up with tap water,. He chugged it, then filled it, then chugged it again. He did that over and over again until his body felt well enough to walk normally and his headache had gone down.

Before thinking another thought in his slow-paced brain, a knock at his door reverberated in his dorm. 

"What do you want?" He strictly yelled.

"Yo bruv, me, Jett, and Reyna were planning on doing a shooting competition. You wanna join?" Phoenix stated beyond the door.

Not to lie, Yoru wanted to join, but if this headache didn't go away in five minutes, he wouldn't be able to. Wait. What time was it? "Uuuuh. Can you give me like fifteen minutes?" He didn't know if it was going to be enough time.

"Sure! See ya in a bit, buddy!"

Yoru needed to do so many things in such a short amount of time. He basically threw the glass in his sink, ignoring the loud clanking sound. All he needed to do was get his hair ready and shake the jet lag off. His fumbling fingers combed his hair into it's signature style. It took most of his time. This only seemed to happen to a perfectionist like Yoru. Luckily, his headache was almost gone when he stabbed his feet into his shoes. Although he was so forgetful this morning, he completely forgot about the dangers of abusing his powers.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

"There's the rifty boy!" Jett cheerfully jumped up and down as Yoru walked into the practice range. Phoenix cheered along at the sight of him. Reyna smiled with a vandal in hand.

"Took you long enough, bro!" Phoenix jogs up next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. 

Yoru cringed and shook his arm off. That place is meant for Skye. Wait WHAT!

"Yeah. Whatever." He looked away, clearly embarrassed by the painfully noticeable height difference between the two.

"So who wants to go first?" Phoenix asked. 

Jett responded immediately. "OOO ME! ME!" Her screaming made Reyna back away from her.

The group reluctantly agreed. Jett wasted no time grabbing her vandal and running into the range. The rest of them sat behind the glass, watching the radiant use her nimble wind abilities. She ended with only a couple scrapes and one missed bot. 

"What?!? I missed only one?! That's bullshit!" She pouted when she saw her results. Twenty-nine out of thirty.

"Haha, maybe next time." Phoenix brushed the invisible dust off of his shoulder, making his way after her for his turn. Phoenix ended up getting an amazing thirty out of thirty but got many cuts and bullet holes in his jacket. "Aw mann, I got holes in my jacket." He examined his torn jacket. 

"At least you got a perfect score." Jett scoffed loudly.

Phoenix patted Yoru hardly on the shoulder, causing him to tense up. "It's your turn, buddy. I'd like to see you try to beat me." His words made Yoru's blood boil, but he couldn't get mad because Phoenix said it so innocently.

"You guys are idiots. I got this." He proudly said this while rolling his eyes. When he entered, he placed a teleport across the room. Yoru was halfway through the process when an unexpected bot came out of nowhere. This wasn’t a big deal. He simply teleported away to a shallow corner. As soon as he was about to shoot the bot that ambushed him in the head, he felt an immediate, dreadful pain spread from his neck to his abdomen. Yoru cried out a yelp and fell to the ground. He clutched anywhere he felt the continuing pain. It felt like a blade was slicing him on his entire torse a thousand times with no signs of stopping.
“Yoru!” Jett screamed. Phoenix’s eyes widened, and he shut down the program. 

No. Not another one. He could feel his skin ripping open like a thin sheet of paper. Reyna sat back while Phoenix rushed to his side. 

“You good, bruv?!” He asked, crouching down. Concern stung deep into his eyes. Jett was next to him. 

Her eyes transformed from concern to shock when she glazed over his neck. “Yoru…what’s that big blue scar on your neck?” He looked down, and yup, there it was. A gigantic blue wound spread from his neck to under his shirt. He glazed over the scar. It stung like a thousand needles. He hissed.

“Don’t touch it, mate!” Phoenix furrowed his eyebrows, but Yoru didn’t listen to him. He slapped Phoenix’s helping hand away. “Bro, you need to get to Sage. That’s not normal.”

Yoru rolled his eyes, ignoring the pain. Not to lie, he mostly forgot about those scars since they didn’t hurt until someone touched them, no matter how big they were. Although, he felt this scar was going to be different,. “I’m fine.”

“No. You’re not.” Jet stated, crossing her arms. 

“Ugh.” He continued to hide the cut but poorly failed Yoru stood up and pushed Phoenix out of his way. “Don’t you two dare tell Sage.” Yoru said as he looked back at them for a second with a death glare. He walked past Reyna, who squinted and glared at him.

Fuck. He should’ve declined the offer for a competition. No matter how determined he was to beat Phoenix because of their rivalry,. His body was suffering, and the two were right; he needed to see Sage. But as stubborn as Yoru was, he decided not to. These scars will fade soon. Right? Hopefully.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

“Skye!” Jett yelled from down the hallway. Skye whipped her head around, stopping at the door to the outside. She was planning on creating more wood carvings in the spring air. Maybe even advance her abilities like Kay/O and Omen kept offering. Although confusion spiraled across her face when Jett and Phoenix showed up.

They were out of breath when they caught up to her. “What’s up?”

“We *gasp* need your help.” Jett huffed out.

“With what?”

Jett continued. “Okay, so we were doing a little shooting competition like we usually do. And when Yoru teleported during it and..." Skye’s eyes widened. “And he was fine before he teleported, but when he did, he fell to the ground. Me and Phoenix went to check on him like a normal person does, and I saw a giant blue scar on his neck that extended to underneath his shirt.”

“What did it look like?” Skye asked with concern in her voice. Her hands clenched around her tools.

“Like blue and glowing or some sort.” Jett thrust her arms forward to try to make her point more clear. “Phoenix tried asking him about it, but it was Yoru; he just cursed at us and walked away.”

“Huh…”

“We were wondering if you could help because you seem to be the closest to him out of everyone.” She paused for a moment. Phoenix continued for her. “He told us not to tell Sage, and we agreed because he’s scary, but he also didn’t say anything about you. So we just came to you for help."

Skye thought for a minute, processing what they just said. “Okay, I tried to ask him before, but I haven't had the time. Thank you for telling me. I-I'll make sure to get him to talk.” Her voice was sort of shaking.

Jett and Phoenix nodded before walking back down the hallway. Skye took the trail that led to the cherry blossom tree—the same one she always went to and where she dragged Yoru that one time. 

She had thought of Yoru the entire time. Her theories were true. Something was wrong, but he didn’t like to talk about it due to his issues with snapping at people, causing them to leave, and him being alone. It soon became a routine of yelling at people for simply getting in his way. Skye was not going to be like that. No matter how many times he called her stupid nicknames, she’d stay by his side. He looked like he needed it. She was desperately trying to think about his expression and how his mental state was when he was going through those hard times. She'll get him to talk; she's sure of it.

Skye had thought her entire plan through when she ended up at the tree.

A couple hours had passed without her even knowing it. She was so deep into wood carvings that she didn't hear Sage sit down next to her.

"What are you working on now?" Sage asked, snapping Skye out of her thoughts.

"Oh! Sage! I didn't hear you. I'm working on an owl. I thought it would be cool if I had a quiet bird to enter sites." She said. No offense to Hawko."

"I see. Are you working on advancing your powers?" The other healer mentioned.

"Kind of. Kay/O and Omen made a good point." 

Sage watched as Skye went back to her work. She was always impressed by Skye's careful, permanent lines on wood and her hobby as a carver. Sage wishes she had time to be as creative as her best friend. Though she wondered one thing, "I do wonder, Skye," the initiator said, looking up from her craft. "Have you ever carved mythical creatures? Like a dragon?"

Skye thought for a minute. "Well, kind of. After my first attempt at a dragon, I didn't want to risk my life again. Though a pegasus or unicorn would be cool." She uttered the last part.

Sage smiled with empathy carved into her eyes. The two continued to talk for a while. At first, Sage thought she was bothering the Aussie, but Skye reassured her and told her she was getting tired of the silence. 

"Are you sure I'm not causing you trouble?"

"Nonsense! No matter how much I love animals, the birds are getting kind of repetitive. Maybe I should start listening to music like Raze." Skye giggled, and Sage followed.

There was a comfortable silence between the two, with the occasional sound of a knife scraping into wood. That is, until Skye asked Sage a question. "Hey Sage, after dinner, can you help me with something?"

"Uh, sure! What do you need help with?"

"Oh, nothing big! I just need you to lure someone to the infirmary." Skye smirked, and Sage chuckled with a nod of agreement.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

The food that was provided for the agents wasn't the worst, but it's definitely been better in his lifetime. At least it was always hot at six o'clock every night. Nonetheless, Yoru didn't eat until eight, after everyone settled down in their rooms. Extroverts, such as Raze and Jett, tried to convince him to eat with them at the designated time. Yoru rudely declined. He's the complete opposite overall.

The duelist sat in the quiet cafeteria. There was silence encompassing his ears. Only the occasional echo of laughter erupted from the main 'family' room. Other than that, it was just silence. The exact thing he wanted.

Yoru picked at his empty dish. His mind was elsewhere, as it recalled his shit day. First, he woke up with jet lag without any remembrance of the night before. Then he competed in a shooting competition, only to get the biggest blue scar out of all of them. His eyes widened when he first saw it. That was almost eight hours ago. He finally had time to wrap up his entire chest. Even wrapped up, the most recent scar still hurts like hell. The best thing to do was to ignore it. It was hard, but the only thing he could do. Going back, the absolute worst thing of the day was Jett and Phoenix finding out about his scars. Yoru was sure they were going to tell Sage. But he'll just push her away. She was always strict with him anyway.
"Yoru." A voice sounded from the doorway. No. He was just thinking about her.

"What do you want, Sage?" Yoru sternly said, not even looking up at her.

"I need to speak with you."

Fuck. He should've known they would tattletail. Oh, he would beat the shit out of them later. Yoru groaned loudly. He stood up and threw his plastic plate away.
Sage lowered her eyes to his neck. She could see white bandages peeking out; his jacket hid most of them. "Follow me."
Yoru shoved his hands in his pockets. He followed Sage behind her. There was no way he was going to walk right next to her. 

What felt like an eternity of awkward silence later, Sage let him enter the infirmary himself before strolling down the hallway. Yoru stared at the healer as she walked away so peacefully. Although he couldn't help but be puzzled, he thought she was trying to confront him about the scars that Jett and Phoenix must've told her about, but no. He was left outside of the infirmary there without a word. 

Yoru was thinking about just forgetting why she led him here until, "You going to come in or what, mate?" Skye scowled through the door's foot-wide opening.

"Skye..." Okay, he didn't hesitate to enter the infirmary now.

"Shut the door." She strictly said. 

Yoru did as she asked, nervously. Sage was scary when she was mad, but Skye was definitely way more terrifying to come across. Unlike Sage, Skye has been the only one to beat Beach in an arm wrestle (other than Brimstone), and nobody has tried to do that before. What made matters worse for Yoru was that she even broke his nose once. That was a bloody experience. At least she immediately healed him.

There was an uncomfortable silence that settled. What Skye was doing was searching through cabinets for a specific file. Yoru knew he should be the one to talk first. "Did you ask Sage to bring me here?"

"I did." She said as a chill went down Yoru's spine. "Do you wanna know why, riftwalker?" Her glare turned to focus on him. He nodded in disagreement.

"Well, you've been off lately." She went back to her files.

"What do you mean?" He asked while biting his lip.

Skye sighed. Tiredness was sensed in her breath. "Don't play dumb with me." She stopped for a minute. Skye abandoned her work and turned around to stare at Yoru and lean on the desk. "Do you know how many times I've seen you in an irregular state? Like that one morning where I forced you to follow me to the cherry blossom tree."

Of course, he remembers it all too well. The night he had that nightmare. Play it off. "And? What about it?"

"I know you're hiding something." She finally spit it out. 

Yoru's breath thickened. He knew someone would find out soon. That's when it hit him. He told Jett and Phoenix to not tell Sage, but he completely forgot about Skye. After all, they probably knew that he could fall apart in front of Skye out of everyone. "We all have secrets, Skye. Of course, I'm hiding something."

Yoru could sense that Skye's temper was rising. Hence her intense glare. "Yoru. You know I'm not in the mood." She pushed herself off of the desk and stalked her way over to Yoru. Skye halted in front of him, crossing her arms. "Just tell me." Yoru stayed silent.

After a minute with no answer, Skye sighed heavily. This rang a strong bell of guilt in his throat.

"Alright, if you don't want to answer, I guess I'm just going to have to force you." 

Yoru blushed at that. The way she phrased it was unexpected. He didn't know what it meant until she took his wrist with a firm grip. Yoru was shocked at the sudden physical contact. Yes, he was sure she was pissed at him, but it was strange when she used contact. She didn't hesitate to yank him to the medical bed, forcing him to sit on it. Her strength caused him to yelp loudly.

"Stay here." She said, walking over to a series of cabinets. 

Yoru fiddled with the tips of his jacket as he watched Skye's every move. The way her nimble fingers fidgeted with various pill bottles. What was she going to do with him? He glanced at a specific bottle she pulled out from the back before making her way back over to him.

Yoru thought she was going to tell him what the pills did, but no, she instead took two pills out and shoved the bottle into her pocket. His nerves tightened while he stared at the two small, white pills placed so perfectly in her hand.

"What are you-"

"Tell me, Yoru. It doesn't matter what you say; just tell me. Whatever it is, I know it's hurting you." Skye had changed her voice to a more genuine tone at the end. It sounded like she was actually worried for him. "You don't have to do this alone, sweetie." 

Yoru's face was burning hot. "No..." It took a minute for him to let it form on his lips.

He saw Skye wipe her caring face away. "I won't take no as an answer."

"Well, you're going to have to." He responded, standing up. Holding his shoulders tightly, Skye forced him back down.

"I'm sorry, riftwalker." She whispered. 

Yoru couldn't process what she meant until Skye took her hand with the pills in it and shoved her hand up to his mouth. Skye forcefully cupped his mouth, thrusting the pills down his throat. Yoru's eyes widened, and he tried to push her away, but she was way stronger than him. Finally, Skye successfully shoved the pills down his throat. Yoru shivered, feeling the sense of hard pebbles being plunged down without any sort of liquid present. She removed her hand, and he started a collection of coughs.

"What the hell was that for?!" Yoru yelled when it ended. Skye backed away from him to avoid a punch to the gut. He stood up in an instant. "What were those pills?!"

"You can go now." She cold-heartedly stated. 

Yoru didn't feel like arguing further. So instead, he rushed past her and to the door. However, his head began pounding randomly, half way there. He tried to continue, but his vision was now blurring. What the fuck did those pills do? He was so focused on his throbbing head and tripping to the ground that he could barely feel Skye's hands maneuvering her hands under his arms and pulling him back towards the medical bed. All he could do was lean into her touch. She tugged him up to lay on the bed. Skye tried to allow him to lay down, but Yoru tugged at her shirt to lay his head on her chest. She blushed at his sudden action.

"What the fuck did you do?" He whispered through gasps of air. She shivered at the feeling of his cold, heavy breathing creeping down her skin through her shirt.
Skye leaned down and whispered into his ears. "Two words: sleeping pills."

Yoru's eyes widened before they began fluttering shut. "You mother fucker." The muscles supporting his upper body lightened and forced him to fall further against Skye. His mind went completely blank.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Skye fully laid the riftwalker's sleeping body on the medical bed. She couldn't help but admire his adorable face once again. She missed it, even if she saw it last night. Anyway, Skye continued on with her task, fiddling with his gloves and jacket. It was finally time to try and help her poor riftwalker. Now, she could see the bandages on his neck that Jett was talking about.

Skye first dragged her attention to his gloves. He still hadn't taken off his gloves from the night before. Despite the gloves, she could see the tiny blue scratches clawing at his fingers and wrists. She gulped down the pain in her heart. She carefully took off his gloves. Maneuvering his fingers through the thick fabric. Skye's eyes widened at the sight of way more tiny blue scars. If this was just in his hands, then if there were more like Jett described in other places- Skye didn't want to think of that. 

She was just about to roll up the sleeves of his jacket until she heard the door open behind her. Skye was quick to hide Yoru's scars.

"Chale! There you are!" Skye relaxed at the sound of Astra's voice hitting her ears. The two were pretty good friends. Ones that gossiped about the other agents, jokingly. "I knew I would find you in here!" Her eyes didn't process what Skye was doing until she saw an unconscious Yoru. "Oh..."

"Sorry, I didn't know you were looking for something." Skye attempted to play it off.
Astra pointed in the direction of the two, specifically at Yoru. "Is he okay?" Her voice was calm, unlike what it was before.

"Yeah, he's fine. You don't have to whisper. He won't wake up regardless." The healer smiled, and Astra returned it.

"Okay, good." Astra started strolling over to them, and Skye was sure to cover his hands further with her body, trying not to make it suspicious. "Are you sure?" 

Skye nodded. "Yeah, I drugged him. He'll be out for a while."

Astra's eyebrows were raised. "What'd he do?" She giggled.

"Oh, you know him. A little stubborn guy. I might've forced him to tell me something, but he wouldn't, so I had to... well, yeah." The two girls laughed at that.

"I don't even want to know."

"Anyways, why were you looking for me?"

"Oh! I just wanted to hang out! But I see you're busy with something." Astra looked down at the floor.

Skye actually felt bad for her. She was looking forward to hanging out with one of her closest friends, but she had other issues at the moment. "Oh, I'm really sorry. I would love to, but I think this is the only chance I'll get this guy in this position. It took me an entire plan to drag him here. Tomorrow would definitely work!"

Astra beamed. "That would work!" They both waved each other on. Astra finished with, "Good luck with that riftwalker! He'll definitely hate you when he wakes up!" Skye giggled, and Astra left, closing the door.

Skye glanced back at Yoru. She was now allowed to stop hiding his scars. Now, thinking about it, if she were to take off his jacket and someone would walk in, probably Sage, then she would be the reason why his secret was out. It was best to drag him back to her room. No cameras, nobody walking in, and it would all be hidden away with Yoru probably yelling at her. But she doesn't care.

Skye put his gloves back on, opening the door for later. She then moved her arms underneath his and dragged him out of the medical bed. There was an extremely rare chance that Yoru would wake up—almost zero percent. So she didn't have to be that careful. It was getting close to nine o'clock. Which meant almost everybody would start to settle down. Skye would take this for granted.

She pulled Yoru to the doorway and dragged him down the hallway. It wasn't going to be a long adventure to her room, due to her strength and almost everybody being in their rooms. It was mostly empty in the halls. No one was going to see them, thankfully. When she finally ended up at her dorm room door, she sighed in relief. The only person that she ran into was Reyna, who smirked and walked along with no words. Of course, Reyna, out of everybody, was happy about it. Her whole thing was torturing people to their death beds.

Skye eventually was able to get the unconscious man into her room. It took a while, but she successfully hauled Yoru onto her bed. He would be out for a while. No one was going to walk in. It was just the two in a quiet room (her creatures were not out). 

Skye double-checked that the door was locked before she knelt down and took off his gloves once again. She then slowly moved her fingers to his zipper, pushing the jacket off of his shoulder. There were hints of wounds peeking out from underneath his shirt. Skye winced as she moved the thick piece of fabric farther off his arm and revealed bigger scars. Some were from previous battles; most were those blue scars. One sleeve was off, one more to go, and it was already bad. The next sleeve was way more difficult since Yoru was laying on top of it. Although she somehow got it off after five minutes,. The giant bandage that Jett pointed out covered his left shoulder. 

"Oh, Yoru..." Skye gulped down a ball of guilt. She could see the giant scar amongst the bandage that was not properly put on and was falling off. Skye continued to take off his jacket, and more scars became more visible. 

After what felt like forever, Skye finally got the jacket off of Yoru after a lot of maneuvering his arms around. Her fingers grazed over the giant scar on his neck, and she saw him twitch. As far as she knew, that could possibly be the worst one. There were definitely a lot more wounds underneath his shirt. And Skye wasn't one to take off his shirt without his permission. Despite how she forced him to swallow pills, she wouldn't do it again.

According to what Sage told her about the pills, he would wake up in an hour or two. When he wakes up, she'll ask him about it. He couldn't deny it now. 

Currently, Skye just has to stall for at least an hour. She might as well take a shower.

Skye curled her fingers through her soaked hair. Her eyes immediately landed on Yoru's still sleeping body. Nothing had changed. She then noticed his jacket that she had laid on the bed before. Skye was so tired from sitting out in the heated sun and carving all day long that she couldn't help but grab the jacket. Her fingers traced the outline of the Japanese symbol on the back. The cold air crept down her arms, causing her to shiver. So, Skye did the only thing that she would never be able to do again. She put on Yoru's jacket. Warmth instantly encompassed her arms. Yes, she could use one of her cardigans, but where's the fun in that? It's not like she'll end up in a relationship with him. Though Skye blushed at the thought of it, she didn’t want to sound creepy, but it even smelled like him. A comforting scent that smelled like a nelumbo flower that belonged next to a stunning cherry blossom tree. It fit him well. Now, she was hoping for him to stay asleep so she could keep the feeling of the soft fabric rubbing against her for longer.

Okay, now what else?

Yoru couldn’t tell what reality was or not. His mind dazed into consciousness and into an endless, dark void. His eyes refused to open due to the headache pounding his head open. Also, he felt exposed and cold. Where was his jacket? Nothing was covering his arms.

He groaned loudly, feeling the soft and solace heat from the sheets that covered his torso but not his arms. An issue with Yoru was that he was picky. He was so picky that he could tell the difference between his blankets and others; he would repudiate them. And this was not the blanket he knew from his heart.

Yoru slurred his eyes awake. The normal dark blue room he usually saw when he got up was replaced with green in different shades. And there were a lot of… plants?” Oh fuck. Where was he? This was not his room.

His eyes finally found the urge to jolt awake and sit up. He wheezed as a sharp pain went straight through his abdomen up to his neck like a wave. Though that didn’t stop him from dragging his eyes towards a familiar red head who had a scared or worried expression.

“Skye?”

She stared at him. “Um, hi.” Her voice sounded like it could crack with any more vowels. She was at a desk with a wood carving and tools in her hands. There was a dim, yellow light beaming down on her workplace. It was the only light source in the room. His eyes immediately caught a similar blue jacket around her body. His jacket.

“Is that my jacket?” He asked, biting his lip. 

She glanced away to seemingly hide her blush. “That’s the first question you ask? Whatever.” She shook her head, turning back to him. There was an awkward silence. Only the sound of air conditioning filled the room.
“Um, sorry for... you know... drugging you.” Skye finally admitted it. “I didn’t know any other way to get you alone.”

“You can always get me alone, flower girl.” HUH. That was meant to stay in his head! Shit. It slipped out. He looked away, clearly embarrassed. “That’s not what I meant! I, uh, mean you don’t have to have a fight with me to talk to me.” 

Skye was glad he looked away, so he couldn’t see her flustered face.

“Anyway,” Yoru changed his tone to a more serious one. “You drugged me to get me alone?” He forgot completely about the jacket wrapped around her. 

“Um, yeah.”

“Why?” His voice was harsh. He knew he would regret getting mad at her. How could he get mad at her? It was probably the aftereffects of the pills.

“I was worried about you.”

Yoru’s face softened. She was worried about him? He couldn't remember the last time someone was actually worried about him. Usually, the other agents would brush his pain off since he always hid it. Not once did someone continue to worry about him other than his mother. She died a long time ago, and since then, he hasn't had anyone close to him for a long time. There's no time to think of her. 

Wait. His arms. Yoru didn't process until now that he was sleeveless. His scars were exposed. Fuck. His eyes widened, and sweat began to drop. Skye saw his state straight away, getting up, leaving her carvings behind, and kneeling down by Yoru's legs. "Hey, it's okay." She reassured him, using her hand to caress his shaking fingers. Yoru stared at her, his pupils blowing. At first, Yoru tried to cover his arms with each other like a shy child, but Skye pushed them out of the way. "Yoru, I already know. There's no point in hiding it." 

She was right. There was no point in hiding them any more. Yoru didn't want to admit that she was stroking his fingers lightly over the scratches. Staring right at every single wound that covered his arms.

"Yoru, do you want to know exactly why?" 

He looked away for a moment and hesitantly nodded.

She continued. "Because the time I dragged you out to the cherry blossom tree, when I ran into you, I saw you shaking. It wasn't normal. I knew something was off until you told me you had a nightmare. Then, I brushed it off." He opened his lips to say something, but Skye hushed him with a finger. "Then, when you came back from that mission, you ran into your room shaking and clutching your side. I didn't want to bother you, so I left you alone. When it came to the party, a couple days later, you were kind of... drunk and kept hanging around me. I could see the little scratches on your hands."

"Um-"

"I'm not done." She cut him off. "The next day, I was going to go carve until Jett and Phoenix ran up to me." Yoru's breath shook. "They told me you fell to the ground during a competition, and Jett saw a giant blue, illuminating scar. The same scar that matched those ones on your hands."

Of course, he did not mention Skye to them. She was the other healer and, overall, the one closer to him. "Oh, those little bitches-"

"Yoru, just talk to me. You don't have to do this alone." Tears pricked at her eyes, and this was the first time he had ever seen her cry. 

"I'm sorry." He muttered, trying to push her away. Skye wouldn't let that happen, though.

She stood up, tangling her hands with his. "Hey, it's okay. There's no need to apologize. If it would make you feel better, I would do the same thing."

Yoru stared at her, then down to their tangled hands and back to her emerald eyes. He stayed silent. Too embarrassed and shy to respond. 

"Yoru. I need you to work with me. I get it, you're scared-"

"I'm not scared." He blurted it out unintentionally. 

Skye raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh? So all that trembling I just talked about was all me being delusional? I don't think so."

"Skye..."

"Yoru." She cut him off sternly. He felt like he was being treated like a child, remembering the times when his mother would scold him for bullying the younger kids, who were as tall as a small shelf, and he was much bigger. His child self and him were not so different after all. Shit. He said he would stop thinking about her.

"Please." She whispered as she got closer, her knees brushing against his. "I need you to work with me. If you'll help me, then I'll help you. Understandable?"

Yoru stared at her with pleading eyes, and she returned it. "Okay..." he finally said. His voice was extremely shaky. Skye gently smiled. She cupped his cheek for comfort.

"Thank you, Yoru." There was a brief moment of silence before she decided to say what she'd wanted to say for so long. "I need you to, um, take off your shirt." Skye claimed, her face a crimson red. Yoru was in pretty much the same shape; cheeks reddened, mind racing, and blood rushing fast through his veins.

"You want me to do what?"

"Look." Her legs slowly made their way between his legs. None of them noticed. Simply too busy with each other's emotions. "I know your scars extend beyond your shirt. The only thing I want to do is heal them, since I know you're in pain. But I can't heal them if I can't even see them.

Yoru wouldn't admit it, but he was wishing for her so everyone would see his chest. Gosh, that sounded weird. “Can’t you just use your powers normally? I thought you could heal an entire group.” He stated this, crossing his arms.

“I have never healed these types of wounds before, Yoru. I must know what I’m getting into. Please.” Skye showed genuine care in her eyes, and Yoru couldn’t deny her now. She was basically forcing him to tell the truth because she cared for him. He obeyed, taking his shirt off. The cold air nipped at his chest. A shiver tolled through his entire body, head to toe.

Skye’s eyes widened. There were way more scars on his chest. It looked like it hurt, especially that giant scar stretching all across his torso. She could hear him whimper, and she snapped out of her shocked state.
“Yoru, do they hurt?” She whispered calmly. 

He nodded. “They hurt a lot.”

Skye traced her fingers around one scar on her stomach; she forced herself not to blush. She knew she had to help him. He looked like he needed it. There was only one rule: not to hurt him further. “Okay, can I heal them?”

Yoru stared back at her. “I wish, but I don't know what they are myself. Your powers might not help.” He ran a hand through his hair.

“Can I at least try?”

“Sure.”

Skye moved to sit down next to him, now seeing the one on his back. She started with his right arm; pulling out trinkets, leaves, and small flowers, Skye began healing. Yoru squinted his eyes in an attempt to block out the pain of skin being forcefully stitched back together by Radianite powers. A green haze illuminated a small part of his elbow. 

To her surprise, the scars were starting to close and were replaced with a thin blue line. She kept going, healing a couple at once. When she checked on Yoru, she saw his breath shaky and his eyes shut close. “Yoru…” He looked back at her. “Are you okay? Do you want me to stop?”

“No, no. It’s helping. It just hurts a lot, but I don’t care. Just get it over with.” He let the words slip out, and Skye found it difficult to catch them. Yet she continued with every group of blue scars she could find. 

Before Yoru knew it, his arm was completely healed. The pain vanished every time Skye moved to a different spot to work. It felt so relieving. He felt like he could finally swallow the ball of stress in his throat. He felt her fingers caress his shoulder, signaling she was getting to the end. She looked like she was going to say something. 

“Just continue with the rest, please.” He responded to her question that she never asked. She nodded, snaking her ay down to his pectorals. Yoru was praying that she couldn’t see the reddened blush that crept from his back to his neck.

It was a long process, but Skye finished healing each and every scar. When she sat on the other end of his left arm, he was too tired for anything and leaned on her shoulder. She didn’t mind it, hence why she never pushed him off. Overall, he was tired of everything. The sleeping pills that activated instantly, the way he sat there for so long so peacefully, and the comforting sound of Skye’s chest moving up and down. If he wasn’t in the process of healing painful cuts all over his body, then he would of probably fallen asleep straight on top of her. Skye tapped his chin, signaling for him to get up. He whined but lifted his head.
“I’m almost done. I just need to heal that giant one.” She said this, trying to ignore Yoru’s hand wrapped around her wrist. 

She allowed her hands to follow the outline of the scar; it had the same depth as a canyon. He flinched when her chipped nail accidentally scraped the inside of the blue scar (flesh?). Her hands immediately leapt away. 

“Sorry…” she whispered. 

“No, I’m sorry, Skye.” He muttered. 

She looked up at that. "What do you mean-"

"I'm sorry that I'm making you stay up late to heal me. You deserve to do other things than care for me." He explained, and she stared at him while he ranted on.

"Ru, don't say that. I'm the one that brought you here. I want to heal you. Don't put the blame on you for me wanting to help you." She reassured him. He stared at her, fidgeting with his fingers. "Okay, just let me heal that big one, and we'll be done." As soon as she began to close the wound, he hissed loudly, almost instantly. In response, Skye stopped.

"Are you okay?" Skye cupped his cheek.

"Uh, yeah. This one w-was always the pain in the ass." He stuttered slightly. "Just keep going."

"Tell me when it hurts." She said. 

Skye continued her healing. Her heart split in half every time she heard him whimper. One crack at a time. She had no idea what the pain was like, but she knew it wasn't tolerable. Although every time she stopped, he told her to keep going. So, she went slow with the wound. Yoru leaned back onto her.

Skye watched the blue flesh disappear into a line as it closed. She heard Yoru let out a loud sigh of relief. As Skye was pulling her hand back, he grabbed onto it and sheltered her hand with his. Skye blushed. Despite how much physical attention he showed her that night, she was still flustered by every action. He spent time rubbing his thumb across her hand in the mist of silence.

"Thank you," he muttered. 

Skye smiled and said, "Of course, riftwalker." 

They spent time enjoying the comfort of their breathing. Skye moved one of her hands to his messed up hair, twirling her fingers in his strands. She could feel his breathing slow against her chest as his head nestled deeper into her neck and shoulder. He stopped rubbing his thumb. 

More time went by, and she was starting to get worried. "Yoru." She glanced down to see his eyes shut peacefully. Skye smiled, holding him closer.

If you told Skye that Yoru, out of everyone, would break down right in front of her, she wouldn't believe you. Tonight was such a different night than other nights. She has never seen him so vulnerable before. The way he begged for her to stay with him and how much physical attention he showed her. This just proved to Skye further that Yoru genuinely cared about her and liked her. Would she tell him that now? No way. She would find it cute, but Yoru would probably get so embarrassed that he might run away from her. He's got an ego, after all. 

Skye slowly pushed him off of her shoulder and let him lay down in her bed, pulling the covers over him. No matter how badly she wanted to lay right next to him, she decided not to. She grabbed her phone and left her bedroom for the couch, leaving the sleeping man in her bed. Hopefully, people won't think of something else if they find him in her bed.

┗━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┛

Chapter Text

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

It did not matter. The red, crimson blood soaked deeper into his gloves, but he did not care. It wasn't his priority right now. All that matters right now is watching what he's done. What he enjoyed doing, starting at the after math. 

Despite how much he did not care about his wounds, he was holding the big red wound on his abdomen. Reyna had gotten a good hit on him. But she was gone, nowhere in sight like her blinds. One of Jett's knives dug deep into his left shoulder. Unlike Reyna, the Korean lay a couple feet away from him. No matter how fast she was with her wind abilities, it wasn't fast enough for his teleports. Yoru watched as blood oozed out of her. It was satisfying. Something that he never thought he was going to admit... until now.

His heart pumped loudly against the slow fall of snow that landed on the rest of them. His friends, coworkers, and enemies. Oh, how he enjoyed their curses when he watched them fall to the ground. If he could, he would watch each and every one of them lose over and over again. 

"What the fuck happened to you, bro?"

Yoru perked up. It sounded like Phoenix, but he was also dead on the ground. He thought he had heard his voice against the chilly breeze, though there was nothing. No one was in sight. Just him, his thoughts, and the many screams he caused.

His eyes glazed around the fallen agents. How he killed them all. It felt good, though. Like the feeling of watching your childhood enemy go down the wrong path to receive the karma they deserve. Yoru loved it.

He would watch it again and again and again, and...

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Yoru woke up in a panic. His heart is beating fast, sweat is dripping from his temples, and fumbling fingers describe how he feels. 

What the fuck was that? Another nightmare where he was in the same position as the previous nightmare. He did not know what was better. Killing all your friends or murdering a bunch of innocent people that did not deserve it. What did he do? From the looks of it, he even killed Reyna, and the only person who killed her was Kay/O in a different universe. 

Yoru clenched the green bed sheets. Right. Skye dragged him to her room, comforted him, healed all those cuts, and allowed him to fall asleep in her bed. His fingers grazed over his chest. Most of the wounds turned into scars and did not hurt anymore. He couldn't be more thankful. If he went another day of pain from them, he did not think he would last long. Skye deserved an entire apology. She deserves the world.

Speaking of Skye, he had no idea where she was. He was all alone in her room. The clock on the nightstand said 7:16. Fuck! He was supposed to be ready for his trip to Japan for the day. The time zones between America and Japan were thirteen hours apart; he should've planned ahead of time, but heck, how would he know that Skye would drug him?

Yoru ripped the bedsheets off of him. He grabbed his shirt that was left on the ground and sloppily put it on. His jacket was nowhere in sight. Skye probably took it. There was no time for that. Yoru rushed out of her dorm room and to his. Thank God no one saw his messed up hair. Dammit. He was going to have to stay late there. It was already 11 p.m. in Tokyo, Japan.

He did not hesitate to style his hair in its signature way as soon as he closed the door. Spraying his cologne, Yoru grabbed his oni mask and left his room. It was way easier to move around without those wounds clawing at him.

Skye should've been back by now. He kind of needed his jacket for this mission. That's until he spots her red hair in the hallway, leaving the cafeteria.

"Skye!" He yelled. 

She turns around and smiles at him. "Yoru! You're awake this early?" She enthusiastically said. He noticed she was wearing his jacket.

Though Yoru did not have time to talk to his crush like he hoped, "Uh, yeah. I need my jacket back. Sorry." He saw her face soften into a small pout.

"Aww, but it's so comfy." Sarcasm rolled off the tip of her tongue.

God, he really did not want to take it from her, but he had no choice. There was no way you'd find him in another jacket other than his own. "Sorry. I kind of need it. Just for today.": She scoffed, muttering a "fine," handing the jacket to him. Yoru grasped it and put it on before running off. 

No matter how badly he wanted to rant and thank her for all the things she's done for him, though, he had limited time. Yoru prayed that nobody saw his healed scars when he was looking for her. That would be bad. And he was certain that the other agents had noticed. They were going to tease him to the end of time.

Yoru ended up in front of the teleporter and set the coordinates to the map Split. He decided it was best not to take his motorcycle. It would've been better for transportation. Though he was breaking in, carrying a giant vehicle out in the middle of a forest would, for sure, ruin the entire thing. So instead, he had to walk or take the train. It would not be that bad. According to Viper's information, The Museum of Ancient Architecture of Japan (日本古代建築博物館) was located right outside of Komine Park. The park consisted of ancient castles that were surrounded by beautiful maple trees and occasionally cherry blossom trees. He did not go there often, but it was usually a beautiful sight, especially during the spring.
This wasn't about Komine Park. The museum was only a few ways away from the park, off the highway. He would have to take a train and then an Uber their.

Before he knew it, an hour passed when he arrived outside of the narrow road to the museum. It would be suspicious to his Uber driver if he got dropped off outside of an empty history museum. As expected, the museum was close. The windows showed no light shining through; the usually bright glowing sign was dimmer than a funeral, and there was no sign of cars in the parking lot. The door was probably locked too. At least he knows a way in. According to the layout of the building that Viper provided him, he could end up on the roof and enter from there. Yoru recalls a flight of stairs way in the back that was busted up, but it would. All he needed to do was sneak around the security cameras to the back.

He seemed to be avoiding the camera's gaze from the practice of Cypher's shenanigans.

"Ryo..." Somebody whispered straight into his ear. 

Yoru whipped around, only to find nobody there. What the hell was that? It was a girl's hushed voice that knew his real name. 

"Who the fuck are you?" His pupils shrunk. Usually in a horror movie, you would not go chase the random sound, but in Yoru's case, his mind was racing to fast. Yoru did not remember the last time someone called him by his birth name. The worst part of it was that he was alone. He swore a girl was right next to him. He felt her breath on his ear, for the love of God! Dammit. He's probably just hallucinating. 

Yoru continued on the outside of the perimeter. Although he couldn't get her hushed voice out of his head, despite his jacket and it being spring, his body was covered with goosebumps. She sounded kind of familiar, now that he was thinking about it, but he couldn't place his finger on it. Along with his racing thoughts, chills from head to toe, and trembling fingers, the intense feeling of being watched did not cope with his issues.

Before he knew it, he spotted the damaged stairs he was talking about. There was doubt that there were cameras on the rooftop since last time, so Yoru went into a dimensional drift, putting on his oni mask.
The second he positioned his mask, he heard it again. "Don't." The warning was too late, as he turned invisible, but he heard her loud and clear. Even while being invisible, he still turned around, expecting someone. Once again, there was no sight of a soul. Just an endless, peaceful forest with crickets chirping and the incandescent fireflies dancing without care. Goddammit, what was happening? First nightmares, then random blue scars when he used his powers, and now random voices(?). What the fuck was going on?

On the other hand, he could feel a small pain in his bicep. God no, not another one.

Answers. He needed answers.

The bad thing about his ultimate was that it did not last as long as desired. So, Yoru only got as far as the drift could take him. Still, he couldn’t get the damn girl’s voice out of his head as he pulled off his mask in front of the door to the rooftop, swinging it open and roughly closing it behind him. Right in front of him was a set of stairs descending to a turn for another flight of stairs. Surprisingly, the lights were still on in spite of the building being closed for the night. It was... strange.

Yoru quietly walked down the clanky concrete stairs. He winced every time his shoe echoed off the wall. He knows it's past closure, but there is still a good chance that there are left over employees still in the building. This place was a hot mess. Yoru did not exactly know where he was going, only wandering places until he recognized them. Basically, the main lobby was his best shot. The place was dead silent, with occasional cracks in the ceiling and his footsteps ricocheting across the compressed walls. Seriously, who puts a nasty yellow color as wallpaper for a bunch of guests to see?

More time passed, but for Yoru, it felt like it was a continuous time loop. There was no sign of the main lobby. How the hell did Killjoy and Sova make their way around here without getting lost? To be fair, they probably had a map. If only he could find a copy of the building's layout on a random wall like most museums have. He was clearly lost. What confused him even more was when he came upon, not the lobby, but a hallway with a series of doors. The dim yellow light above him restricted his eye sight access to extend beyond the void of darkness. Randomly, his stomach twisted, and a chill crept down his spine. This did not feel right. He should not be here. But he had no other choice. He needs answers on what’s happening to him. Okay, maybe he should have brought a map. Nothing looked familiar. Yoru checked every door he possibly could, only to be greeted with either a lightless room with just a desk or an empty, metal box that some call a suitable room. That is, until he got to one door where, finally, the hallway ended. It looked the same as the others, though he felt the same gut in his stomach from before. 

Yoru reached out and stopped his cupped hand from moving around the door knob. His mind went blank on any previous ambitions. He did not remember the last time he hesitated like that. What was he thinking? He can't hesitate when maybe the sureness of everything is milliseconds away. No more pausing. Yoru twisted the door knob and allowed himself to flow through. He should've listened to his gut.

The door flew open to a way bigger, metal facility. Thousands of eyes stared at him in utter shock. Oh fuck. After all, there were people in the building of all different ages, from at least nine-teen to fifty. Yoru's heart thumped faster than on casual missions. His breath stiffened, and his eyes widened further. Awkward silence fell on the entire The stranger's face altered from a surprise expression to a furious one. 

"Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" A young girl screeched. An older man that looked like he was in his forties followed with, "Guards!" Yoru stood there, clueless, only running when another male yelled "Guards!" and there were many footsteps that echoed further down the giant room.

Yoru snapped out of it and grabbed his hidden death wish sheriff from his back pocket; his other hand kept a hold on the door knob. The employee team backed up when the footsteps of the 'guards' became louder. He quickly aimed his sheriff at one of the older males between the eyes. 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Yoru landed perfect head shots on three more employees. Unlike the mirror agents, these strangers were clueless when it came to gun fights. Can't blame them. The others were shocked to watch their own coworkers fall to the ground, lifeless. If he could, Yoru would continue shooting each and every one of them. They deserved it after all for keeping so many inventions from the public. That is, until a bullet went straight through his arm, starting to cozy in his muscle. He hissed to himself, brushing it off. It's best to retreat. 

Dammit. He blew it.

Yoru retreated and shut the door abruptly, running back down the hallway. Screams of anger echoed throughout the hall, behind the wooden door, before it burst open, the yells becoming clearer. Fuck, this was bad. He shouldn't have kept on wandering instead of doing the simple thing and studying the building or bringing a map. Yoru rounded the sharp corners, which led him to slam into most of the walls, causing the bullet wound to become irritated. Though there was no time for cleaning up small bullet wounds that could be fixed with bandages, he just had to outrun them, maybe even leave the building entirely. That was the last choice. He came here for a specific reason, and Yoru's stubbornness was blocking the consequences of staying here any longer.

After what felt like millions of twists and turns, Yoru finally saw the staircase leading up to the rooftop. However, he ran past it.  

“Fuck.” He cussed as he slammed into another wall. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. 

Not yet. There was still more. The guards behind him became louder as he began to reach a new area of the museum. A much shorter and less eery hallway continued before it led out to the main lobby. Well, that could’ve been helpful. More security guards filed out from the doors on the sides.

“Get him!” and “Don’t let that robber get away!” Filled the giant room and rang in his ears. 

The constant dread of being caught and probably taken to prison would not be a good outcome for him due to Brimstone and Viper's rantings. On top of all that, the secrecy of the VALORANT Protocol would vanish all because he wanted to find something that was only important to him and nobody else. Selfish was the word. Maybe he should have left when he had the chance. But how would he get down those stairs in such poor condition? It was difficult enough, even in his ultimate. Imagine what it would be like out of his drifts and being chased.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Yoru put his soul into stopping his breathing. To his dismay, he couldn't. It took what felt like hours to outrun them and hide away. He wasn't a big fan of hiding lurkers when it came to missions, and here he was, hiding from all the chaos like a coward. His ego was too important for that. Although it was the only thing he could do after relentlessly searching for a place to at least catch his breath, he could hear them scatter around, looking for him. They had thrown a fit with him, chasing and yelling, with bullets being shot in all different directions. In order to avoid those small and fast death machines, he did the only thing logical: use his abilities. This, of course, caused more blue wounds to open up. Even if he couldn't see them, he could feel his skin ripping slowly. Yoru hoped he could meet up with Skye again, not forcefully, and talk to her about it so she could heal him. That is, if he survived. God, he prayed he would see her again. Other than the blue wounds clawing at him, bullets sank deeper into his revealed flesh. No matter how careful and nimble he was, there were too many of them to avoid every single bullet.

"Ah!" Yoru tried to keep his gasps and whines to himself, but damn, it was hard. He had to get out of here if he wanted to make it out alive. There was no way he could make it to the morning in this condition.

Yoru used the bare minimum of his quickly deteriorating strength to grasp around in his pockets for a specific device, ignoring the agonizing pain that reverberated throughout his entire body. It was a simple piece of shit that Killjoy made from a good notation from Sage. Every agent had one at least somewhere on their person whenever they left the headquarters. Brimstone also learned how to use one, which took a lot of bickering but turned out well in the end. It's priority was to contact the headquarters and any available agents, and it was used if somebody was in a tricky situation. And now was the time. Yoru had to find a way out, but it would significantly drain more of his energy, so there was zero chance he could end up back in front of the teleporter in Split by himself. He hated to admit it, but he needed some sort of help. This was a stupid way to go down. So, Yoru sent his coordinates to someone reliable. Phoenix. Yes, he could be dumb sometimes, but at least he could tell that something was wrong. His first thought was Skye, but he did not want to worry her too much. She was already stressed enough with her own personal problems that he could spot them when there was a debrief after a mission.

Yoru softly groaned, pushing himself off of the confining ground. He had waited a while for their raucous footsteps to dissipate. A sigh of relief brushed over him. He recalled a way to find his way back to the rooftop, though it was a precarious path. There was a high chance for them to spot him or hear him from across the building. Since when did they have so many guards? It wasn't like this last time. Was it them taking extra precaution after getting pathetically broken into? Especially during the day, which was embarrassing. 

The duelist peeked over the boxes to find nobody in sight. They're probably searching for other exhibits, or they're waiting for him to take a chance. Usually, Yoru would not fall for this, but his thoughts were too scattered for any sense. A perception of hope quivered deep within his core like a fluttering butterfly.

Yoru finally found a designated path that could possibly be followed carefully and tacitly. The plan was to surreptitiously proceed around the very edge of each exhibit in the shadows. It would be difficult in his situation, though. Yoru involuntarily forced his body to sprint across a block that was visible from the lobby. There is no doubt they were not using the security cameras.

His body shook and cramped in awkward places where he knew the biggest wounds were. Is this how Omen feels every day? Hiding in the shadows and in constant pain? He had to admit that this was one of the most harmful conditions he had ever been in for a long period of time, and to be dodging security guards armed with guns was not helping with it. Each and every step he took felt like a giant sword shooting straight at his inner body. He did everything in his power to keep his hisses and groans to himself.
Yoru could see the exit hallway that led up to the rooftop. There were only a few risky sprints left. He was considering just straight up charging to the door, which could possibly lead to a glowing paradise known as Heaven. Does he take a chance on it?

“There he is! Get him!” A strong looking woman in a security guard’s outfit screeches. The others turn to look where she’s pointing.

Yoru’s eyes widened. Well, scrap the plan of being quiet as he took off in a sprint. The others ran in the direction where he was going: the rooftop door. More screaming filled the dusty air. He could feel each and every one of them on his tail as he tripped up the stairs. Thankfully, some of them were clumsy enough to slow each other down while he sprinted ahead. Though that wasn’t a long distraction to make him get down the crappy stairs, and he was definitely going to break something if he jumped off the roof. So, Yoru did the logical thing and tossed his teleporter somewhere beyond the woods. There wasn't a giant field of overgrown grass that separated the museum from the wall of trees. Therefore, it would not take long for the teleporter to reach the woods, and he could teleport without a trait. Yes, he wasn't allowed to use his powers for anything VALORANT related, but as the saying goes, "Desperate times come desperate measures."

The door he had previously shut seconds ago burst open, and a couple of them stumbled out of the staircase before locking eyes with him. Anger was clearly presented.
After realizing his teleport was past the first few trees, Yoru shot his arms in his direction, grinning with a "ha, you thought" smirk, and disappeared in an instant. He could remember their bewildered faces the last second, clearer than the night sky.

Yoru winced as he randomly fell against a tree. Pieces of bark scraped his jacket. He relished the feeling of finally being able to calm down. His breathing slowed into a more even rhythm. He did not know it at the time, but it has been relieving ever since the constant growing stress was lifted when he was safe. Although he did not have time to rest yet, he still has to wait for the ship to pick him up. God, Phoenix, please don't be an idiot for once. If Yoru left the tree right now, they would probably spot him, hence the spotlights illuminating from flashlights bouncing around the trees. His best bet was to stay there and pray they did not spot him. He could hear yelling and the flashlights shutting off; he could then hear them retreating back into the building. Yoru then had a chance to take out the device. There were messages from Phoenix.

Phoenix: 

Yo, bruv, are you good?! 

Why'd you send me your coordinates? 

And why are you back at that museum?!

ANSWER BRO

:(

I told Sova to send the ship over to pick you up

I don't know why you're not responding but please tell me you're not dying; we still need to redo that duel 

A pang of cringe and a snicker erupted from beneath his core until a sharp pain went straight through his entire body. He chose to ignore it and wait for Sova. Thank God Phoenix had some sense in that bratty brain of his to choose Sova out of everyone. He was not in the mood or state to deal with Viper's lecture. Though he was probably going to get one when he got back to the base in such poor condition,.

He groaned, his head hitting the bark of the tree behind him with a thud. These blue scars were bigger than the average from the previous ones. He does not know what hurts more: the bullet holes or the blue scars. They hurt equally as badly.

Dammit. Please hurry up, Sova.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

The one thing about being a healer was the mental pain it caused. At least for Skye.

She always had constant stress rising within her, which was probably risking her inner body. She always talked badly about herself when she compared herself to others. Yes, she was strong and independent, but there was no way she could be a powerful leader like Viper. No matter how much Skye hated Viper for ruining the environment with her toxins, she still had to admit that she was impressive when she shut the younger agents down, even Brimstone sometimes. And she thought she would never be a reliable healer like Sage or as enthusiastic and confident as Raze. It was always draining her alive. Trying to heal in an exhausted state was not a good choice. On the other hand, she got up at 4 am every morning for a jog and a workout. She would not admit it to the others, but she wishes she did not make that routine. Every time someone got hurt on a mission, she would have sudden, painful thoughts that she was worthless. Or when she would come to the infirmary to help Sage, only to find out that she had already taken care of the tasks that were needed. It was too much to handle for the Aussie. Finally, one day, she let it out. And Yoru was just so lucky to witness it.

It was a normal mission on Bind, and they had to defend their site from the mirror earth. Yoru and Skye were with each other, while Omen, Raze, and Killjoy were on the B site. 

The two, at the time, did not talk much. Generally, they were only slight rivals, not as much as him and Phoenix. Frenemies was the term. This led to an awkward silence between the two.

Yoru was fidgeting with his gun buddy by the teleporter, while Skye was lost in those thoughts on the site by the baths. She could not get her mind off of the last time she went on a mission, where Cypher almost bled to death because she was looking for a possible lurker. Cypher reassured her that it was fine when she continuously apologized to him, but it was not enough for her. Skye was afraid the same thing would happen again on this mission with Killjoy, Omen, and Raze. No matter how much Skye despised Killjoy for her machines, she would still heal her if she were critically wounded. And Yoru... well, last time she tried to heal him, he pushed her away and walked away in pain. Well, that's at least what he did. Who knew what his actual feelings were? That was not her fault at all. Put the blame on the riftwalker, sure.

"You okay?" Yoru asked, snapping her away.

"Huh?" She looked up to see Yoru, like always, scowling at her.

"You look like you're about to crack from anxiety." He stated. 

Skye now realized, looking at the state she was in, that she was shaking like a leaf, and droplets of cold sweat coated her forehead. "Yeah, um, I'm fine." She does not remember the last time she told a lie that she could get away with. 

Obviously, Yoru was not convinced, hence his lingering eyes over her. Such careful hands were now shaking considerably and would not go unnoticed, not even to someone who has a blind eye like Yoru.

"Look, if you want to sit out, I'll take over. It's not like you're going to shoot a head with shaky hands like those."

"Just shut up, Yoru!" She screamed. Yoru hid his flinch and rolled his eyes. Skye glanced away, feeling the drenchness on her cheeks. Fuck, when was the last time she cried? 

She was a strong woman; she could not cry. 

Though that did not last long, when full, hot tears spilled down her face, she felt like her eyes were going to burn. Skye used all her emotional strength to not let out a choke. This stress was so unbearable, and she has not broken down in so long. Her body was dying just to let it all out, but not on a mission; she would not allow it, especially in front of Yoru. God, if she only had Sage with her.

Speaking of the riftwalker, he did not lay his eyes off of the healer. His eyes traced her muscular figure and her shaking hands. He knew the girl was stubborn, even if he did not talk to her much. Just like him, she preferred to keep her vulnerable emotions hidden from the public eye. At least he knew she talked to Sage about it while he dealt with it himself. No matter how terrifying she was to him, he still could not get his eyes off of her broken down body. A pang of pity struck his heart. He might as well play Russian roulette to ask her what's wrong again.

"Skye..." Yoru mumbled and pushed himself off of the wall he was previously leaning on. She still didn't move, her hands only now covered by what must be a reddened, teared up face. He went quiet around her only this time; his usual talkative mouth was still. 

Yoru repeated her name again, louder. 

This time, she whipped her head around. Yoru flinched backwards at the sight of her puffy, pink face. Skye’s face immediately softened at the sight of his agitated expression before quickly turning once more and crying her eyes out.

Yoru stared at her, unsure of what to do. He certainly did not want to make her feel worse, even though that was his strong suit, but at the same time, he didn’t know exactly what to do. He could tell that Skye tried to calm herself down, though she was poorly failing. Fuck, if she cried more, she was most likely going to attract attention.

“Look…” He whispered. “Just sit down.” Yoru guided her over to the boxes that Raze was fond of satcheling on top of to hide in a corner. To his surprise, she took his touch gratefully and sat down, burying her head into her knees. Her hands protected her face from the problems that the world held. Yoru stood there, staring at his coworker, who was crying her heart out.
“Um, you want to talk about it?” He offered only for her to shake her head, and a muffled “no” was heard. Dammit. Her crying was going to easily cause their location to be revealed by the enemy team, so he had to do his best to make her calm down because he knew he was going to get the blame for it if the spike was planted and they were dead. 

So Yoru kneeled down next to her. “Hey, Skye...” he paused. He was never good at this kind of shit. How could she do this with everyone? “I know you’re crying right now, but I need you to quiet it down. The enemy team might hear us, and we’ll blow the mission.”

Oh shit, that came out wrong, and Skye did not brush it off as hinted when she lifted her head to stare at him. Her eyes were beating red beyond her furrowed eyebrows. 

“Shit, um, that came out wrong. Sorry. Look, what can I do for you?” Yoru asked, and a sigh of relief washed over him when he saw Skye’s eyebrows relax.

This was strange. Yoru never comforted someone, which took Skye by surprise. Habitually, he would either be the one to make them cry and feel no remorse or just stand there and watch someone break down. She recalls when he simply stared at Killjoy from the distance when one of her bots took their last robotic breath. How does a robot die? Whatever, all she knows is that Yoru didn’t do anything about it, and Raze had to do all the work That was probably when they first got close. Thinking back to Yoru’s offer, she remembers what Sage did when she was breaking down. Sage always hugged her, played with her hair, and drew shapes on her back to calm her down. It always worked. That’s what she needs right now. But would Yoru even want to hug her? He’s not one to hug. She decided to play with the devil, holding her arms out. 

She swears she could hear a flutter in her chest and a giggle escape her lips when Yoru’s eyes widened. Though he stayed in his place, the giggly feeling within her faded.

Yoru was not sure what to do. He doesn’t even remember the last time he comforted someone, let alone hugged them. He squinted his shocked eyes. Despite the tears streaming down her face, Yoru was going to deny her warm embrace, but that thought immediately dimmed when she muttered, “Please.” 

Fine. Only this one time.

Yoru trudged forward and allowed Skye to slide into his chest. Her tears drenched his shirt, but he didn’t mind. At least it wasn’t his jacket or hair. 

She had moved her knees out of the way to allow her head to settle comfortably against his chest. The embrace was different from the one with Sage. It felt more awkward. Skye didn’t mind it. She figured that Yoru was a little hesitant to hug someone since he only cared about himself in any situation. Though Skye would admit that he was warmer than Sage because of how cold the infirmary was, she could also smell his cologne seeping through. 

Yoru felt his stomach twist and turn when her arms wrapped around his waist and her tears permeated his shirt. He didn’t know what to do in this situation. So, he allowed his hand to wrap around her neck, brushing random strands of hair in different directions. If you asked him now, he would deny the flutter that aroused in his chest when his fingers occasionally brushed against her skin. Yoru sat there, hearing Skye’s sobs slow down a little.
He felt the need to ask, and after a few minutes of silence, he asked, “You want to talk about it?”
She didn’t answer for a second, and he was about to ask again until she said, "I would rather not.”

Yoru was going to say something else until Raze’s voice blasted into his earpiece.

“Yo! We’re ready to go! Where’d you two go?!” Her obnoxious voice caused him to wince, which made Skye clench her grip around his waist harder, afraid he might leave for an odd reason.

"Uh, something happened; just go to the ship." He said.

"Wait- what happened between you~?" Killjoy asked through the intercom with a teasing voice. Yoru was not in the mood for her bullshit. So when Killjoy kept continuing in a flirty tone with Raze laughing in the background, he simply muted them for good, and Skye also took out her earpiece. He began again to hold the girl close to his chest while silence encompassed them. Yoru buried his face in her red locks, ignoring the itchy feeling of it scraping his skin. Yoru could feel her grip loosen, and her sobs slowed into shaky breaths, though she did not let go of him to focus on the warmth that settled in her damp cheeks. 

They both could hear the ship landing in the distance. None of them moved. Well, Yoru tried to let go, but he was pushed back down by Skye. 

"Stay..." Her lips uttered against him.

No matter how long he wanted to stay with her, they had to leave. "Skye, we have to leave. I'm sorry." 

She whimpered but eventually let go. Yoru stood up, helping Skye in the process. She didn't look at him, staring off into the abyss. Her eyes were still pink, at least not crimson red, and her nose was very congested. For some reason, he felt a dark spot in his heart form when she let go of his hand. The two slowly walked in comfortable silence back to the defender's spawn. By now, Skye's tears had dried completely, and her eyes were back to their normal shade. 

As they watched Raze, Killjoy, and Omen board the ship, Skye glanced up at Yoru, who was picking dry blood spots off of his gloves. She wanted to thank him, but she didn't know how. Anxiety rose in her chest. However, she was finally able to spit out something. 

"Thank you, Yoru."

Skye has thought of Yoru differently ever since that day. She began to have a nicer attitude towards him, like she did with her close friends; she complimented him when he made amazing plays and started hanging out with him more. To her surprise, Yoru started to do the exact same thing. They created a friendship. Yes, they still fought sometimes, but it was mostly a nice interaction. Skye never found out that she became the person he cared most about; ever since he developed a crush, she had no idea about it at the time. 

Skye, of course, cared about him too, but not as much as he did. She didn't think of it as a big deal until she heard what happened to him when he got picked up by Sova. She did not go to sleep that night, scared of what had happened to Yoru. All she knew was that he came back in terrible condition and passed out on the trip back. Sage wasn’t allowing any visitors, not even Skye could enter the infirmary. The ship got back at 3 p.m. Tokyo is a pretty long way from Los Angeles overall. Now, the sun was setting, and Skye lay in bed, staring at the ceiling in bliss. She was supposed to train her pets today out in the open field, but her mental state denied it when she heard the news. She cared about him, but she didn’t know how deep the pit went. 

Ignoring what Sage warned her about entering the infirmary, Skye got up and trudged through the headquarters. When she entered the infirmary, Sage turned to glare at her. Yoru was sleeping unconscious in the medical bed.

“Skye, you know you’re not supposed to be in here. I clearly told you.”

She was silent for a minute until her eyes turned into pleading. “C’mon, Sage. I run this place too. Also, I wanted to check on him.” Her eyes lingered over his body.

“He’s still alive. I’ve healed the bullet holes. He’s fine, Skye.” She reassured.

Although, Skye could see the blue scar creeping out of his jacket and on his neck,. It seemed like Sage was hiding the fact that she had no idea what they were. Just like how Skye was when she first saw them.

Her panicked voice lowered into a hushed tone. “Look, I know that you don’t know what those scars are. But I do.”

“And how do you know that?” There was a slight frustration in her voice.

“Because he told me.” Skye said. Sage’s face scrunched up in disbelief. “Sage, you have to believe me.”

She was trying her hardest to not lie, even though she wasn’t lying. To her surprise, Sage actually believed her. “Well, he does seem the most relaxed when you’re around. And he does have a... nevermind.” She raised an eyebrow. “You can come on in. Just close the door.”

Skye nodded, closing the door, and walked quietly over to the other side of the medical bed where Yoru was facing. There, she noticed his shirt was off but his jacket was still on. This revealed his blue scars. What happened in Tokyo that he had to use his powers? She kneeled down to his height and began admiring his sleeping face. She could feel Sage’s eyes on her. Ever since last night, she would do anything to see it again, and here she was, flicking loose hair strands out of his face.

“I don’t know what they are.” Sage finally said, which made Skye look up at her.

“What? The scars?” Skye asked.

Sage nodded in return. “Yeah, I’ve never seen them before. I’m guessing he’s told you.”

“Yeah, he has.”

“Skye.” Her name caught her attention. “I trust you to deal with those. Okay?”

Skye frantically nodded and went back to playing with Yoru’s hair. Poor guy. He must have been in pain while he waited for the ship to pick him up. She doesn’t know what he was doing back at the museum on his day off. Skye recollects when Cypher showed her the security camera footage of Yoru picking up a flower that he was (hopefully) planning on giving to her, but it seems like life had other plans. Then she remembers all the little notes he gave her. It was so cute that he thought she didn’t know. Now, thinking about it, he hasn’t written one to her in a little bit. Don’t get to anxious, Skye; he’s been through a lot. Her thoughts were so deep into their history with each other that she didn’t even hear Sage leave the room. Her eyes dragged over his chest. The scars she had healed the night before were disappearing, but they were ignored by the new ones that had formed. Skye carefully laid her hands over one scar and began healing it. He shuffled a bit, and she stopped before continuing after he didn’t move for quite a bit. 

Minutes had gone by, and Skye had worked her way up his chest to his neck. He was shuffling and whimpering a lot. She ignored it since he had been doing that the entire time. That is, until she heard her name.

“Skye?” His voice was shaky and quiet. 

Her eyes widened, and she quickly turned her focus to his tired eyes, cupping his cheek. “Hey.”

“What happened?” His shakiness in his voice moved to panic.

“Hey, calm down.” Her voice was hushed to a whisper to not scare him any further. “You’re safe now. It’s just you and me. No one else.” To the looks of it, Yoru did not believe her until he glanced around the room to find nobody. He settled back down.

When he was finally able to relax, Skye decided to continue and explain everything. “All I heard was that you were in bad condition after you got picked up by Sova. They brought you here, where Sage healed the bullet wounds.
Before she could continue, Yoru’s eyes widened. “Wait—then Sage saw those scars. There were more of them. Skye, she’s going to tell Viper, and the others are going to experiment on me!”

“Hey, hey, it’s going to be okay. I’ll take care of it. Alright?” After years of comforting her little sister and her friends, she used her non-radinaite powers to call her riftwalker. She rested her hand on top of his. His breathing took a while to slow, but it eventually came to a steady rhythm when he cradled her resting hand into two of his smaller hands. Skye blushed slightly, the feeling of his cold hands wrapped over her much warmer ones wanting to make her melt, despite how freezing they were. She never realized how much affection Yoru gave when he trusted someone. And Skye would never come to the conclusion that she was the only person he trusted until later on.

Yoru maneuvered her hands to be intertwined with each other, each finger around the other’s. “You promise?” His voice was hushed to a close whisper.

“Of course,” Skye said. She mentally could not process how flustered she was.

Skye stared straight into those dark, brown, pleading eyes. She could see the worry and nervousness in him. Using her free hand, she cupped his cheek once again, casually brushing the tip of her nails across his pale skin. Yoru took in the feeling and nervousness deep in his eyes. Using her free hand, she cupped his cheek once again, casually glazing the tips of her fingers across his pale skin. 

Yoru took in the feeling. It felt like he was a little kid again when his mother comforted him. Though she was gone now, it was just him. But maybe he can let Skye in.

Employing the comfortable silence along with the air conditioning, Skye spoke softly to him. "C-can you... tell me what happened?" A pang of sorrow lowered her down like a weight when she saw the pain in his eyes after he looked away.

He was silent for a minute. Unlike the previous times, he wanted to tell her so badly, and Skye knew this. He always kept to himself most of the time. 

"You don't have to if you don't want to-"

"I-I..." She abruptly stopped, letting him interrupt her. 

"Um, I trust you."

Yoru told Skye everything. From the beginning to the end, including when he first got the scars. From the first time he touched the armor to frequent mentions of his nightmares, that girl's voice, and, of course, the entire mission. Skye was stunned, to say the least. He felt so genuine and vulnerable. A state where she has never seen Yoru before. For the entire time, he did not look once at her, which was worrying her before she saw how relaxed his hand was in her grip. It was still strong, though, like a desperation for her to stay with him, but it was also not tense, which was a good sign. During his explanation, Skye moved her hand that was cupping his cheek since he was staring at the ceiling to his other hand, which was fidgeting with his jacket’s zipper. She didn’t even realize until later that he was holding back tears.

“I don’t know what to do, Skye.” His voice quivered for, hopefully, the last time. The only thing that kept his heart from beating to a dangerous level was Skye’s fingers turning like a record player on his hand. 

She hummed, signaling that she was listening. Although she had no idea how to give him hope, “Um..." For her, the uncomfortable silence was deafening. It was always switching from comfortable to awkward silence. "I... I don't know, Yoru. This seems like a big deal. I think you should let Viper run some tests or even Killjoy-"

"No!" 

He shot up randomly, causing Skye's heart to leap for a second while keeping a straight face. "I-I can't, Skye. I don't want them to run tests on me." His hands tensed around hers.

Dammit. He was being stubborn today and was not able to see the bigger picture. She was careful with her voice level. "Yoru, you know this is a big deal. Those scars are literally ripping your skin apart. This isn't just going to go away; we need to figure out what's wrong with you. Plus, you were so close to passing out in the middle of a dangerous situation because of them!" Her words were correct. Whatever was happening to him was serious and was not something to ignore. If only Yoru could just agree with her, no matter the terrible outcomes.

"B-but-"

"Fuck, Yoru! Why can't you see what's wrong with you?!" She did not mean to start raising her voice, but it just came out, and she could not help it. "For once, please take care of yourself!" Tears began pricking her eyes.

Yoru stared up in shock, had heavy breathing, and was trembling. He does not remember the times Skye actually snapped at someone. She only snapped at someone because they deserved it, but it was always humorous. For example, when he called her Flower Girl for the first time and then muttered that he never liked the zoo, apparently, she could hear him say it across the entire map, so she beat him up while her pets just watched. Although she never saw her fully snap like he usually did, let alone scream at someone for not caring about themselves.

“Seriously, Ru, what are you so afraid of?”

Afraid.

He’s not afraid; he never is. That’s the whole point of this job. So why is he scared now? But he has to admit that he is scared. Out of every agent, nothing like this has happened to them. It was a new discovery, and, oh boy, did it stink. Having your skin ripped apart constantly is tiring and painful. So maybe he needed to get it checked out, but for fucks sake, he did not want to be experimented on. 

“I, uh… I just don’t want to be experimented on. Treated like a lab rat or some shit.” He truly blurted it out. For someone like him, that’s an embarrassing way to go down. He always wished he would die doing something important. Being a test subject for something was only important to him. Selfishness. “I thought they would fade away and nothing would happen.”

Skye’s temper quickly lowered. Now she felt slightly guilty about raising her voice at him. “Oh, Ru. I promise it’ll be for your own good. Whatever this is, it’s not normal, and I know you don’t want to be experimented on but, trust me, this will all be over, okay?”

Yoru nodded slowly, swallowing all her words. He did not want to be tested, but if it led to it being all over, he’ll take any chance he can.

“Okay. Can you just trust me on two things?” Now, his gaze was staring straight into hers. Intense and gentle at the same time. She nodded frantically, desperate to help him in any way. 

“I’ll agree to it if only you’re there with me.”

The two blushed a light pink. Skye does not know how much she’s blushed tonight. Thinking back, she has not finished healing him. That’s probably fine since Yoru relentlessly agreed for them to be checked out. The way he said he wanted her, and only her, to be there for him.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I'll do it… for you.” They met their gazes again, and Skye scooted closer to the bed. Her knees dug into the freezing tiles. 

“Thank you.” Silence fell. Skye just could not take her eyes off of him; the same goes for Yoru. “If you don’t mind, Skye, can you also tell whoever's in charge about what’s happening to me? I’m not good at that sort of stuff.”

“Yeah, I’ll do it. For you, riftwalker.”

The two continued to treat the other one with their gazes and physical affection. Their intertwined hands fiddled with each other, which caused Skye to giggle a couple of times. Yoru was no different. He lightly grinned every time their fingers accidentally collided. The most important thing was that Yoru was smiling genuinely, and his cocky smile always did wherever he was, just like his importance to his ego. And that meant the world to Skye. Slowly, Yoru’s eyes grew heavy from exhaustion. The aftereffects of the mission were still beneath his skin. She watched as her riftwalker fell asleep back into the cute little way he rested. She mentally giggled at the word cute in her mind. Yoru would never admit it, but Yoru was cute when he was shy, which was almost always around her. 

Skye was never the jealous type, but if anybody would take her riftwalker away… oh boy, it was not going to end well for whoever it would be.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

It was nice to see Yoru get along with other agents. He was always so grumpy to them, especially when Sage tried to help him. She never understood it until she saw how gentle he was with one of her best friends, Skye. Now, she realizes that different agents prefer either one of the two healers. Like how Breach, Astra, and even Sova went to Skye for healing. She didn’t mind it, of course. With someone as loud as Breach and as pissed off as Yoru, she was glad she didn’t have them. Though there was Raze...

Instead of leaving out of earshot, Sage stayed right outside of the cracked, open door. By all means, she never eavesdropped, but that does not mean she can’t do it once in a while.

Sage heard everything. From Skye comforting Yoru to him spilling everything and how close those two were. If anyone walked in now, they would probably mistake them for a couple. Sage had a gut feeling; it was going to be one.

After several agonizing long minutes of silence, Sage entered back into the room, and the creek of the door turned Skye’s attention to her.

“Oh, hey Sage! I was just about to leave.” She enthusiastically said it, but not enough to wake Yoru up.

“No worries. Is he calm?” Sage asked.

Skye responded with a nod. "Sleeping, in fact.”

“I see.” Sage stared at their intertwined fingers. Fraternization was against the rules, and that was strictly said to each agent privately when they joined.

Skye could see her staring. “Please don’t mistake us. He started it, and I wanted to calm him, so I went along with it.” The healer began to ramble and was quickly shut politely down by the other.

“It’s fine. I won’t tell anyone if I find you two in one of your rooms.”

“Sage!” Skye quickly cupped her hand over her mouth as Yoru shuffled in his sleep. Her face was bright red. 

Sage couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “You two are cute.”

┗━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┛

Chapter Text

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

Skye took one more glance at him before she left, and Yoru lay peacefully in the medical bed. Despite his sleeping factor, Skye knew he was stressed, tense, and scared deep in his sleep. She was worried that it might start affecting him internally because she's seen close friends of hers dig them down the rabbit hole.

"Skye..." Sage muttered, and that was Skye's queue to leave, so she did. She had been in there long enough for Sage to get a little tired.

"Hold on, wait." To her surprise, Sage stopped her. "Skye, I need to tell or ask you something." 

Her eyes perked up, signaling she was listening. Though she was not expecting what she was going to reveal, "So I might have been...well, eavesdropping on you and Yoru's conversation." 

Her eyes widened hard, and a cold shiver crept down her spine like a centipede. Sage had been listening the entire time. Shit. She promised she would tell the others, but she did not expect Sage to eavesdrop. The healer fully respected privacy; she was even the one who proposed the idea of metal doors with scanners. Yoru won't be happy if he finds out. Though, in fairness, she couldn't stop her because she didn't even know Sage was still nearby. Still, she was in an awkward position.

"U-um. Did you hear all of it?" Skye asked. Her warm hand, which was still on the doorknob, ran cold; it felt like the blood had stopped. 

To her sorrow, Sage nodded. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to see how you could heal those scars, and I stayed for longer than I planned.” There was genuine sadness in her eyes, which were looking down at the floor. 

“S-so you did hear everything?” Skye tried her best to relax, only to be greeted with her strong muscles tensing.

Once again, Sage nodded. “I am worried about him, Skye. Everything he told you... I-I don’t know what to think about it. And those scars-“ Her eyes scrunched up with disgust. “Those weren’t normal. At least something I’ve never seen. I think you’re right. Get him the help he needs, please .”

She turned her gaze straight into Skye’s pricking eyes.

“He’s comfortable around you. Use it.”

With that, Sage turned back to a giant stack of paperwork, leaving Skye to ponder. The sound of rustling papers filled the air. Skye took one more glance at Yoru before she disappeared out of the infirmary. 

She walked down the hallway, tensed. When she first joined, it took her a while to know every route to each room. The VALORANT Headquarters was a giant maze when it came to the hallways. All she knew was where the dorm rooms were. Nothing else. She didn’t know where anything was and had to ask Sage where everything was. God, she remembers when she took an entire hour to find the gym, which is where she had a full conversation with Breach for the first time. She wonders if any of the other agents felt the same way she did when they first joined. Although, over time, she learned every route to the rooms that were each meant for different purposes. 

Speaking of different rooms, she was on her way over to Brimstone’s office to talk about Yoru’s condition. After the awkward conversation with Sage about him, she was not so worried about it. She would also much rather talk to Brimstone than Viper. It always hurts Skye to see him in a tired state. Ever since more agents joined, he was  exhausted because of the chaos the younger agents brought. And when Raze started dating Killjoy (Brimstone doesn’t know because they kept it a secret because of the no fraternization rule), he could never catch a break because Raze was now on his tail along with the engineer. At least it was nice to see Killjoy finally have a place where she feels comfortable because she never talks about her past. None of them did, aside from Jett and Chamber. Skye was praying Brimstone wouldn’t scold Yoru for some dumb, nonexistent reason. She would much rather get the lecture than the riftwalker.

Skye stopped in front of his office and knocked hard on Brimstone’s door with her knuckles.

“Come in.” He grumbled. She could barely hear it at first, but then opened the door. Skye opened the door with a gentle smile plastered on her face, ignoring the nervous gut forming even though she pushed it away. Her anxiety was rising now that she was here.

“What do you want, kid?” He asked, setting his glasses down on the desk, which actually made him look like a dad.

Skye sat in the seat ahead of him. “Hey, I just wanted to talk to you about something serious.”

Brimstone’s eyebrows were raised. “Oh? And what would that be?”

“Well, uh, it’s kind of a long story.” She cleared the lump in her throat before continuing. “It’s about Yoru.”

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Skye could remember all too well what happened during that conversation of her explaining everything. It was so much more awkward than the one with Sage. She wishes she could melt into a puddle of anxiety right then and there. Unlike Sage, Brimstone was having a harder time understanding and kept asking questions during it, which made Skye’s patience decrease gradually. She loved the old man, but he could be a little slow sometimes. 

“So let me get this straight.” Brimstone rested his hand against his temple. “Yoru has been having these blue scars that appear when he uses his powers, and we have no idea what they are.” Skye nods. “Along with it, he’s been having nightmares, hearing random voices, and other side effects.”

“Yes.” She gulped down a lump filled with anxiety.

Brimstone hummed in response. “And are you the only one he’s told?” She nodded again. “Huh, interesting.”

Why did he say that? For no reason, it made Skye blush, stating that she was ‘special’ in some way.

“And he hasn’t told anyone else. Not even us. Why?” He asked

This caused Skye to leave a blank stare at him with no words forming. She knew why but did not want to say it since she specifically knew Yoru would hate her for it. He did not want to be experimented on. Simple as that. “He, uh..." Dammit, why were the words taking so long to spit out? They’re so simple! 

"He first thought they would just disappear like normal scars, and he personally said he didn't want to be experimented on in the lab." Skye began fidgeting with her finger below the desk, keeping her eyes anywhere but his face. 

"Ugh, that damn kid. So stubborn all the time." She could hear him curse underneath his breath, like he didn't mean to let it out. 

He was probably going to start shit talking Yoru and scold him later for it. She knew this was coming, hence his anger in his tone. She might as well stick up for him like she does for everyone else. 

"Look, Brim, please don't yell at him. It's not his fault this is happening to him. Just, please, if you're going to yell at him, yell at me, please." Skye looked up to his face with pleading eyes to see a slight shock expression before he relaxed his muscles.

"Fine, I won't." He sighed. "You're a good friend for taking the bullet, literally and figuratively." He chuckled deep in his scowl. The job was dangerous, and he remembers when Sage told him about Skye accidentally getting shot because she didn't want the scrawny kid, known as Gekko, to get shot, and she recalls it too. A wave of relief set over her. 

"Thank you for telling me this, Skye. I'll ask Viper to take a look. And don't worry, I'll tell her to take it easy. I know you're not typically a fan of her, and I don't want you to hate her more if she does something." 

At first, Skye's entire body tensed when she heard Viper's name, but she tried to calm herself down after Brimstone's words. You would think a chemist would not be the best at figuring out what wounds were which. She might as well poison the victim further. 

"Can Sage help?" She randomly said it out of the blue. Sage was definitely the best option since she was the closest you could get to a doctor in the protocol, even though she examined them herself and had no idea what they were. Might as well try.

"Of course. I trust her, and I'm guessing she would be a help since she's a docotor or something like that."

"Yes, and can I ask for one more favor with him?"

Brimstone raised his eyebrow. "What might that be?"

"He told me directly that he wanted me to be by his side through the entire thing. I-I hope that's okay." Skye said, which made a chain of thoughts run through his head.

"Huh, he specifically said that to you." His chin was high to act confident when, in reality, Skye knew he was nervous and surprised at the same time. She nodded. "Interesting. Guess the kid finally found someone." 

This made Skye slightly blush. She's heard these words several times from different agents, but it still made her flustered when she thought of her and Yoru. "I wouldn't say that."

"C'mon, Skye. When has Yoru told someone he wanted them by their side before?" He stated it in a playful 'dad' tone. Damn, Killjoy really did something to him. She didn't answer, and that gave Brimstone his answer. 

"Exactly. You can stay with him for the entire time since he requested it personally." He said.

Skye thought that was her time to leave, so she did. She stood up from the creaky chair and walked up to the door with a "thank you, Brimstone."

"No problem; I'll notify you with further information." He responded, and Skye left, shutting the door quietly.

She wandered down the halls back to her dorm room. She has no clue what to do for the rest of the day. The only thing she could think of was Yoru and what he was going through. Skye wished she could stay by his side for an eternity, but unfortunately, that's not possible. She just wishes Sage would keep Viper right on track. Brimstone was right; she never liked Viper for all the shit she put in the air. Poison and nature never went together. Though for this one time, she had to trust her. 

Like she stated earlier, they better not hurt her riftwalker. She was now just getting to his cold, stone heart.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Hours had passed when Skye talked to Brimstone. She wasn't sure that he had notified Viper because nothing had happened during the time period. Although Sage had allowed her to visit him even when he was still passed out, she wanted to take a break from the day after a group came back from a mission. Sage had told Skye that the younger ones, such as Jett and Phoenix, asked about him when they were in the infirmary. Who could blame them when their 'friend' was passed out for hours on end in a medical bed? They thought he was dead until they saw his slow-breathing chest. Skye couldn't help but giggle at that, though she was scared it might become true. Shit. She can't think about it.

Now, she was back in the same position she was a couple hours ago: on her knees by his bed and grazing her fingers over his skin constantly. Skye had no idea what time it was. All she knew was that it was around midnight, meaning mostly everyone was in their rooms other than probably Fade and Omen, who looked like they never fell asleep. She knew she wasn't going to get up early the next morning; she was going to be too busy staying up all night. She was so worried about him waking up in the middle of the night from a nightmare or randomly without anyone around. That is, until someone walked in the door that she was relieved to see and, at the same time, wished she did not.

"Skye..." Viper spoke through the thick wall of silence, causing a chill to run down Skye's spine. The first thing she noticed was that her mask wasn't on. At least Brimstone told her. She did not feel like facing her.

"Hello, Viper." Skye responded, circling her fingers again. She could feel Viper's glare on her fingers. In fact, Viper was the one who proposed the rule of no fraternization, so it would make sense that she was thinking of something else when Skye was so close to Yoru. Closer than friends were. 

Skye could see and feel her toxins in the air. "First of all, we're not dating. I'm not breaking the rule, I promise." She declared, which made Viper's scrunched eyebrow's soften. "I'm guessing Brimstone told you what's happening." Her circles on his face began again.

"Yes, he did. I honestly don't know what to make of it and don't know where to start." The chemist uttered before clearing her throat. "May I see what he's talking about?" This made Skye glance back up at her. At first, Skye wanted to keep Viper far away from him until she realized she had no other choice. After a minute of silence, Skye had no idea it had been that long until Viper somehow got the message. 

"I can see you're protective of him. Don't worry, I'll do anything you say, which means you can still keep him safe." 

Huh? When did she become so protective? That's not the Skye she knows. 

"Um, okay..." Skye was hesitant for a second before she finally relented and maneuvered her hands down to his neck, pulling his shirt away for the blue wound to be exposed. It was halfway through healing when he woke up all of a sudden. Viper strolled over from the door to the bed at the sight of her hands moving. 

The large wound made her wince, but she hid it behind her cold emotions. "So this is what he was talking about." She muttered under her breath, barely loud enough for Skye to hear.

"I don't know how to stop it." Skye started. "None of us do. They only appear when he uses his powers. He thinks they came from when he went on that mission to that museum. All he's told me is that he thinks they're from when he touched some sort of armor set that his ancestors owned before the museum got a hold on it." She explained, and Viper listened while staring straight at the scar. 

"Huh..." She had no idea what to say. It looked like Viper was just as confused and nervous as Sage was from Skye's angle. 

"Skye, I don't know if I'll be of any help..." She grazed her fingers over the scar and immediately pulled back as Yoru let out a whimper, which caused Skye to cup his face. "But I'll see what I can do. I just need to bring him to my lab. You go get some sleep."
"No."

Viper's eyes stared back into the scary green ones. Skye stared up at her with an angry expression. Was the chemist that forgetful? She completely forgot how close they were. When did they get so close?

"Um, I'm sorry, Skye, but you need to get some sleep-"

"Then don't experiment on him tonight."

Viper didn't talk to the Australian much. She was now figuring out one side of herself, and that just so happened to be her scary side. She had to put up a fight with her. What is she going to do? Punch her in the face? No, Viper will just punish her harshly or fire her. "I was hoping to get him to the lab so I can start right away and because he's fast asleep right now.

"He wanted me to be by my side for the entire time, Viper. I won't leave him." Skye said through clenched teeth.

Finally, Viper relented. "Fine. I'll wait for tomorrow. But no longer." She said this, turning to the door. A sigh of annoyance was heard from the Aussie, and Viper swears she is about to put her in a human test tube, but she held her temper together. "Promise me, Skye." She turned back to her one more time. "Go get some sleep tonight. It's going to be a long day tomorrow. Please." Viper then lightly slammed the door.

Skye pierced her eyes through the door like her glares could wall-bang. Though, recalling Viper's words over and over again in her head, she was slowly thinking she was right. It felt like it was past midnight, and if tomorrow was just going to be testing, she'd probably pass out right in the middle of it if she had no sleep in her. So, Skye took a final glance at Yoru and stood up. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off of him, but she had to go to sleep. Leaning down, Skye pecked his cheek, blushing, before running out of there. Gosh, did she really just do that? Damn, she felt like a teenager.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

The next morning was a hassle with the VALORANT Protocol's agents. Most of the younger agents were fast asleep, taking the time to enjoy their beauty sleep while Viper was running, more like speed walking, around the headquarters. She was eager to start working. She had discarded her current projects for Yoru and was hoping to get back to them soon, seeing that she was close to a substance that she was looking for. Viper entered the infirmary to see Sage lost in thought, staring at Yoru until she opened the door.

"Oh, hey, Viper. Skye said you were going to help with this." Sage said, turning her attention back to a couple of pill bottles on her tiled desk. 

As she was staring at Yoru, she could see him lightly twitch at her own name. Similar to Skye, Yoru and Viper barely talked. The only thing she has directly told him is that he could change dimensions any day and leave them behind. She was not fond of the duelist. He always rolled his eyes and used his arrogant attitude when he was given commands during missions. At least he did what he was commanded, unlike Phoenix, who did whatever he wanted too when it was serious. 

"Is he...?" Viper mumbled. Despite not having the closest relationship with Sage, the healer seemed to know what she wanted to ask.

"Yeah." She responded. This meant Yoru was conscious and was listening to everything they were saying, so the two mentally agreed to keep it very vague.

Viper didn't know what else to do. She was hoping to drag him to her lab, but Sage reassured her that he was going to stay here if anything bad happened with the wounds. That was fine. All she needed to do was inspect it closer, then try to think of an alternative to fix it. However, to inspect it, she needed Skye, who was nowhere in sight, to stop Viper if she was hurting him at all. This led to an awkward silence in the room. She was about to ask Sage to start until he said something.

"Sage?" Yoru croaked out. His voice was rough and dry, suggesting he hadn't had a cold cup of water in a while. "Where's Skye?"

Sage immediately turned her attention to Yoru with her eyes wide. "Gekko's getting her right now. She'll be here in a minute. Don't worry." She stuttered out; her fingers seemed to tremble. Why was she shaking? Or was she shocked? The two could hear him whimper and shuffle deeper into the confining hospital pillow. 

Sage fumbled for a second, keeping her gaze in him as she searched for a pill bottle. She glanced for a second and grabbed a bright orange pill bottle with coated white pills that seemed to be a bit bigger than the rest of the bottles. She scooped two pills into her hand, grabbed a flimsy plastic cup with cold water, and made her way over to the side of the bed. 

"Take these." Her hands were held out in front of Yoru's face. "They'll help with the pain."

Yoru stared for a minute before looking up at her with a glare. He recognized these pills from a certain event that happened a couple nights ago...

"I know what these pills are and they're not pain killers." 

Sage was taken back but tried her best to hold it in. "U-um."

"If you're wondering why I'm not taking it, go ask Skye." His head then fell back down on the pillow, closing his eyes. No matter how much he liked Skye, he was not a fan of being drugged to fall asleep so they could peacefully drag him somewhere else. He remembers exactly what bottle Skye used that one night when she plunged the pills down his throat, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sage taking pills out of the exact same bottle.

"Yoru..." Sage whispered. He had opened his eyes again at the sound of his name. Even with droopy eyes, he could still maintain a glare at the healer. 

Meanwhile, Viper just stood by the doorway, confused about the tension. Of course, she had no idea what was going on. Suddenly, the door creaked open slightly. It was Skye. 

The first thing she saw was Viper staring at her, which caused her mind to do a little flip of nervousness. She remembers very clearly what her tone was last night, and to be honest, she regrets it fully. At least Viper didn't seem bothered. Sage was the second to look up, while Yoru didn't, thinking it was just another stupid agent to ruin his day further.

Before Skye could ask what was happening, Sage furrowed her eyebrows. "Skye, what did you use the sleeping pills for with him?" Her voice was stern, and Skye could easily tell she was in trouble. A nervous smile was plastered on her face.

Yoru turned his attention to the pronunciation of her name, whipping his head around. He didn't even think about the fact that he was right about them being sleeping pills.

A drop of sweat rolled down her forehead. "Um..." She took one glance at Yoru's pleading face and ignored Sage, trudging her tired body over to the bedside. Yoru reached out for her grasp. She responded by cradling his fingers in her hand. "Let's talk later, shall we?" Skye knew she was going to get scolded by her best friend for it whenever there was a gap in the schedule. She took the cup of water from her friend's hand and kneeled down. Deja vu's a bitch. 

"I'll take care of it, okay?" She said this, looking up at Sage. The healer was slightly irritated with Skye, but she couldn't blame her or get mad. They needed Skye if they wanted to get ever so close to Yoru. So Sage sighed softly, handed her the two pills, and walked to Viper's side.

"I trust you." She said.

"I know you do." Skye winked with a smile, turning her attention back to the riftwalker.

As soon as Sage left them semi-alone, Yoru, from the looks of it, craved for her attention as he wrapped his arms around hers. Though she had to shake them off to work, the two could see Sage lean down to his ear before whispering something. Unfortunately, they were too far away, and she was too quiet to tell what she said, but whatever she said got him to relax his muscles. Apparently, it worked so well that when Skye brought the pills and cup up to his lips, he gladly chugged both down. It wouldn't take a genius to tell that Yoru had a strong soft spot for Skye. Viper and Sage stood there awkwardly, watching Skye stare so peacefully at him. They could not see Yoru's face, but they could tell that he was relaxed under her touch, like a delicate flower's petals. Shortly after, Yoru lay motionless, her grin turning into a frown. This gave them the hint that he was passed out and was ready to be inspected. Skye stood up with the help of Sage and got escorted out of the infirmary to run tests because they both knew she would not get away from his side by herself.

As soon as Sage led Skye out of the room, Viper trudged over to Yoru's sleeping body, seeing the blue wound on his neck. "I'll be back, Sage." She vaguely said. Leaving Sage in the room alone.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Skye had nothing else to do for the next couple of hours without the constant level of stress rising. She was so worried for Yoru, but she had to play it off because, hopefully, Sage and Viper would take care of it. Even with her helping her, she still did not trust Viper, scared if she was somehow going to get her toxins in his flesh. At least Sage was there.

She hadn't even worked out this morning or gone for her daily jog this morning. Instead, she sat down by the cherry blossom tree, which was right next to the dock for the lake, to watch the sun rise. She hasn't sat here since she planned to get Yoru alone with Sage. 

Again, Yoru... Fuck, stop worrying so much. Those two can handle it. 

Skye did everything she could to make her mind wander anywhere but him. Which includes her bringing her earphones and listening to different types of music that the other agents were fond of. Though she didn't really bond with most of their favorite genres, nearly all of them liked a rap-pop style, while she focused more on sync pop and alternative styles. Although, damn, did Raze listen to catchy songs? Maybe that's why she's always focused on her music.

Sometimes, Skye does not like the noise cancellation filter built into her earphones. Some people enjoy ignoring people, such as Fade, or simply enjoying music too much, like Raze. She always felt bad asking someone to repeat themselves because she plugged in her music, and that basically happened in the same situation as Astra walked up to her, calling her name, and she had no idea until she tapped her on the shoulder.

"Oh, Astra! Sorry, I didn't hear you with this music." Skye smiled, picking out her earplugs.

"No worries! You said you were busy last time to talk, so are you free now?" Astra exclaimed, sitting by her on the thick roots of the tree.

Oh shit. She was so worried about Yoru that she completely forgot that Astra wanted to hang out. A pang of guilt stung through her chest down to her gut. "Oh, sorry. I just got completely caught up with other matters. Damn it."
The controller's eyes widened. "Chale, you're good! Don't apologize for helping out someone!"

Hold on. How does Astra know what's going on with Yoru right now? She hasn't talked to her about how the situation between the two escalated to an experimental matter. In fact, she thought no one knew. "Wait. How do you know about us?"

"Oh, everybody knows."

"What?!" Skye yelled, causing Astra to flinch slightly. The Aussie was barely the one to freak out like this regarding the circumstances. So the random loss of control was a surprise to Astra.

"Y-yeah, you started acting weird. No one barely saw Yoru anymore. Jett and Raze became suspicious of something, and Sage became an eavesdropper out of nowhere. It was way too easy to tell something big was happening. Finally, I guess Raze and Jett broke and told everyone. Who knows, Harbor told me." Astra explained. Skye stared in shock, blood rushing through her veins up to her brain to process everything. Was she stupid? Now, thinking about it, the rest of the protocol was bound to find out sooner or later. Although, how did Jett and Raze out of everyone figure it out? Cypher promised to not tell anyone, but that doesn't mean he can't break a promise.

"Huh..."

"Look, I'm sorry-"

"No, it's fine. With all the hiding we had to do, of course it was getting suspicious." Skye said, staring at the sun shimmering on the resting lake in front of her. "It's just..." She paused. Where was she going with this? "Never mind."

"What do you mean, 'never mind?' Do you have something on you're mind you want to talk about?" Just like Sage, of course one of her closest friends could see right through, which is why she trusted them.

Skye shrugged. "I guess so."

"It's about Yoru, isn't it?" She declared it with a cocky smile. "Despite you drugging him, he seems to trust you somehow. It's cute." 

A giggle escaped the Aussie's lips. Whenever an agent made a snarky comment about Yoru and Skye being a thing, she brushed it off. Until her whole view changed when she received those notes, god, she wishes she could go back to that time. Brimstone was right; young love was really special. And when he started trusting her with his entire mental well-being, it was a rare sight for someone like Yoru. 

"You don't know how many times I've heard that recently." The two girls giggled. 

She got along well with Astra. Harbor, Skye, and Astra had a little trio with each other, like sharing a special trait with one another, then as an entire group. First of all, she could guess Yoru did not like Harbor simply because she talked about his muscles a lot. Can he understand that Skye is secretly loving being the third-wheeler of them, as hinted by the feeling of his glare on them two during missions?

"So... what's you're guy's relationship like?" Astra teased, leaning in closer to Skye, who rolled her eyes.

"Why does everyone want to know so randomly?" A fake pout was plastered on her face with a hint of humor. 

"Because it's strange to see someone like Yoru get so close to another agent who he has a crush on!" To be honest, Astra was all for the gossip and never kept her promise to not tell anyone. This is why Skye sort of stopped talking about what her intentions towards the other agents were; that was for Sage's care. Though everyone already knew about them, there was no point in hiding anything. Astra's bright, extroverted personality caused you're social battery to go down quicker than other agents. At least it wasn't physically and mentally draining, like Raze.

"Fine, you really want to hear our story?" God, that sounded cringeworthy. Whatever, Astra was estactic, clapping her hands together like a little kid at daycare.

She might as well start from the beginning.

Skye basically explained each and every interaction after he started complimenting her out of the blue. At first, she didn't pay attention to it, thinking it could be him making fun of her, until she realized he wasn't lying. She started with him calling her flower girl, testing his luck with her, then he gave her those heartwarming notes, her falling for him, and finally now, where he trusted her more and needed her more than anything. Astra was smiling the entire time. Just like Jett, she loved sappy romance stories, so hearing their love story was making her day. The same goes for Skye. Astra was able to get her mind off of the bad things that are happening right now and look at the good in her and Yoru's relationship.

"Oh my god, that's so cute!" She squealed when Skye finished the story. Skye rolled her eyes in a playful way. "You guys are definitely in love!"

That caught Skye off guard. She knew she was falling for his cocky but sweet attitude, but love was a strong word. "I wouldn't say love..."

"Just yet!" She claimed, finishing the Aussie's sentence for her. This made Skye blush slightly.

"Whatever." Then the two girls laughed.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

"I hate doing this." Yoru pouted.

Skye giggled. "Oh, c'mon, Yoru. Don't be a brat. You know this is for your own good." 

The fresh afternoon breeze in her hair brushed through each red strain. After hours of Viper testing him and him being passed out by the use of pills, they allowed him to get some fresh air. Since Skye wasn't capable of doing any of that experimenting shit, she agreed to Sage to stay out of it the best she could, which led to him whining when he woke up. Skye was still having a cheerful conversation with Astra when Sage ran up to her. She remembers Astra's smug grin. 

Now they were here, with Skye walking through a forest trail with her riftwalker. The thick layer of trees blocked the intense afternoon sun from the cliffside dropping down to the lake. Skye promised Sage to support him if he just randomly passed out from the aftereffects of the sleeping pills. Every now and then, their fingers brushed against each other but never intertwined. She knew Yoru wanted to hold her hand like they did the night before, and she wanted to as well. Though the sight of Yoru blushing every time their hands touched, even for a millisecond, was so cute. It was funny how he immediately held hands with her the night before but kept stiffening up. 

"Yeah, I know, but it still sucks. I just wish this wasn't happening to me." He continued to stare at the dirt road, relying on Skye to allow him not to run into anything. Skye hummed in response. She missed the smell of his cologne—the sweet, heavy smell that lingered only when she got close to him. "What research have they gathered? Please tell me that my thirteen hours of myself passed out didn't go to waste." 

Skye giggled. The poor guy woke up halfway through the operation and was forced to fall back to sleep for another six and a half hours. Those pills really did a number on such a weak body. And that didn't count the four other hours he spent sleeping on the jet ride to the base.

"I'm not weak." Yoru growled while staring at Skye.

"Well, at the time, you were exhausted, so that's probably why you passed out for so long." She shrugged her shoulders. He grumbled something under his breath that Skye could not make out.

"So back to it, Skye. Have they found anything?"

"I don't know. Viper hasn't told anyone, and Sage promised to explain it to me later, though I don’t think she will. I’m sorry.” She confessed. Seeing Yoru’s eyes become more desperate made her heart feel like it was bleeding. 

He grumbled something under his breath but never said anything after. She could tell his movements had become more sluggish. Due to him tripping on his own feet more and accidentally bumping her shoulder and arm, “Here, let’s sit down.” Skye offered, guiding him over to a shady tree off of the trail. Surprisingly, he denied it, shaking from her grasp. “Yoru…”

“Skye, I’ve sat in bed for over twelve hours. I’m tired of it.”

“But you look like you’re about to fall over.”

“It doesn’t matter. Just let me be.”

The sharpness in his tone was clearly visible. Which made Skye stay silent about his request. She hasn’t heard that type of tone in him since he opened up to her that one night. She couldn’t blame how angry he was. If she was forced to deal with painful wounds that couldn’t be treated because they had to be experimented on, she would snap at everybody as well. Skye looked in the opposite direction of him, avoiding his gaze and biting her bottom lip.

Yoru wasn’t the best at apologizing, but when he saw Skye turn her head away from him and go silent, he realized he probably should say something. “Um, I didn’t mean it like that, Skye.”

“No, it’s okay. I can’t blame you for being angry.” She roughly said. 

“I’m sorry, flower girl.”

That made her look back in his direction. Yoru had apologized in such a nice way. Usually, his confessions made no effort to show condolences and would end up leaving the victim feeling even worse. However, Yoru’s careless attitude was nowhere present in his tone. Skye had no idea what to say next.

“Remember what happened last time when you called me that?” Her lips twitched into a conceited smirk as she watched Yoru’s blood run cold.

“Uh, it a-accidentally slipped out. I swear.” He bit his lip and avoided her intense glare. It looks like he learned his lesson. Let’s just say she wasn’t lying when she said she would break his nose if he called her that again. She remembered the amount of blood that gushed out.

Skye rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Fine, just this one time.” She saw his tense shoulders relax. “You know, ever since you called me that once, Deadlock, Breach, and Gekko started calling me that.”

“They what?” Behind the comfort he had with her, something snapped in him. There is no way others used his nickname for her. Oh, they would definitely get it. He barely even knew Deadlock, and she was using his nickname. Out of the three, Gekko would be the only one to get away. He was too sweet to not get a punch in the face. In fact, he complimented Yoru during missions enough to boost his ego, even when his creatures had no idea he existed. Then there was Breach. He was definitely Yoru’s least favorite person in the protocol. Take everything about Raze and make it ten times worse and more loud. Though he could deal with her, unlike the Brazilian, if Yoru was taller and stronger, he would definitely punch Breach.

“Chill out, riftwalker. You don’t own the name.” Skye giggled at his angry facial expression.

“I made it. Of course I own it.” He growled, and she laughed.

"C'mon, it’s not that bad. Plus, almost everybody calls you riftwalker. I think it’s a fair trade.” She says so, and he scoffs in response. Skye couldn’t help but giggle. Nuzzling closer to him, she could hear his breath stabilize and his skin radiate more heat than before. More silence settled and Skye took the chance to look at his face, which was back to looking down at the road. His facial expression could tell her that he was processing something. His rarely loose hair was falling down to his eyes.

“What’re you thinking, riftwalker? ” She intentionally teased his nickname, only to see him not draw attention to her like before. “Hey, what’s wrong-“

“Skye, can you ask the others to do something?” He randomly blurted out.

Skye was taken aback by this but went along with it. “Um, of course. What do you need?” 

“So that armor that I told you to be the key, do you think the protocol could possibly retrieve it? If they can’t find anything when examining those scars, then that armor set could be my last hope.” Yoru explained. Skye listened with hesitation. He was probably right but there was something that didn’t set right with the hunch in her mind. “And I don’t think I could go back after what happened last time. So please, Skye.” He then looked up into her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll ask them to. I’m positive they’ll say yes.” She watched as a sigh of relief ran through him.

Without another second passing, Yoru broke the gap between their hands and intertwined them. Skye could not comprehend the amount of blush on her freckled skin. It felt childish that she was still blushing so much even when they had already held hands. Although he was more exhausted and in constant pain last time, so seeing him intentionally braid their fingers together was unexpected. There was nothing more in the world that could have been better than holding Yoru's, once again, cold hand. If she could, Skye would do anything to put an end to these scar's appearance and pain. Though she wonders, would she and Yoru be as close as they were today without everything that has happened? Or would they continue to never talk and he would keep sending notes with her having no clue where they were coming from? Was this immense torture even worth their relationship?

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

"I don’t get why it’s important and she’s the only one allowed to touch it.” A young boy’s voice was heard between Yoru’s muffled ears. 

His head hurt and his vision was blurred to the highest setting. Through the filter, he could see two young men digging into a conversation while sitting around a cozy fireplace indoors. His surroundings looked like an old Japanese house that belonged to a rich bastard family. The materials used were only used in ancient Japanese culture, definitely not in modern times. Yoru watched as the two Japanese boys bickered; he was standing in the corner in the shadow of the room. They somehow didn’t notice him, making him think he was invisible.

“I don’t know either.” The other kid said, “She says it’s dangerous yet she wears it herself. Fucking confusing.”

“Tell me about it.”

Who was this girl they were talking about? Obviously, whoever she was, she must’ve been a powerful leader that no one wanted to mess with. A powerful woman in old times was surprising since they were basically extinct due to the unfair gender roles that they had. And from the looks of it, the men weren’t too happy about it.

“I tell you, women these days are crazy.”

That was the last thing he heard until his mind came back to reality and his eyes shot awake. Just another nightmare. Except it wasn’t a nightmare nor a dream. He was in shock when he burst his eyes open from it but he also wasn’t sweating or shaking. It felt like it was in between the two. Now looking back at it, those two boys, who was that girl they were talking about?

“Oh, you’re finally awake!” An ecstatic voice spoke from across the room, with a thick German accent shining through. Oh great. It’s the optimistic engineer, Killjoy. She’s probably more confident about herself than even him.

He groaned at the sight of her tinkering with one of her alarm bots in the corner and her laptop with several cute stickers on it sat in front of her. “Why are you here.” His glare stung into her sore yellow jacket

“No need to be so sour. I was just told to watch you.” She shrugged. Yoru watched as her eyes kept going in between his face and the visible scar on his neck. It didn’t go unnoticed

“Ugh, I get it. You see them. Stop pointing it out.” He rigorously spit out, sitting up and kicking the thin blankets off of his waist.

“Wait, don’t sit up! I’m scared it might hurt you!” Killjoy dropped her alarm bot onto the table and stood up. Yoru leaned backwards with a flinch but still sat up. 

“Huh?”

“Um, yeah, I took a look at those marks myself and offered perhaps something that might help. Maybe, though it will probably just hurt you because I’ve never tried it before but what do I know? It doesn’t hurt to try!” She passionately yelled, which left Yoru with a disoriented expression.

“So you have no idea what you put in me and expect me to keep calm?” His voice was quiet but in a scary tone.

Killjoy stuttered. “W-well… yeah? I haven't seen anything like this before and thought it was worth a shot.”

“Did Viper agree to it?” He asked.

“Ha! No! Do you think she would ever agree with me? Think again!” Killjoy beamed, pushing her glasses further up her nose. 

Well, that didn’t help at all. Thanks, Killjoy. He groaned louder this time, agonizingly, burying his face in his hands.

"Oh, c'mon, I bet it won’t be that bad! Worst comes the worst; you’ll die from poisoning.”

"Killjoy, just shut up. You’re not helping.”

“Look, riftwalker, you better be grateful because I have been trying for hours to get in contact with that museum that natural girl requested." Killjoy crossed her arms to try and get her point across, though Yoru was only stuck on the fact that Skye requested it and they were actually doing something. He thought they were just going to ignore him like they usually do, recalling the time he asked for a shipping container in Icebox and Brimstone agreed but he never received it. His only excuse was "You've spent enough time in S22."

"Thank you" was all he could say; however, it was very lifeless. At least Killjoy was too oblivious 

"You're welcome, riftwalker!" She said it too confidently for his taste. Yes, his confidence in himself was easily visible in any place he was, but he was a duelist; that's supposed to be his entire role. Killjoy was the opposite class yet still adored being super confident to act like she deserved those pats on the head by Brimstone and Raze without interference. 

No matter how long he wanted to ask for progress about the armor set, he was more worried if he was going to drop dead any second. "We're getting off topic. What was that thing you injected into me when I was passed out. What is it supposed to do?"

"Oh, according to what I've gathered..." Nerd . "It should probably at least drain the chance of it infecting you or whatever disgusting goo you have in your rifts."

"There's no goo."

"Well, you never know!"

Yoru groaned loudly before slumping back down in his bed. This woman just wouldn't shut up for the life of him.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Again and again and again and again and again. 

Yoru already had one that day. Why does he need another one? Another stupid nightmare that looked like it meant nothing to him because he never recognized the people in the vision. Since he was little, it was rare to see abnormal things in his dreams, unlike most of the people he knew back then. There weren't flying objects, distorted faces, or weird shit that made no sense and would immediately change from one scene to another. They were always with people who had normal characteristics or events that actually made sense. The only one that didn't make sense to him at the time was when he dreamed of his powers before The First Light happened and Radiants wasn't even a thing yet. The younger version of him was so confused but it was all clear for the present him.

The nightmare he just had was no different. Yoru remembers a group of five old people who stood in a semi-circle and looked like they were wise enough to believe their words. Just like the last nightmare with those two boys, he was unnoticed and tucked away behind them. Every single word they said made a painful sting in his chest.

"Is she getting too powerful?" The hard-to-notice youngest one on the far left said. 

The one next to him continued on. "Should we stop her?"

They had to be talking about the girl that the two boys were bickering about. Who else would it be? The setting was a different room with all the same matierlas, specifying that it was the same time since the last dream. The furniture was sprawled into the sides and corners of the room while dim candles sat on the ground. One could predict they were doing a ritual.

"I think so. But I have no idea how to take her down without putting her in a terrible state." One more on the middle right said: "What do you think, sir?" Clearly referring to the one in the middle of the five of them. That must be the leader and probably the oldest.

"Boss?"

The 'leader' looked at the ground. He paused for a moment before saying, "I don't know. She's nothing like we've seen before. She's a pretty lady. None of us want to hurt her but if we have to, then we will."

The last one that hadn't spoken yet asked, "How, though? Wherever she found that katana and armor set, it's way too powerful. We've never encountered that kind of power before. And she's drunk on power; there's no way we can stop her."

The others took his words in, each muttering something under their breath. Yoru's eyes couldn't help but widen, and his mind immediately went to it.  

"Look..." The leader started. "She's defenseless without the armor set on. If we catch her off guard in her empire without it in her possession, then we can get her. However, it's going to take careful consideration. We'll plan further."

"Wait- what do we do about the katana and armor when she's dead?" asked the youngest at the end.

The leader paused, then said it. "We bury it deep in ice. No one will find it. Not ten or one-hundred years in the future!"

Yoru thought their words over and over again in his head until they could be carved into his skull. He then remembers his past experiences with what they mentioned. A samurai armor set and a girl's voice... Possibly the girl that he heard when he was sneaking into the museum the second time. Although she was not present, her voice was chilling. Maybe because it sounded like he was hearing her speak directly into his ear. But maybe that was a stretch. Regardless, Yoru still forced his eyes open and sat up. Deja vu's a bitch.

Earlier that day, he had woken up around sunset. The odd feeling of falling asleep randomly and waking up in the intense heat of the sun that was only present in the evening set in. Now, it was pitch black outside and he was the only one in the infirmary. Killjoy was gone, Sage was probably asleep, Viper was nowhere present and sadly, Skye was probably also asleep. Glancing over to the wall clock right above the slightly open door, it read 1:22. The primary big lights in the infirmary were off, with only little blue lights illuminating the room. It was comforting but also eerie at the same time, at the sight of the door slightly open. This felt like a horror movie. After sleeping for over sixteen hours in one day, there was no way he was going back to sleep tonight. Although he had nothing else to do in this sweaty, confining room, he damn well wishes Skye was here for him. As much as Yoru loved the attention, he didn't want it to be overbearing for someone he cares deeply for. 

Nothing could tell how much he hated this room and it's only been two days stuck in here (three if you count when Skye drugged him). He knew the best option was to stay where he was, but he didn't feel like it. Yoru had no care in the world if he got hurt when getting out of the awkward, textured bed. So, Yoru simply stood up, ignoring the wound that screamed on his back. Stupid injuries are not going to stop someone who is so stubborn that he prides himself on his own pleasure. He knew exactly what he was going to do. 

The perks of it being so late at night were that mostly everybody was asleep, aside from the regulars: Fade, Omen, Deadlock, and Kay/O. Which means Brimstone is definitely snoring in his bed; he's tired all the time. This leaves easy access to his office and he's not one to lock the doors, which is weird considering he lives with a bunch of young people that can easily destroy his office if they feel like it one night. 

As predicted, his office was more than unlocked; it was more like wide open. There was only one thing he needed and he knew exactly where it was. Call him a creep but Yoru was hoping to somehow get into Skye's room. He knew she would be passed out and would probably freak out to find him in his room. Either because he just randomly appeared in the middle of the night or because he was out of the infirmary, though he knew he was capable of reassuring her and maybe staying in her room for the night, going back to his room was nice, but it still wasn't enough for the obstinate in him. Yoru searched through multiple drawers of agents until he found it. And there it was. After searching through each different profile he didn't give a crap about, he got a hand on Skye's key card, which gave him access to her room. Without another thought, Yoru left everything close enough to how it was before and headed to Skye's room.

He then paused in his tracks for a second, right outside her door, ready to scan the card against the key pad. Should he be doing this? Skye might actually throw him out of the room and back to the infirmary. Fuck it. 

The door opened louder than he expected, wincing and wondering if it would wake her or anyone else up. God, he did not want to deal with an angry Reyna out of all people. 'Let's not repeat what happened last time...' he thought. Yoru wandered in, shutting the door in the process. Her room looked like everybody else's. A simple open kitchen, a dining table, a couch, and a TV along with it. The one thing he did notice that was different from his room was that hers was messier than his, causing him to cringe. He always liked everything exactly where he wanted it; any inch crooked would send him into immediately fixing it. A perfectionist, they say. He could see the door that probably led to her bedroom. Yoru trudged over to it, keeping an eye out for Skye's Tasmanian Tiger or Hawk. But there was no sign of them. As he thought, Skye was passed out beneath her sheets. His eyes lay over her sleeping figure. Yoru could not express how much he admired her figure. She had fiery red hair for such a kind soul that only she could pull off and no one else could. Breach actually could never. The first time he met her, he was intimidated by her until she politely healed him, only to discover she was a very sweet person, despite his rude remarks. She was way stronger than him and could beat him to death if she was allowed and had a reason. Her freckles were perfect when clashing against her clear skin and emerald green eyes. Overall, her delightful personality wasn't the only reason he fell in love with her. Before he could admit that he had a soft spot for her, they always bickered about the smallest things, which left a sour taste in his mouth, and he had no idea why at the time. However, the only good thing those blue scars gave him was a much closer relationship with the Aussie. He didn't think twice when walking over to the side her back was facing. 

His hands brushed against her jaw, moving the blocking red strands out of the way. He could see her entire body shiver when he glazed his fingers right behind

her ear, revealing a sensitive spot. Luckily, Skye was sleeping in the middle of the bed, which meant there was at least some room for him. Yoru was sure he was going to get a punch to the face when she saw him, but he could care less. Yoru slowly crawled into the bed and cradled behind her. He had to resist every nerve in his body to cuddle up behind her and wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her close, though looking at it from his view, he would probably freak out too if someone was embracing him the entire night. So instead, he only traced his fingers across her back, then down to her waist and back up to her neck before doing it again. He figured that he was going to do this for the entire night, considering his many hours of sleep already. That's fine, though; he didn't mind. All that mattered was that he was with her.

┗━°⌜赤い糸⌟°━┛

Chapter Text

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

It was like any other night, in her office with a sleepless night. Viper stared at her small glass tube, the blue substance settling down at the bottom. She had not told Skye yet but she injected some of the weird blue material from one of Yoru’s wounds and kept it for testing. Viper was so grateful that he did not wake up during it because it could definitely hurt him, which is what she promised Skye, though the sleeping pills really did the trick when he trusted Skye with himself. It was a strange sight to see, and she recalls it frame by frame in her mind. She has never seen Yoru trust someone so dearly. Despite the no-fraternization rule, she could probably get them off the hook with their relationship. It wouldn’t be fair to the others but at least Yoru would finally be nice to them if Skye was there to get him a scolding. Because she knew she would do that.

This was something that Viper had never seen before and the sample she took from his body wasn't giving her much. At least she had Killjoy, who was not doing much since she was always tinkering with Raze. Viper didn't mind, though; she liked to be alone. After separating the substance into ten test tubes, she began mixing the strongest chemicals with it. However, nothing happened. Damn, this was going to be a long night.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

The loud yet still quiet, annoying alarm blared in Skye's ears. Another day, another normal waking time at four in the morning. The first thing she felt when she opened her eyes was warmth. Her entire back felt like it was being encompassed like a bear hug. Although she did not mind, her half-asleep self had an excuse to fall back to sleep. However, when she tried to shit her alarm off by swinging her arm across her bed, only for it to be stopped mid air and half-way. A confused Skye raised her head, then stopped abruptly when she felt a hot breath against her neck, then ran down her spine. Her eyes shot open fully to find an arm wrapped around her waist, holding her tight. The first thing she saw was a blue sleeve. You have to be kidding me.

Skye craned her neck over her shoulder to find Yoru fast asleep and curled next to her. A deep red blush came from her back, up to her neck and to her cheeks. Whenever she moved a centimeter, Yoru would squeeze harder, maybe too tight.

"Yoru..." She whispered in an attempt to wake him, only for him to shuffle slightly. "Yoru," she said louder this time. Skye had to get out of bed. Her sleep schedule has been so messed up the last couple of days due to staying up late with him. Now she was ordering herself to get out of tue bed but she was forced to stay. Luckily, Skye was stronger overall and managed to escape from his struggling grasp. She looked down at his sleeping body, one where he slept a couple of days ago. Wait- he's supposed to be in the infirmary! What the fuck was he doing in her bed and how the hell did he even get into her room? Did he set up a teleport the last time he was in here? She would have noticed it, though.

Skye's eyebrows furrow, grabbing his arm, and she takes hold of his arm, tugging at it slightly. "Yoru, you're supposed to be back in the infirmary. He still didn't move. She loudly groaned in response, tugging again, only for him to have no sign of opening her eyes. Even after many death threats, such as "if you don't get out of bed, I will simply feed you to my pack," he didn't move a muscle. That was when Skye reluctantly gave up and left to get ready. 

"Ugh, this sucks." Skye mumbled at the sight of him still in her bed. She was now ready to leave, her hair brushed and braided, workout clothes, and her mind now fully awake. For just a second, she could see the corner of his lips tilt upward. "Oh, you mother fucker." She couldn't even be mad at Yoru. He had impressively faked his way to stay in her bed, acting like he was a teenage boy refusing to get up for school and yet she fell for it. He slightly lifted his head to look at her.

"Did you really think I would fall asleep after sleeping for an entire day?" Yoru grinned at her angry face. "Hm, you're funny when you're mad. And your bed's comfortable."

Skye couldn't keep the giggle trapped behind her steely facial expression. "You better be gone when I get back." She jabbed a finger in his direction.

His grin slowly turned into a pout. "Hmph, you're leaving?"

"Yes, and I expect you to be back in the infirmary with Sage and Viper." Her hands found their way to her hips. 

"Ugh, like those bitches know what they're doing." He dipped his face deeper into her pillow with a slight eye roll. Skye smiled—a genuine one this time; at least he was back to his somewhat normal self. 

“If you’re still here when I get back, I will make you eat an entire bouquet of flowers. I swear.” She could hear him scoff from behind her. Skye shrugged and strolled towards the door. “Also...” she paused. “How did you get in here?” Looking back at him over her shoulder.

“I- uh. I’ll tell you at a different time.” He muttered. Skye rolled her eyes and left her room, closing the door and leaving the riftwalker alone. She swears if he goes through her stuff.

Yoru watched her every move as she left, eyeing her closely. Slouching deeper into her mattress, he thought about this entire sleepless night in his mind like a video on loop. Despite how much sleep he got the day before, he was still somewhat tired when he lay down on such comfy covers. Yoru doesn’t remember it too clearly but he does recall being pretty touchy and close to her figure during the night. Knowing him, he probably did something stupid in his sleep. The one thing Yoru knew was that Skye helped get his mind off of bothersome things. Before he started officially chasing after her, just thinking about her drew his attention away from his problems. Having a short conversation with her and staying in her bed for the entire night as she slept helped him forget all about his nightmares. Though now that she was gone, the visions and theories came flooding back.

Ah.  

That’s when he sat up. It’s the armor, isn’t it? Gripping the bedsheets with his stubby nails, Yoru recalled how those two boys talked about a powerful woman. Could it be the same girl that he heard one night? Damn, it was pathetic how her voice in the thin air’s distance sent a chill down his spine, reverberating through his entire aching body. He was thankful that Killjoy was working on trying to get a hold of the armor set. Maybe it could be the answer. He at least had to try. But what about the armor piece in S22 (Icebox)? Did they come at the same time? They’re different overall, so how? Yoru was so confused as he buried his face in his hands, rubbing them down his face with exhaustion.

“It’s a curse to others…”

Huh? A large chill went down his spine and stayed. No, no, not her again. Her voice sounded like it came from a corner painted in shadows. “What the fuck.” He whispered.

“But not for me. It’s mine.”

There she was again! “Oh fuck no.” Yoru then ripped the covers off of his lao and practically ran out of Skye’s room. He wasn’t one to have nyctophobia but if he heard a voice, one that appeared again and was probably reading his thoughts, then he's out of there. There's no way he's going crazy, right?

Yoru was not expecting Sage to be awake at this time of the morning but there she was, staring at him with an angry glare. He had taken Skye's advice to head back to the infirmary. His plan was to cuddle back into the comfy bed without any lectures from others about being up from the medical bed.

"Yoru, where have you been?" Sage spoke through gritted teeth. He knew she wasn't much of a fan of the riftwalker, and she was definitely forced and ordered to help him by the rules. Though that didn't mean she could give him a sour attitude.

"I-I was..." He took a long pause, wondering if he should rat Skye out like that. Screw it; he'll blame it on himself and spare her. It was his fault anyway. "I was with Skye. For the entire night. He truthfully blurted it out, yet it didn't sound like it was behind his careless tone. Sage glanced away and Yoru could tell she was grinning. Rolling his eyes, he said, "Oh, save it." Heading back to the medical bed, he lay down, immediately noticing how uncomfortable it was compared to Skye's bed.

"Has anything happened since you were up?" Sage asked, wiping her grin away with a failed attempt.

"No."

"Good. Viper is still researching; she'll get back to you soon." 

Yoru continued to stare at the blank wall ahead of him, tuning out Sage's words. He thought back to her. Even in the back of his mind, her voice still caused him to shiver. She talked about a curse, or somewhat, and told him it's her. Obviously, she has something that belongs to her and no one else can touch it, hence why she mentioned a curse to the others. But what could it be? Out of everything he could think of, what could make her so powerful that she's unstoppable and put a curse on someone if they tried to get as powerful as she could?

"Yoru. Are you listening?"

"Huh?" He lifted his head to stare at Sage, who was watching him over her shoulder. 

"You're heartbeat has been faster than normal recently, according to your vitals." She said.

"Whatever, it's nothing too big." Yoru responded, snuggling deeper into the itchy pillow. "It has nothing to do with the wounds so it doesn't matter." He could hear Sage sigh softly in defeat from the other end of the room.

Yoru was hoping to have a quiet day with Sage popping in and out to check on him every so often but from the looks of it, that wasn't the case. Halfway through the day, he went out for some fresh air and to escape that suffocating room. Surprisingly, during this entire journey of sleeping, either from drugs or being woken up from a nightmare, he somehow kept his hair intact. Skye said his hair should be the least of his worries but he said otherwise. " It was part of his charm, " he told her. Unlike last time, he stood outside of the base alone and without Skye, who was forced to go on a mission last second. After Skye told Brimstone what was happening to him, he was banned from going on any missions and wasn't allowed to use his abilities for fear of more pain being caused. He felt pathetic. Sitting inside all day while the others go out on missions and fight for a purpose. Sage reassured him that this happens to every agent, though it still did not stop his mind from thinking he was worthless.

The light breeze of the late morning spring's air swayed through his hair, causing a bit of loose strands to losen and drape over his eyes. Yoru held his knees close to his chest while his arms cradled them closer, his head resting on his arms. He took in the rare moment of silence in the atmosphere. It's tough to find a moment of peace when you're around twenty-three other people who are consistently in different age ranges and have a variety of personalities; some are calm and collective, while others are chaotic and wild. He preferred to stay within the bounds of quietness he's always had since his childhood home, remembering the times his idiotic little and only sister burst into his room at random. Now, thinking about it, he hasn't seen her in so long. After the events of the First Light, his parents sent him into Kingdom's custodies because of his powers and he hasn't seen either of them since. That was seven years ago. They probably have no idea he left that shit Kingdom place, which led him to get caught by the secret organization, the VALORANT Protocol. Shit, when did he get so personal?

These past two weeks have been so overwhelming. He hasn't gotten a good night's sleep in what feels like an eternity. He's been in constant pain for so long and the only thing that seems to keep him through is Skye. At least his relationship with his crush has grown tremendously during all of it. Yoru's mind went back to the armor and that girl. He seriously could not get a break from her. Ever since he touched the armor set in the museum, his life has never been the same. His nights were flooded with nightmares; he was hearing voices and,of course, the start of wounds that nobody knew what they were. The thing is, when he went to break into the museum the second time, that's when he heard her. Recalling every word she whispered, a curse... maybe it was the armor? The armor he came across might really do belong to her, just back a hundred years. So she probably did set a curse on it so nobody had as much power as she ever did. But he’s touched it before without consequences when he stole it, with only Kingdom being on his ass constantly. Maybe the loss of radianite during the transportation to the museum had something to do with it, as they sucked out every bit of remnant radianite within for the public. If it was hers, then she was definitely pissed, which was probably why he had these nightmares and was in constant pain. And it didn't help that he painted his own colors over the ancient colors, for which Harbor criticized him. So, the only solution he could think of was to return the mask but that was an important aspect of his worth on missions, gathering information for a site. What was he supposed to do? Fuck, this sucked.

Yoru sat rocking back and forth in his spot, waiting for an extinct miracle to happen. That is, until he heard someone yelling his name.

“Yoru?! Where are you?!” He could hear Neon’s loud voice yell from this distance, mumbling the last part. No, he wanted to be left alone with his crowded thoughts, with no annoying idiot to distract him. He stayed quiet, hoping she would give up and walk away. "sumpain ito." She muttered. To his dismay, her footsteps grew louder as they approached him. "Oh! There you are!"

Yoru glanced up at her ecstatic self. His signature scowl showed her he was not in the mood to talk, but she ignored it. "Sage said it's time for you to head back." Neon said. Yoru only scoffed and rolled his eyes back to the lake ahead of him. "Bro, you've been out of the base for over an hour. Sage says she needs to check on you."

"Like she knows what she's doing." He grumbled, making Neon lift an eyebrow.
"What do you mean? She specializes in healing people. Whatever is going on with you, I'm pretty sure she can help." Of course, Neon doesn't know the miniscule details—only the wounds and weird shit happening to him.

"No, Neon, you don't get it." Yoru couldn't explain how badly he wanted to snap and scream at her to go away. Though, ever since mostly everybody found out about he was suffering, they laid off of him, leaving him alone whenever he wanted to be and them being extra nice. So it did not make sense for Yoru to yell at her for simply reminding him. Also, Neon felt like a little sister to him, one he had missed ever since his official little sister. He forgot how fun it was to nag someone out of nowhere when he was bored. So, Yoru turned her down immediately.

"Just leave me alone." He muttered.

"No can do, buddy, or else Sage will yell at me and you." She spat back, which caused him to groan and slump deeper into his own puddle. With much convincing, Neon somehow dragged Yoru back to the base. The entire time they walked back in awkward silence, he could only think he would've consented way quicker if it was Skye nagging him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Neon eyeing him closely, like she was worried about him but was too scared to ask. However, before she could say anything, Yoru skipped ahead quick enough to reach the infirmary and instead of seeing Sage, Killjoy was fidgeting with a small gun buddy on the counter, like she was waiting for him. 

"Oooh, there you are, riftwalker!" Killjoy giggled and lightly clapped like a toddler, as if the plane had landed.

"What do you want...?" Yoru couldn't explain how badly he wanted to call her a dork, a geek, or a nerd. Something that was insulting. "...Killjoy?" He muttered, ashamed. 

"Why the long face?" She asked while Yoru simply ignored her, causing Killjoy to scrunch up her face in a pout. Neon quietly excused himself, giving a wink at Killjoy, whose attention was directly on the riftwalker. "You're probably wondering why I'm here and where Sage is-"

"Just tell me already, Killjoy." Yoru grunted, laying down on the bed and resting his hand across his face to block out the obnoxious, bright lighting beating down. 

Killjoy paused for a second, muttering something under her beath before continuing. "Well, uh, it's not good news." She was hoping Yoru would say something—anything—at least glance at her, but no, he continued to keep to himself. She nervously giggled before continuing, knowing he was going to get pissed at her. But hey, he was always pissed; that's not her fault. "I, uh, wasn't able to get a hold on that armor set in the museum. Please don't be mad at me. I really did try." She blurted out faster than she expected. Unexpectedly, he didn't do anything, staying completely still in his spot as if she were invisible. "Y-Yoru-"

"It's fine; at least you tried." He muttered. This made Killjoy feel a sense of relief settle over her. She was so sure he was going to beat her up for it. Almost everyone knew about his anger problems and how he solved them with violence. Basically, anyone stayed away from his pissed off self when it turned into pure anger. At least the people he hated the most were two of the strongest people in the protocol (Harbor and Breach). So Killjoy was probably only alive right now because he didn't feel like beating up somebody. 

Now, there was an uncomfortable silence between the two. Killjoy gave up on trying to talk to him, attempting to not make him pissed off probably even more.

"Amigo!" Raze cheered at the sight of Yoru, clearly awake, as he lifted his hand to stare at her. Oh, thank God. At least Raze was here to interrupt the awkward moment. "How are you feeling?" She asked, making her way up to Yoru's bedside.

"Do you know when Skye's coming back?" He asked. 

Raze's face sulked. "Aw, c'mon, buddy. You don't like us?" More tranquility, with blank stares going both ways. 

"Raze I thought you would help; isn't being an extrovert your entire thing?" Thought Killjoy

"Besides, she won't be back until later tonight. You have us!" Raze exhilarated while leaning her elbows on the bed's armrest, allowing her hands to cradle her chin. "So... you and Skye. Yoru could only groan loudly and dig his hands in his eyes, hoping to block out their words. This was going to be a long afternoon.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Drip, Drip, Drip. One after another, the sound of a water droplet dripping into the puddle reverberated through the atmosphere until heavy breathing suddenly came above. It sounded like a girl groaning from an infected wound. This feeling was… familiar. Because it was, he remembers it fully. Just as he remembered, the headache settled in, the cold sweat ran down his temples, and the shakiness of his body began. 

Shit, where was he?

The first thing Yoru saw was a set of red and green armor with a torn-off mask and a katana on the ground next to it. No, it can’t be… More heavy breathing interrupted his thoughts. In front of him, he could see a girl who was clearly on her deathbed and was about to pass out due to blood loss as blood poured down her chest, arms, and legs. From the looks of it, whoever this girl was, that samurai armor set belonged to her, and she tore it off. Yoru knows this was the armor in Icebox, which is now in the museum. For some reason, the girl pointed to it and her hand looked like it was frozen with ice covering her entire hand, shaking tremendously at the temperature. Which was strange because, to him, it was way past the start of spring. So why…? That’s when the loud echo of the horse's footsteps began from the distance. Then, everything went black until he was woken by the repetitive infirmary lights. He can't even process how fed up he was with this room. Oh great, just another dream/nightmare. 

Yoru sat up and pulled his knees towards his chest in a form of security. As usual, it was empty; only his trembling breath could be heard. According to the wall clock, it was around 10:30 at night that he could see through his slightly blurred vision. Groaning, Yoru tangled his fingers with each other as they barricaded his knees. Usually, Skye would talk to him if he was in this sort of state and get him out of it but now, looking at it, he hasn't seen her all day since morning. He missed her way too much. She was pretty sure she was getting ready for bed at this time and Yoru had to hold back every nerve in his body to sneak in and fall asleep in her bed, just like last night. Although Skye probably would be even more upset with him than this morning, he thinks about something he hasn't done longer than he could think.

Getting up from the bed, Yoru made his way back to his room. He hasn't been in there for almost an entire week but at least his key card was by his side every second. Scanning it against the key pad, the door opened, though he didn't enter at first. Instead, he stared into his room while standing in the doorway. Everything was as he left it but it felt like it had a bad feeling, suffocating every speck of the surface. Yoru knew people got a weird feeling when they were around him, according to when he first joined. They always said he had a weird aura and they always blamed it on his abilities. He never understood it but seeing his untouched room, he could see where they were coming from. He didn't know why, though. Everything was in it's designated place, with no garbage and a spotless floor.

Finally, Yoru entered, the door closing behind him, making his way over to his bedroom. A wave of sadness rushed over his entire body when the first thing he saw when he opened the door was the shriveled up pink flower he had bought for Skye days earlier that had turned into a brown and way darker pink. The stem was also way skinnier than before and was solid to the touch. Seeing how the petals disintegrated from a bare touch, there was no way he was going to give Skye whatever this was anymore. Great, now he has to clean up the remains of the sad, dead flower. As he carefully placed the flower aside from his desk and threw the crumbs of the petal into the trash, Yoru sat down. A feeling of familiarity rushed over him. Grabbing a pencil and a small piece of paper, he began to write. He needed to thank her for so many things she'd helped him with over the past couple of days.

┗━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┛

Chapter Text

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

Yoru has decided; he knows what he's supposed to do, and he doesn't like one bit of it. When he looked back at his foolish notes that he wrote to summarize his nightmares so he wouldn't forget them because he knew they were important, they had to mean something. No matter how much he hated those visions and the memory of waking up with a trembling body and a cold sweat, he had to look over them. The girl in his dream and her voice is saying something. He could tell she was pissed; who wouldn't be? Imagine seeing such a prized possession (what he could imagine) of yours displayed in a museum and handled poorly by a company that only cares about money. He's had his own view on it as well, including tearing anything apart out of pure anger. He could kind of see himself in her or herself in him since she was older than him, probably due to him taking out his anger with violence. Sadly, Killjoy failed to get a hold of the armor, so he had to do it himself. In order to do this, he would have to leave for days on end. He had to sneak out because there was no way anyone would allow him to do so. It's not like he cares about them too much; only one person is past their poor status.

"I'm still not going to let you go!" Skye crossed her arms and refused to fall for his convincing words.

"Skye, please. I think it's the only way to fix this." Yoru responded and tried to calm her down out of her furious state but he was failing poorly.

"It could seriously hurt you, like last time!"

But it's the only way I can think to figure out what's wrong with me!" He yelled, causing a wave of guilt to rush over him when he saw her contorted expression. "Look... Skye, please."

She stayed silent, staring at the ground, which made Yoru stutter out a lame apology. "I-I'm sorry, flower girl. I-I don't- just please." He pleaded, getting closer to her with sorrow and fury carved into her eyes.

"What are you planning on doing there?" She asked in a quiet manner.

"Just to figure out my family or ancestry in deeper terms. But I need to go for days on end and I'm pretty sure no one is going to let me so I have to sneak out and I don't want to just ditch you. Because I..." He took one of her hands for comfort, only for her to pull it back. "Nevermind. Um..."
"Where are you going to go?" Skye asked as his tricks with physical touch were starting to sink in.

"I don't know yet; probably ancient temples in Tokyo, where I grew up." He said. A weight seemed to be lifted off of his shoulder when he saw her furrowing eyebrows relax the tension. He had asked Skye to meet him in his room the next day after jotting down notes about his nightmares, which she did with only a few criticizing words about why he was out and wondering again. When he told Skye what he was planning on doing, she got furious. Her teasing and cheerful demeanor had vanished in the blink of an eye and Yoru had flinched backwards at her sudden outburst.

Yoru started drawing circles in her hand to strive for her to agree with him. Finally, she seemed to lean into it. "Do you at least promise to be safe?" She whispered.

"Of course. I won't use my powers unless I'm in a life-or-death situation." He could see her twitch when he blurted out 'death.' "If it makes you feel better, I can set up a teleport in your room just in case." 

With much convincing and hushed whispers between the two, Skye eventually relentlessly agreed and Yoru felt like he could finally breathe. "Just be safe, okay?" She stuttered, on the brink of tears.

"I will, flower girl." He didn't care if she would punch him in the face for the nickname choice; at least he was with her. He only wanted her to be safe and not worry as much about him. The quicker he could solve his problem, the quicker he could see her as less stressed. Dealing with his problems, healing everyone on the team at once, and waking up at four in the morning to work out and handle missions at the same time must've been so tiring. 

"I promise..."

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Yoru stood in front of the teleporter to Tokyo, hesitant if he should enter. Skye had put up a huge fit hours before and he felt like he was hurting her if he stepped through it, even though she consented. Before he had left at 7 p.m. due to time zone differences, he had asked Cypher to not rat him out since that guy basically knew everything and was casually listening to their conversation the entire time. There was no doubt he had been listening to every conversation they had, emotional or not. With an overthinking plan of consideration, Yoru stepped through the gooey texture, and bam, he was in Tokyo, Japan, in a matter of seconds.

It was early in the morning, meaning the museum had a high chance of being open. The only problem was that they recognized him in seconds—his face, hair, jacket, and everything. In order to at least try, he traded his original jacket for a different dark leather jacket and left the original one at home. He was sure Skye would keep it for herself when he was out of base, like the last time she forced him to pass out. Who is he kidding? A stupid jacket change isn't going to do anything.

Yet another trip to Japan caused another ride to Shinjuka. When Yoru arrived, a light breeze ran through his hair. Unlike the other times, Yoru was not happy to be here. He's always been curious about his ancestry and ancient wars but now he wanted to stay as far away as he could. His father had told him about their ancestry and schools taught him Japan's bloody history but he never mentioned a powerful woman leader, mainly because they were non-existent in those times.

Time passed by an hour when he saw people enthusiastically enter the museum. The tourists were thrilled to read about a country they'd never been to, even though they probably couldn't read Japanese. The staff and building seemed to act like nothing happened days prior. Already, Yoru was starting to get weird glances from specific staff members that he seemed to recognize. At least he wasn't breaking in again; that's a plus. He had bought a ticket while on the train with his own money this time so they better be grateful. As he scanned his ticket, he walked inside. It was strange to see the museum like this: children running around, their parents warning them not to run off, while others just wanted to take a look. Ignoring the weird looks from children and glares from the staff, Yoru trudged to where he knew exactly where it was. He could sense some people following far behind him. As his eyes landed on the armor from across the room, a chill went down his spine. Even without physical contact, the aura seemed strange and off, as if someone malevolent was observing you. Did those around him experience this same feeling? Peering underneath the object, like any other relic here, was a plastic sign with tiny writing. He is aware that if he brought Harbor here, they would have to drag him out by staff or any of his friends since he would be all over every artifact. Though his unknown hatred towards the riftwalker would force Yoru to either not tell him at all or allow him to get kicked out, laughing from the sidelines like a backstabber, according to the information provided, the armor set belonged to specific, unrevealed members of the Rakurai clan. The only person to survive an unlisted incident was the owner of it, not the most powerful clan leaders. Also, the last thing it added was that it was coated in radianite but the samurais in ancient times had no idea how powerful it really was. Huh, he does remember his father saying something about the 'Rakurai' clan, though he didn't pay much attention to it. Maybe he should've.

Yoru's heard, read, and seen what he theorizes he must do. 

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Without seeing anyone else in the base, Yoru quietly and successfully was able to get through the Icebox teleporter and go into the map alone. At least nobody saw him, which meant no pestering for him at the time. Hopefully, no one else was going in a panic over his missing state. 

They could find him anytime; he didn't care. His eyes and focus only lay on the visible misty radianite hovering in the sky above A site. The armor set was usually there only for it to be a disappointment, with nothing but an empty stage for display. He remembers when he first fought in Icebox and only went so far as to tell Phoenix that he knew the place pretty well. Seeing the giant Kingdom K's spread around the entire place was maddening to the core. At least the continuing smell of gunpowder and the sounds of bullets made up for it. Also, Jett fangirled over all the cute little snowmen hanging around the place; even in the weirdest positions, they were always found. They were still being found today, and Yoru would tell no one that he was the main culprit. At least everyone found it cute.

Yoru had dozed off, thinking less about the radianite hovering just above him. For a moment, he had peace, breathing in the chilled air. The whisper in his ear could barely be heard, which caused a chill to go straight down his entire body. It’s her again. The thought raced through his mind like a rapidly beating heartbeat. Although this time, her voice sounded more casual than all the times before, and it seemed he got used to it. Whipping his head around, there was nothing there, just like the other times, but he knew she was near, whatever she was. He could barely hear what she said but whatever it was, it was important. The girl sounded so close yet so far away. Yoru grabbed his mask from his own pocket dimension, where he kept his butterfly and mask and teared into a rift, activating his ultimate. Maybe this time he’ll catch her in the act, though it was not guaranteed for the riftwalker considering she was centuries old if she came from the Edo period like his mask. He actually did not expect to see anything, only contemplating that it was his only option until he saw someone jerk their feet forward in the distance, outside of the site. Without hesitation, Yoru chased after them, using his invincible speed as an advantage. All he could see of this 'hallucination' through the blue material was long, flowing black hair and a running figure. No matter how far away they looked, Yoru continued to charge after her. However, his journey came to an end when he physically saw the person warp right through the thick gate that stopped anyone from entering the icy scenery. He then stopped in his tracks as he watched them run off to the giant crashed ship in the distance, disappearing from his sight when he was far enough away.

“Dammit.” Yoru cursed, exiting his ultimate and storing the mask away. “Fucking dammit.” He slammed his fists against the gate. His careless attitude transformed into an obvious pissed manner. Whoever this person was, maybe they would’ve been the key to answers—at least anything. Or he really is going insane with hallucinations, visible and invisible yet he blew it. Yoru couldn’t help but groan loudly to himself, relaxing his furious hands in the same place they were pounding and glancing down at his shoes, which were covered in sheets of snow. Yoru shook it off, making his way back to the headquarter's teleporter. 

Although the only thing that went through his mind was- Wait, was that person the girl?

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Long story short, Yoru left Icebox after spending a little longer there to avoid whatever pestering he was going to get from the older and wiser agents. As he exited the goopy texture of the teleporter, he was thankful no one else was going to glare at him. He had left very early in the morning according to Japan's time zones but late at night for the United State's base and had been out of the base longer than he expected, which meant it was around one in the morning. The only things that illuminated the pitch-black room were the control panel and the recently used teleporter, which would soon drain out after he left. As the teleporter's life support flumed away into the abyss, Yoru let out a relaxing sight, comprehending that he was back to the place others called 'home.' 

However, Yoru should've thought better about going back so soon. It might've been better to sit staring at his plain ceiling for hours on end during yet another sleepless night. His mind was so crowded that if any irrelevant thought spoke up, it would be immediately turned down. The only thing that seemed to happily settle was the comfort of his own bed, one that he hasn't slept in days. No matter how much he enjoyed the sheets of Skye's bed, the setting of his room brought a sense of comfort to him and overall, he thought his sheets were more pleasant. Although it started to make him feel like he was going back to his route, moping alone in the walls of his room with no one else there, Yoru did not miss those days—actually, ever since he started to confide in Skye. He never saw how truly disadvantageous being a lone wolf was. 

Anyway, deep in the back of his mind, he felt something or someone was watching him from the shadows, if that was even possible in someone's head. He remembers her freezing hand as it shivered in such warm heat. He wasn't much of a believer in "all dreams have a meaning," but of course, recently, it looks like things have turned their routes around. Hence the lingering vision of the armor set and flashes of the broken down ship, which was buried deep into solid ice. All he really knows about the armor set is that it was his ancestor's and it went down with the ship long ago, where Kingdom found it. There was for sure, a katana, but there was no trace of it anywhere in that facility. Even if katanas were not the first choice for a samurai's weapon sidekick, they still played an important role in the Edo period. Wait- could the katana still be on the ice with the rest of the ship? Overall, Kingdom didn't have time to dig up each piece of evidence from the shipwreck. This might be reaching too far, but could returning the armor set to its origin be the clue? It would be a waste of such an impressive ancient artifact to be sunken back into the ice, though knowing his careless attitude, he wouldn't give a fuck. Besides, it's his ancestry, no one else's. So, if he could somehow drag the armor set all the way from Japan to Icebox, which would be really difficult considering he almost died last time, he could probably get help from the protocol if he explained his situation. There's a high chance Yoru will keep his mask since everything was fine with it until the one mission where he was dumb enough to touch the armor set.

This was a high-risk, high-reward plan. This could either get rid of his problem once the girl could finally be able to rest; it sounded like he was stretching it, or he could throw away an item that has good value and was the only thing he could think of. If it could fix everything, Yoru was willing to risk it.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

"Hey, Killjoy," Yoru called, stumbling into her laboratory. "I need to ask you some questions."

The German perked up at the sound of his voice in the deafening silence. "Oh! Hallo, riftwalker! What brings you here to my lab today?" She was greeted with a delightful smile that Yoru couldn't help but cringe at. "Also, aren't you supposed to be in the infirmary?-"

"Tell me if you can try again at trying to get a hold of the armor set." He quickly shut her mouth before continuing. "It doesn't matter if it's bribery. I just need it."

"Uuuuh, do you need it that badly?"

"Killjoy, I'm not in the mood." He spit it out, tightening his glare. Despite all the emotions he's expressed in the past couple of days, his self-proclaimed shitty attitude and arrogance were latching back onto him. This is probably why she acknowledged it almost immediately.

"Damn, at least you're back with your ego!" She giggled and Yoru rolled his eyes. He knew he had an ego; that was clear, but Killjoy is different. She doesn't exactly know she has a strong ego and keeps ranting on about everything about her, probably even more extreme than him. He knows he's bad, but damn, Killjoy was way worse. "And what way are you thinking?"

"The classic. Breaking in. Do you think you could find some way to do that?" He asked, watching as Killjoy pondered for a minute.

"Well, uh, we could just go all out and take the protocol to steal it together. If we worked together, maybe you wouldn't have ended up in a life or death situation." She laughed again as the highlight from his eyes disappeared to a more cold tone. "We learn from our mistakes!" She proudly said, Nerd. "Anyway, I think we can just successfully steal it if we have a couple more people. Why is it so important?"

"None of your business, Killjoy." He muttered, walking out of the lab after muttering a quick "thank you" to spare him the embarrassment. 

"What was that riftwalker?!" He could hear her yell with a giggle, hinting at her tone. Yoru didn't respond, only huffing with annoyance and rushing off before she could catch sight of him.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Allowing his blankets to cover his entire body, Yoru gripped his hair with frustration. He had asked to go on the mission so he could help get a hold of the armor, expecting to be agreed upon, only for him to be turned away. Brimstone said he was "not suitable for it" due to his injuries. Fuck, that got him so angry. Now he was lying on his bed with irritation steaming in his boiled blood. Yet he wasn't allowed to be the leader despite it being his armor set, his mission, and his fucking problems? Long story short, Yoru was furious at Brimstone and Sage, who clearly supported Brimstone's decision. The only thing he could do was tell them what it looked like and where it was in the museum. Now, he was irritated and aggrieved. 

According to whatever he thought of, they wouldn't be back until up to four hours later. What was he supposed to do in the meantime? What he could achieve was sitting in his room all day since the only person he would go to was desperately healing the others after a previous mission. He remembers, before Skye and him got into this mushy shit, how he pestered and annoyed her in the infirmary and the greenhouse whenever he could. She used to attempt to push him out and sometimes send him death threats, though he knew behind her glares that she was faking her hatred towards him and how close they've gotten recently could easily show anybody that she genuinely didn't mean those things. That was before he finally committed his relationship with Skye, which was the start of  his 'bad flirting.' Well, he might as well go back to his routes. That was what he was feeling recently. 

With a pointed groan, Yoru sat up and grabbed his butterfly from his nightstand, one he hadn't touched for days since this morning. He quickly adjusted the few strains that sprung out like the spring of a pen before storing his comb in the pocket of his dimensional drift, where his mask was. Ugh, he hates seeing that samurai's face these days. He felt if he touched it himself, despite how many times he's put it on. Seeing the mask's weird grin felt like a hallucinatory knife stabbing through his gut. 

Skye hadn't noticed him yet. Yoru noticed the infirmary door wide open and decided to lean on the doorway as he watched her hands maneuver around Jett's passed-out body, healing the deepest cuts before moving to the smaller ones. He stared at her for a solid five minutes with a smug grin plastered on his face, watching Skye find deeper wounds over Jett's body and muttered curse words under her breath. It was likely he would get punched in the face if he acknowledged her ability to be scary and cute at the same time when she was angry. 

Finally, with a sigh, Skye stood up and turned towards the door to leave, only to feel her soul leave her body for a second after she saw Yoru just staring at her in the shadows. He chuckled at her startledness.

"Oh my god, Yoru! Were you just standing and staring at me?" She wiped the look of fear off her face with a swift wipe.

He shrugged, grinning. "Maybe, maybe not." 

"You know, you could've said something to get my attention. Why didn't you?"

"I don't know. I didn't feel like it."

She groaned but not too loud, just in case she woke up the others. However, she couldn't keep that frown on any longer when she finally realized he had come back safely. Firstly, she didn't say anything, only staring at him, which made him feel slightly weirded out. 

"What?" He muttered. She quickly snapped out of her gaze.

"Sorry, I just—nevermind." Skye mumbled the last part. Yoru slightly squinted at her, running his eyes over her frozen body. "You're back, I guess. Are you hurt?" She asked, glancing away for a second

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am."

"Please don't lie to me."

"I'm fine, Skye." Yoru spit it out rather harshly. A feeling of guilt ran through his veins when he saw her neglected face. 

"Okay..." Skye said under her breath before putting on a fake smile. "Did anything happen?"

Yoru paused. He didn't know if he should tell the truth and spill out everything that happened earlier that day. He hesitantly said, "Something did happen. But I don't know if it's important enough to talk about or be of any use." He lied. Of course, it was important, but the last thing he wanted to do was worry Skye even more.

"Oh? What was it?" Skye asked. Yet, Yoru blew it off immediately. "Like I said, it's not important." Pushing himself off of the door frame, Skye huffed through her nose. 

"C'mon, if it's not important, why don't you tell me?" She complained, remembering to keep her volume low.

Yoru was not expecting the air between them to become tense when he thought about bothering her. She was stubborn—one thing he picked up on when he met her, which always resulted in getting out of an avoided situation. It's not like it will be different this time. "Ugh, I just went back to that museum only to find nothing. Then I went to Icebox and there was nothing there either. You don't need to worry that much, Skye." He scoffed. 

Somehow, his vague explanation convinced her to not ask anything further. Only, "Are you sure?" He could sense the touch of nervousness in her tone, though he brushed her off again.

"Huh, okay. Well, I was going to go eat dinner, then probably go for a walk. Care to join me?" She offered it to him with a slight smile. 

Yoru was kind of confused why everyone just blew off the fact that he had painful wounds covering him. Even Skye, who was worried about him the most, forgot. He was going to take advantage of it. People weren't pestering him about the smallest things anymore, at least. "Um, sure." Yoru wasn't a fan of admiring nature that much, unlike Skye. He found it boring to stare at plants for hours on end and was annoyed at all the animal sounds echoing in a forest. But hey, he couldn't say no to Skye.

"Alright, c'mon." She ushered him out of the room with a cheeky smile, practically dragging him out of the room. All previous tensions between each other vanished into thin air. He gasped surprisingly as her strong muscles hauled him down the hall to the cafeteria, his feet tumbling over themselves. Skye laughed when he finally gathered his stumbling feet together. However, when he finally did, they ended up right in front of the cafeteria. 

"Sorry about that one, mate." She giggled and Yoru gave her a heavy glare. However, that didn't last long when he heard a familiar, agonizing voice.

"Skye, there you are!" Breach yelled across the room, gathering the two's attention. No matter how badly he wanted to stay with Skye, talking to the loud mouth Breach had, was it worth it? Although he didn't have a choice, he couldn't even finish the thought before Skye tugged him along with her. "Oh, the riftwalker's here too!?" He groaned, keeping his gaze away from him.

She forced him to sit next to her, two seats away from Breach. The Australian and Swede began a quick conversation after Skye got her hands on some of Neon's left-over adobo. Yoru starred in the other direction, listening to their entire conversation about the gym without saying anything. He was really hoping to spend more time with Skye, not Breach. 

It seemed the Swede took notice of his verbal absence, much to his dismay. "Yo, Yoru!" With a huff and a second of hesitation, Yoru turned at the call of his voice. "How've ya been, buddy!?" 

He stared at him for a minute, hesitant to answer. Though he could see Skye's glare getting intense and clearly telling him to answer in a nice way, "I've been fine." He spit it out purposefully and harshly. It turns out, it was enough for Skye, hence her giving him a slight smile. She was probably not expecting much from him; he guessed that and he's grateful for it. 

"I've heard some things about whatever's happening. Eh, I believe you'll be fine." Breach grinned, causing him to groan and look away and Skye, who nudged Breach slightly, said, "I wouldn't mention that, Breach. He's a little..." She paused to glance at the riftwalker, noticeably. "Sensitive about that kind of topic-"

"I'm not sensitive!" He angrily remarked, cringing. 

The two couldn't help but laugh before quickly moving onto a different topic, leaving Yoru out of it as he silently pleaded to leave immediately. After what felt like hours of them talking, Skye eventually said her goodbyes.

"Alright, well, I should get going, mate. See you in the gym tomorrow?" She stood up, which finally allowed Yoru the right to stand up as well.

"You betcha!" He shouted, giving Skye a fist bump, then forcefully patted Yoru on the back, causing him to flinch and almost let out a loud whimper—the stinging pain of the wound reverberated throughout his entire body. 

"C'mon, Ru." Skye ordered in a harsher tone than usual. He could instantly feel her nails slightly digging through his jacket and into his skin as she dragged him to the exit, waving to Breach for the last time. Just like her grip, her tone changed from pleasant to angry. "Why can't you just act normal around other people for once?" She asked, and her glare was solid, staring ahead down the hallway. 

"I do act normal. Maybe I'm just nicer to you than the others. Ever thought about that?" Yoru said, wincing as her nails dug deeper into his skin, maybe even drawing blood if she gripped further. 

"Yeah, I know. If you're going to treat all my friends rudely, maybe getting close to you was the wrong choice." She exclaimed.

The feeling of guilt twitched in his stomach. Yoru wanted to answer and maybe resolve her anger until Neon appeared out of nowhere, as his mouth was open. Skye, in a blink of an eye, changed her demeanor. Seriously? Was she really going to be like this? Despite her boiled-over attitude, Skye was nice to Neon for the most part and her hand on his bicep did not change. Yoru blushed with embarrassment when Neon giggled at the sight of Skye being in power over him. At least Neon had other responsibilities to attend to, for which she rushed off. Without another word, she led Yoru out of the headquarters and into the beauties of nature. With the sounds of birds chirping and the afternoon breeze blowing in her red hair, which he greatly admired, Skye's grip finally relaxed and her muscles modified. 

Skye was rarely angry, at least not as mad as Reyna or Viper. The highest level at which he's seen her temper is because of either stress or the stupidity of other agent's decisions. So hearing her harsh tone was unexpected.

“Skye,” he muttered after a minute of the only sounds being birds chirping. “Can you let go?” Regardless of the way she lightened her grip before, he would still prefer for her to fully let go.

“Are you going to stop being rude to everyone I talk to?” She asked.

Her tone was switching to an even angrier one yet again. Damn, it’s really hard to predict this girl’s mood changes. "Well, can you stop changing your mood and attitude every five seconds?”

She then looked at him with a glare. “What do you mean?”

“First you were scared for me, then you were all happy, and then you became mad at me. Also, you switched immediately when Neon appeared.” Yoru explained.

“Hmmm, I think we all know why.” She smiled.

“See! You’re doing it again!” He yelled, relishing the feeling of Skye’s hand leaving his arm, finally. 

The two continued to bicker in a friendly manner; all previous anger from the Aussie vanished without a trace. Skye was having her fun, enjoying how Yoru ranted on like a toddler and as if there wasn't a care in their world, leaving behind all the problems they had. That is, until she brought up a specific topic she was hoping to cover to prevent another 'fight.' "So Yoru, as I was saying, why don't you like me friends?" She could tell this caught him off guard.

"Um, I don't hate all your friends." He uttered it after a brief pause.

"Uh-huh. Who don't you like?" Skye asked with sarcasm and a simple smile to keep this out of the argument category. She was expecting him to let out a list of names but he only mentioned two people. "It's only two people. Just Harbor and Breach."

"Really? My two best guy friends? Damn, okay, be like that." She remarked, leaving a stinging pain in Yoru's chest. 

Was he going too far to think that he would be a part of that list after all they've been through? He decided not to ask her about it; maybe he was begging for more because he was getting tired of their relationship walls. Though he would never mention it. "Sorry. Breach is way too loud and Harbor just doesn't like me for the stupidest reason."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because I painted over my mask. He says I should never have done that to an ancient artifact. I don't think he realizes that it's my ancestors' and my family's. He thinks he can control that shit about me, pffft." Yoru claims, keeping it vague to avoid pissing off Skye due to talking shit about one of her friends. "Don't hate me."

"I won't." Those simple two words allowed a weight to disappear from his chest. "I take your side here. It's your family's artifact, not his. Who knows why he decided to go after you for that. You're right, that is a stupid reason to hate someone." He couldn't help the grin that grew on his lips, though, to his dismay, it vanished with one more sentence she said. 

"Though I did go on a date with him before."

What? "Excuse me?" He spit it out forcefully and accidentally. There was no way someone who didn't like him really went on a date with his crush. Yoru tried so hard to get close to Skye, only for Harbor to have already gone on a date with her. Also, wasn't Harbor very close to Astra?

"Yeah, he offered to take me to a fancy dinner after going to a beautiful garden. I thought it was nice until I saw the connection he had with Astra. Also, it felt more like friends hanging out casually than a romantic date." She explained everything while staring at the continuous, beautiful scenery of nature in front of her. 

However, for Yoru, each word she said about their so-called 'date' made the blood in his veins boil over the pot. Nevertheless, he didn't want to change the amazing vibes between them, so he didn't say anything to make the situation even worse. It was times like these that he wished his jealousy wasn't so bad. 

Too much of his luck, Skye took notice. With everything that has happened, Skye has completely forgotten how hard his crush on her was. She should've thought better than to mention she had a date with someone he clearly stated did not like him. With Yoru being Yoru, it was going to be hard to change this in the other direction. So she said the only thing that came to her mind. 

"I would rather go on a date with you, actually." She couldn't stop the slight blush that appeared; the riftwalker was in the same situation, just way more flustered. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the corner of his lips twitch upwards before he quickly turned his face away to cover his red face. She couldn't help but smile too. With the deeper connection that Yoru had for her, at least she predicted, he got really tinted with even slight affection directed at him, romantic or platonic. 

"I can take you on a better date soon." He muttered. Skye could barely hear him over the noisy chirping birds, but she could, and all she could respond to him was a smile, the slight blush still visible.

"I bet you can." Without even looking at his face, she had a feeling he was smiling like a little child. Seeing his state, Skye thought it would be funny just to put this all behind them and switch the conversation. 

"So Yoru," she started, "do you ever think you can use your stealth to steal most of the alcohol for me?" Skye asked. Yoru turned to stare at her with a confused and weird expression, and Skye couldn't help but burst out laughing. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! You don't have to. Unless you want to, I'm not stopping you." She giggled.

The two continued to bicker about everything from the weirdest to the funniest topics. At this point, they had spent hours either talking about mystifying topics or their past. It kind of made sense that Yoru wasn’t talking much. From the looks on his face to his slow actions, he enjoyed listening to her and her stories. But at the same time, he probably didn’t know what to ask her without making it awkward. One question he asked was “if she wore makeup,” and Skye responded with “yes, but only a little bit,” but that was after she said, “That’s a weird question to ask,” which left the poor riftwalker glued in to a position, his entire body filled with embarrassment more than anything. Both of them preferred to allow Skye to be the conversation starter. Skye was the only one talking about her past; whenever she asked Yoru something about his family, he avoided it like the plague. It always hurt her but she knew where he was coming from. What she didn't expect was for Yoru to blurt out something.

"I did have a sister." Oh? “A little sister.” That’s all he said before he went silent, not speaking another word. 

Skye had to even ask him questions to keep him going. She should’ve guessed that someone who craves being alone would be very hesitant to speak about their vulnerable moments, especially someone like Yoru.

"What happened to her?" Skye questioned. 

"Nothing happened to her. If I just didn't have these stupid powers, my parents wouldn't have sent me into Kingdom's custodies." He said. They had been walking for longer than either of them had counted. So, while Skye thought the best option was to sit down against a random tree, Yoru consented without a single counterargument. Skye was used to walking a lot due to being a retired forest ranger; Yoru clearly was not.

"So... as you were saying." She spoke and he continued.

"I-I... when I got my powers, my parents were too scared for me so they sent me away. I haven't seen either of them in years. I don't even think they remember me." There was a pause of silence for a while. Yoru wouldn't show it, but he was shaking in his core. He had just told someone something he swore he wouldn't talk about to anyone else. Fade revealing his past was not his doing and it happened to everyone else, so people turned a blind eye to him, though this time was different. He had voluntarily just revealed such exposed information. On the other hand, Skye was processing his words over and over again in her mind. She was about to respond to him until he pursued.

"Do you really want to know what happened at Icebox?" He announced, allowing Skye's eyebrows to raise. So he was lying. She nodded slowly, terrified to set off the tick of a bomb in his head like what she'd seen firsthand with the others.

"It's nothing like I've seen before. I came across that girl again when I was in my dimensional drift. Only this time, I saw her physical appearance, at least, I think. She was way farther ahead of me so I couldn't catch up to her in time before she disappeared into that abandoned ship in the distance." Yoru explained, closing his eyes to forget the troubles of the world and Skye's contorted face.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" She asked, though it sounded more like she was demanding an answer. 

Yoru could feel the ball of guilt forming within his gut. He had mentally promised to tell Skye everything, yet he failed at that. Although it was his specialty for years, maybe that's an excuse he could use. "I'm sorry" was all he could spit out with a pathetic and shaky tone. 

He thought it wouldn't work but surprisingly, it did. The shakiness in his voice was clearly visible and Skye chose to fall for it. "What are you planning to do?"

That caught him off guard. He was fully going to take in getting eradicated with a lecture but her voice was surprisingly soft, like all the other times he's talked to her about his past. 

"I don't know. I've thought about just getting rid of the evidence and throwing the armor back to the abandoned ship to settle the spirits, which is why the others are gone. They're practically stealing it right at this moment and I wasn't allowed to go along." He pouted. "I have no idea if it's going to work or if it's just going to be a huge mistake and I'm going to get rid of the most important thing; that's probably the only way to fix me." His facial expression drooped into a sorrowful one, hurting Skye in some way. 

"What will you do if it doesn't work?" She asked, waiting for him to answer, practically seeing the gears in his head turn.

"I-I don't know. That's all I can think of." He uttered.

Skye gently smiled. "If something bad happens, just know that I'll always be here for you." She reassured.

Unlike last time, Yoru allowed the blush to grow on his cheeks, relishing the feeling of being comforted. He's been on his own ever since he got his powers. He had no memory of being so cared for and Skye hit that soft spot inside him that he hadn't felt in years. Yoru slouched further against the tree, his back curling into an uncomfortable pattern but he didn't care. 

"Thanks, flower girl." 

Skye found no will to scold him about the choice of the nickname; she was enjoying the sweet and soft side of him.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

It felt like hours later, after talking to Skye, when the crew came back. To get Yoru's mind off of everything with the katana and armor, Skye sat in his room to comfort him or at least keep him company. She did bring up how he was always supposed to be in the infirmary but abandoned that a while back. Thankfully, she pushed away like it was nothing. One thing he didn't like was her going through his things. Yes, he would let Skye do anything that had to do with him (hee hee bottom Yoru, haha), but it was strange to watch another person go through his belongings, ones he would yell at if somebody even laid a finger on them. He carefully eyed her finger in response. 

Although she is gone now, the thick air almost immediately took its chance to flow into the room, almost suffocating him. That is, until his phone buzzed once. Yoru rotated his head, which was lying on his pillow blissfully. It was the place where he watched Skye's movements through his room. He wasn't expecting much, so he didn't even pick up his phone, just staring at it blankly. Unfortunately, it buzzed again. With a loud groan, Yoru reached over and grabbed his phone, rolling his shoulders to unglue them from his bed. The bright light within his dark room illuminated his face, practically blinding him in the process. 

Meet me in the office

Don't worry. You're not in trouble

-Brimstone

He was expecting a stupid message from Phoenix or a pointless message from Jett but Brimstone was the last thing he needed. Yes, it could be about the armor set, which was the only reason he actually got up. Standing up from his bed, his legs shook slightly as they took a second to hold up his entire body before stumbling over to his door. Thankfully, it didn't seem anybody was up and active at this time of hour so it made it way easier to tromp all the way to Brimstone's office. It took him a moment to drag his tired body to his office, which was weird; he barely did anything today; perhaps it was the emotional drainage causing it, if that was a thing.

Not even a second after knocking, Brimstone allowed him to enter. His tired voice hinted that he was craving his bed, just like the riftwalker.

"What?" He mumbled, forcing his arm to dig into his leg and rest his chin on top of his hand as he sat down in the chair.

Brimstone raised an eyebrow, confused. "What do you mean, 'what?' I thought you knew why I would call you at this hour. This is good news, at least for you. I have no idea what it is."

"Is this about the armor?" Yoru interrupted, causing Brimstone to slightly grumble beneath his breath.

"Yes. We have it stored in Viper's lab." He stopped suddenly when Yoru groaned and rolled his eyes, slouching in the chair. "Is something wrong?"

"Of course something's wrong, Brim. You gave it to Viper." He complained. "She's probably going to run tests on it. I would rather not have some sleepless, crazy lady experience with my family's artifact."

The leader sighed, and Yoru kept the twinge of flames burning within him. Brimstone always sighed like that when he was disappointed in someone or something, mostly when Raze did something dumb yet funny. "I'll go tell her before I hit the hay to not touch it. I understand where you're coming from; she did seem pretty interested in it."

"Well, make sure to double check. It's important." He slouched further, if it wasn't possible, because of how badly his back was throbbing with pain. Yoru didn't care; play the part to make it more convincing, he thought, guessing at the same time. 

"I bet ya it is. That thing is over four hundred years old, which makes sense. Why do you need it so badly?" Brimstone asked, crossing his arms and standing up and crossing his arms. Yoru rolled your eyes once more. He knew that the leader knew why; he should know, Skye told him, or she probably kept it vague. 

"I just need it for an issue. To figure out my family." He partially lied. Yes, he had been working on figuring out his ancestors for the longest time, but at the same time, he didn't want to tell Brim every detail; that job was meant for Skye. 

However, Brimstone did not seem too convinced. "Sure. Like, that's everything." Yoru was going to respond with a lame excuse until he immediately cut the riftwalker up. "Anyway, get out. I'm going to bed."

"Good," was all Yoru said before he practically leaped from the chair and out of the office. He just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. With someone as calm and collected as Yoru, it always felt awkward to talk to his boss, whom he called 'old man' over and over again, which left a glare implanted in him every day. 

Yoru tried to enter Viper's laboratory until he was instantly yelled at after a single inch of the door was opened. He tried to explain but Viper was having none of it and threatened to experiment on him if he didn't get out in an instant. That got him to close the door and leave that crazy lady in her lab. As he was leaving, Viper said he could come by tomorrow if she wasn't in an angry mood, which was near impossible for her. Great. 

Now he was going to have to go another day with a chance of nightmares.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Yoru allowed the breeze of Japan's sunset air to curl through his hair and clothing, skimming his skin. He allowed his feet to dangle in mid-air. This was dangerous and not the best choice, of course, but Yoru could care less. He’s been in life-and-death situations before; on this, he was far from risking his life.

Since he wasn’t allowed to even look at the armor set, his mood changed to being pissed, grumpy, and restless, hence his sleepless night. He swears he can feel his hair messed into bed head way even though he just combed it moments prior. Now, he was staring at the bright, orange, glowing sun setting in the far distance. He was never one to take time out of the ‘precious’ hours of his day to watch a giant glowing ball of mass set very slowly as a farm of entertainment. Although hanging around Skye so much, who was a huge ‘enjoying the beauty of nature nerd’ made his mind turn around at the action. Nature truly was beautiful. And he sort of wishes he enjoyed it sooner. It was just so calm to take in the silence of nature. It helped his mind take a break from stressful things. Though it was better with Skye’s company, he felt more relaxed with her now.

He was planning on just waiting in his hometown, Tokyo, until the morning. At this time, a couple of agents should be up; the only ones he could think of are Skye and Astra. Sometimes Astra liked to hang out with Skye in the early hours and Skye was thankful to have at least some company. Viper could still be up. He doesn’t know much about a scary woman like her but all he knew was that she and Fade had trouble sleeping at night; sleepless nights became a part of their routine. There was no point in waiting later so the grumpiness in night owls, coming from his own experience, could disappear because Viper was always angry.

Rolling his neck up slowly and blocking the sun’s harsh glares with his hand, Yoru got up. Unlike last time he snuck out for a view of the city, he didn’t stumble slightly and almost fell off the building. Well, at that time, he already had a couple of drinks in him. 

Whenever he snuck out, Yoru always placed a teleporter in his room to stealthily sneak back in without a lecture. He knew he wasn't allowed to use his abilities. Sage, Brimstone and Skye clearly stated it. But it's just one teleport; how bad could it be?

Yoru almost immediately thrust his arms into his chest to activate his teleport after his arms started glowing in a faint blur. Hopefully nobody sees him right now; otherwise, they'll probably be traumatized. Their faces were definitely hilarious. Yoru slightly tumbled against his back wall, right where he placed the teleport, before he left. He hadn't had a wound grow for almost a week; part of him was hoping to get off scotch free with it this time, but that didn't seem like the case. Yoru did everything in his power to not let out an involuntary groan or even a whimper as his skin slowly ripped open from its confines.

Shit. There was no waiting around. He had to go!

So Yoru pushed the on-going pain away and ushered himself out of his dorm. Skye would be on her morning run by now, and Astra was either in the kitchen, preparing a meal, or still in her room.

Thankfully, he passed by not a single soul in the halls and to make matters even better, Viper wasn't in her lab when he creaked open the door; the lab remained silent of any human being. That's surprising. Viper basically doesn't have a life out of her experiments; no offense to her. Other than missions and meetings, she was basically always in her lab, mixing chemicals to make whatever shit she felt like that day. He wasn't complaining one bit. At least there was no angry glare or lecture.

Although, unlike Killjoy and Raze's lab, there were tall, human-sized test spaces. This was probably where Viper would store somebody when they were even slightly threatened; they would be their lab rat. 

As he was passing by what looked to be her main work desk, he paused in his tracks. Yoru directly stared at the small test tube, which was pushed away to the side, like she was stumped by its presence. What made him stop was the thing in the tube. He didn't like it one bit. It was a blue, goopy material that lay on the bottom of the tube in a thin line. It wasn't just blue; it was more glowing, like the exact same material that was stored in his wounds but contracted out. Part of him wanted to gag at it. Not only is the material weirdly glowing but he also has a strong feeling that Viper probably fetched it out of him when he was passed out on drugs. What was she going to do with it—treat it like it was from the Venom movie? The sight of the test tube filled with the blue texture made him even more pissed. The vision of Viper getting angry at the disappearance of her experiments did not stop Yoru from snatching them. A part of him really wanted to smash it on the ground right then and there but he hesitated. He'll do it when he's alone and get it on his way back.

Setting the test tube back down, Yoru wandered further into her lab. Before he knew it, he could see the samurai armor practically illuminating the distance. He ran up to it but didn't touch it, terrified that he'd make his condition worse or start to see visions. It looked exactly like he remembered. The green and red color pattern never left his mind or stained his eyes. 

What also didn't settle right was the empty spot where the mask should've been—his mask, to be specific. It just didn't sit right with him, yet he couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why. Maybe it was the guilty ball of weight that rested in his gut.

He wasn't sure if he should touch it. He would very much appreciate having no more nightmares or scars. But how would he even get it to the ship? 

Fuck it. It's the only thing he could think of.

Yoru instantly forced his hand to the chest of the armor set without another thought to cross. As predicted, a shot of vision crossed his mind, and he immediately pulled his hand away. "Kuso." He harshly cussed under his breath, drowning out the ache in his head that had begun. Gosh, how could he do this without getting stopped every five seconds? Yoru knew it wouldn't be wise to take the entire, ancient samurai armor that weighed sixty-five pounds, including the consequences if he even touched it. Though what else choice did he have? Was he just going to sit miserable for the rest of his life, unable to go on missions and use his powers, without even getting through the hard part? 

Yoru did not learn his lesson; he never did, which is the main reason Sage nags him so much. However, his ways were transported into this situation. He wouldn't go down without a fight, especially if he knew he had other priorities to attend to. And in this situation, it was all about his ancestry and stopping his current... problems. If this could fix him, he'll try it if it's the last thing he can do.

He gripped the armor yet again. Again, a vision, but that didn't stop him. Yoru continued, determined more than anything.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

There was one main question running through his mind: how the fuck was he going to get to the ship from here? 

Yoru stared at the crashed ship, miles away from him. The only thing that blocked him from reaching his destination was the thick steel wall, the one he pounded against when he lost her. Nobody has gotten past it; at least he's heard. Though there was no point in going out into the icy layer, there was nothing out there, so it made sense why. The ship did catch a few eyes from the agents, but they still found no interest in risking their lives to see it up close—nobody else but him. Now, he didn't want to do anything else except go out there. Surprisingly, he some how got the armor set through his rifts. Yes, it caused him more pain but if it could benefit him, he'd take it for granted. 

Yoru contemplated, wondering if he could somehow jump over or find a hole in the wall or something. Long story short, there was no entrance. When he was going to give up right then and there and just jump the fence, he noticed a stair well that was behind the wall and was connected to some sort of elevated platform. It wouldn't be too difficult; the only main problem was getting across the glacier to the ship. He doesn't exactly know how but Yoru in some way made it up, using his teleports as an advantage. 

Fuck, he's just got to be careful not to use too much of his powers or else he'd probably wouldn't be able to move from all the pain and get back to the land safely. 

For some odd reason, the yellow fence forbade what he assumed to be past Kingdom workers to head out onto the dangerous surface; it even didn't have a gate to get down the stairwell. What the fuck was this? Wasn't Kingdom the holder of two-thirds of the world's energy yet they couldn't even make a gate? Idiots. Shit, he's getting off topic.

Yoru was starting to doubt himself. Would his teleport be able to make it all the way to the ship from that far away and on top of a rocky surface? Worst comes the worst; he could just fake the teleport so it would disappear and he could set another one up. Though, what was his plan B to get across? Eh, he'll figure it out.

He watched the teleport disappear into the distance, almost vanishing immediately. Yoru waited for about a minute, just until he could feel his gatecrash's energy start to drain out. That was when he decided to initiate his teleport. However, he never thought the length of the distance between him and his gatecrash effected the pain he felt within his wounds. Yet it did, and it was proven when he teleported all the way to the ship. Due to more pains being formed in his skin, Yoru fell to his knees, groaning at the feeling of his skin being ripped apart. There was no doubt that this forming scar was probably huge. Luckily, dragging the armor through his dimensional drift again didn't damage anything. 

Yoru thought he could have a minute to at least catch his breath but that didn't seem to be the case. His knees dug into the thick ice, and his dark jeans and gloves were covered with flaking white snow. If this was already causing so much pain, how would he get into the ship that had a high chance of caving in on itself? 

Pushing himself up from the ground and the pain away, Yoru examined the ways to get onto the ship. He could somehow get up those icy, broken rocks and enter through one of those holes in the ship. That's the only logical way. If he had flying abilities like Jett, maybe it would be easier.

It took him a while to get into the ship; the pain was not helping. Nevertheless, Yoru found a way to get into the ship after managing to throw his portal through one of the broken openings. Gosh, he was getting cocky with his teleportation. From the looks of it, he was probably on the bottom floor of the ship, meaning this would be a perfect place to discard the evidence. Yoru reasonably threw the armor away from him out of pure anger. He was mad. Mad that this stupid armor set was the cause of everything. His suffering, both physically and mentally, was all because of this artifact, which he thought was so valuable at first. It deserved the damage of being torn apart, even if it's only an object. One question was, What the hell was he going to destroy it with? His hands—no, the armor is made out of strict iron plates and possibly contains radianite. What about a piece of broken wood? No, it goes through the same process; it's made out of iron, plus the wood is definitely too old to cause damage, except for a tiny splinter.

His body shivered in the darkness. Damn, it was cold, and the enclosed walls trapping most of the cold in did not help. As he was looking around for something to do damage with, Yoru noticed something shining for a split second under piles of wood and ice. Despite the freezing air picking at his scared skin, Yoru tripped over to it like his life depended on it. At first, he tried to lightly kick away the big pieces of wood but due to them being frozen over, it didn't budge an inch. So, Yoru started stomping on it, hoping to at least get some chunks of brittle ice shattered away. When he finally was able to get at least a couple of hunks of wood and rime, Yoru kneeled down and grasped the easily graspable chunks. As he pulled segments of ice and planks, the glimmer of whatever this object was shimmered further. 

Before he knew it, Yoru saw what the object was clearly. A katana. How the fuck did Kingdom not pull this out sooner?

Carefully this time, Yoru scraped at the ice and created scratches like the ones that were on his hands. It took forever to officially melt some of the glacier's surface but he was finally able to drag the katana out without putting a single damaging dent into it. Surprisingly, the sword was as shiny as ever; maybe it was the recent water but it looked polished enough to be counted as a real ancient samurai sword. Examining it, he noticed a couple of Japanese characters written near the handle on one side.

Isamu.

A woman's name in Japanese which stood for brave or vigorous. One that is mainly used for wars. He's never met someone in person with this name or in modern Japan. Though it was commonly used in ancient times, it made sense for him to not have heard it before. Wait, could this be that one girl's name? It could be a long stretch but it seemed reasonable. An armor set that possibly belonged to a long-passed girl and was abandoned in a ship, the ship where the katana was found with a name on it.

Well, that solved the issue of not finding a way to destroy the armor set.

Without a second to stall, Yoru marched back over to the discarded set in the distance, only slowing down when he felt the floorboards slightly bend in on themselves. Yoru took one more glance at the katana and went back to the armor set. These types of artifacts would be very impressive to other people but to him, they were nothing but a mask, hiding a curse behind the charms of their appearance. Yoru lifted the katana upwards, rotating until the blade was pointed directly downwards, the sharpest part about to slice into the chestplate. 

With one swift movement, Yoru shoved the blade into the armor.

He waited for a second to continue; he thought something would happen, but nothing did. Again, Yoru stabbed the armor set again and again. He had no idea if he was imagining this but he saw some sort of white gas start to evaporate into the air from the wounds he created over and over again. It looked like the type of gas that erupted from it at Icebox, so there was no other sign that it was radianite. 

Unlike all the other times he got pissed and took his anger out through violence, Yoru used all his built up anger, which he didn't realize he was keeping back, to put it into his strength and stab the armor repeatedly until it was some torn apart artifact. It didn't even look recognizable. He did it over and over again. 

His mind was so focused on destroying the absolute shit out of this that he didn't even notice his entire body starting to tremble and start to hurt all over. It hurt so much that he had to stop his actions before he hurt himself further. The sword dropped to the ground as his entire body fell to the ground and against the wall. Despite how cold it was, his temples were coated with sweat as he watched the gas pour into the air. His body was hurting all over and his wounds were screaming more than ever. 

Notwithstanding the absence of blood, Yoru could feel himself go into an unconscious state. He knew he needed to get back; he couldn't stay here on this decaying ship. Though every time Yoru tried to get up, his body refused and forced itself back down. His eyes started to flutter and he tried his hardest to keep his mind awake but nothing seemed to work.

Soon, Yoru's mind shut down, allowing his body to rest uncomfortably.

┗━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┛

Chapter Text

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

Yoru's body shuddered against the cold as he awoke from his uncomfortable slumber. His eyes fluttered open, though they quickly closed again as the freezing air pricked the moisture in his eyes. His body trembled. The pain he felt had lessened a lot but it was still somewhat there. 

Fuck, how long was he passed out for? 

The broken armor set and katana in front of him looked like they had been neglected for years, rotting into the wood. Were people seriously not looking for him? Wait, no, he just forgot to bring that one device that holds the tracker and there was no way any of the other agents thought he would be in the discarded ship in the distance of Icebox.

His knees were locked in place and his hands were too numb from the cold to even grip anything. This made it hard for him to get up yet he had to get up. No one was going to find him here. Yoru forced his hands to push him up. He fell at first, groaning, when a strong vibration ran through his entire numb body. Trying again, he succeeded this time, tripping over his feet in the process. However long he's been asleep for, his portal is no doubt closed; it couldn't last very long, especially when he was unconscious. 

Practically falling over as his body warmed up, Yoru stared out one of the holes he used to crawl into before. He hesitated for a second, wondering if his previous actions had fixed him, before allowing a blue, spiky orb to appear in his hand. Nothing. No pain yet. He let go of the orb, granting it access to glaze across the ice and back to Icebox. As he watched his portal disappear into the distance, Yoru contemplated for a minute, turning to stare at the completely destroyed armor set. The katana was still in good shape, aside from a few pieces of clunky iron displayed on top of it. He felt he was getting hypnotized by his memories of destroying the absolute shit out of it. The visions left a bad taste in his mouth. That is, until he could feel the loss of energy of his teleport start to cross the line of breaking, so he quickly teleported to get out of there.

Yoru braced for the impact of forming large wounds but surprisingly, nothing happened. No pain, no clutching something, no hissing or groaning. He felt how he usually feels when he teleports before everything. 

Wait. Is it over now?

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

It was hard to focus on the purpose of the mission. There was no way Skye could have a relaxed mind when one of her friends—one she was especially worried about—had been missing for two days. Yoru. 

They, really only here, had entered his room with a spare keycard, wondering where he was since his absence of the entire day did not go unnoticed by Skye. As much as he hated basically everyone in the protocol, he would always at least pass someone in the hallway to confirm he was alive. This is just what every agent did. Also, somebody sure would've seen his gatecrash in the cafeteria when he teleported in, stole food, and got out, which is what he did pretty often, scaring the absolute shit out of innocent agents in the process.

After seeing him nowhere throughout the entire day, he is now completely missing from his room. She was getting really worried. Some of her friends said she was overreacting but she knew she was not. 

The next day is when things started to get serious. The stress of keeping other agents alive was not helping with the lingering thought of Yoru missing, which was not helping with her mental health. Phoenix even went up to her in the morning and asked where he was; she gave a sorrowful, vague answer, responding with a "no." She had told Brimstone later that day; that’s when he took action by looking up his tracker, only to find it in his room.

“Are you sure he isn’t just hiding in his room?” Brimstone asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m sure, Brim. He isn’t there.” She remarked. 

With a sigh, he continued. "Then I don't know where he is and I don't know how to help you. Maybe just wait until he shows up. I'm sure he's going to miss you."
That pissed Skye off. He seriously wasn't going to do anything over some missing tracker? Ugh, it angered how much of the people didn't really care. Though it was Yoru who had criticized everyone for the longest time, maybe it was deserving. Still, it didn't help her worry. Her first thought about where he had gone was back to Tokyo; it seemed reasonable. However, why didn't Yoru tell her first? He's done it before and what was so different this time? Whatever, this was another reason for her to be pissed. 

She had tried to go to the gym with Breach later that day but that didn't end well after she had lost it and yelled at him. Of course, she regretted it as soon as she stormed out of the gym but what good could she do? So, during the time the sun was setting, Skye went out to the cherry blossom tree , which she missed very much. It wasn't the best method to calm herself down but the only thing she could think of after going to the gym to get her anger out only resulted in her losing it.

Skye breathed in the clean, natural air. It wasn't as fresh as the morning air, however but she didn't mind. This was good too. What felt like forever was when she felt her nerves begin to cool down, settling into a comfortable position, before startling back up when she heard echoing footsteps in the distance behind her. 

Fuck, no, just leave her alone for once. 

She didn't care who it was; just as long as she avoided everyone, she wouldn't be allowed to ruin someone's day.

"I heard you yell at Breach from the infirmary." Skye didn't need facial conformation to tell that was Sage's soft voice, slouching further down into her body as the guilt began to eat her away. She stayed quiet, staring off into the darkening distance, wishing that the sakura tree was on the west side too, like the east. 

"Um... yeah." She muttered, hoping to avoid discussing the topic with anyone. Skye never yelled at anyone that much, only when she was worried about them. Even if she wasn't quite fond of some of the agents, aka Viper and Killjoy, she would always keep her hatred inside her thoughts or utter some insults to herself. Sometimes she would get her anger out through violence in the gym, just casually punching a punching bag. Nothing like Yoru's anger issues, gosh no. "Sorry, I've just been so mad lately because of... someone."
"Oh? And who might that be?" Sage asked, sitting down next to her.

Skye was hesitant, hesitant to know if she should spill out everything that was bothering her. Of course, she didn't want Sage to worry about her. The woman already had so much to deal with; she didn't want it to get worse. But Skye knew Sage was going to nag her to tell her.

"Yoru." She muttered, trying to ignore the way the other's eyebrows were raised. "He's been gone for far too long and I'm getting worried. 

“I’ve heard about how he's missing. I’m sorry.”

"No, it’s okay. I’m just worried.” Skye said, allowing her head to rest against the bark of the tree. “And Brim won’t do anything, which is making me pissed.”

“Hm,” Sage hummed delightfully. “I’m guessing they’ve checked the tracker, right?” She nodded hesitantly. “Huh, then it seems there’s not much to do.”

“Yeah. And the only thing I can do is just sit here, which I hate.” The initiator continuously grabbed a couple of small rocks and threw them ahead of her out of anger. 

“Hmm, you have every right to feel that way. In the meantime, all you could do is just wait. There’s nothing else you could do.” Sage exclaimed, staying quiet afterwards. That seemed to do the trick for Skye. She allowed Sage’s words to sink into her bones, spreading their warmth.

“Okay...” was all she could mutter.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Yoru didn’t waste another minute to rush out of Icebox into the headquarters, practically tripping the whole way there. He just knew he should tell Skye the good news. The sun in the sky only told him he had been sleeping for a couple of hours, but he could feel that was dead wrong.

"Oh, there you are, Yoru. We've been looking for you." Kay/O announced as they passed each other in the hallway. 

He turned to stare at the robot for a second. "Why? I was only gone for a little bit."

Without hesitation, Kay/O said, "You've been gone for two days straight. Almost reaching day three." The robot clutched his gun closer at the sight of Yoru's eyes widening.

"Oh, um..."

"Skye's been looking for you. You might want to see her but first, I must call Brimstone to let him know you are back." That was all he said before the triangle on his visor shifted into three repetitive loading dots. 

"Wait- do you think he'll yell at me?" Yoru asked only for the robot to not answer him. The silence between them was awkward but only to Yoru; the robot seemed to not even notice he was walking.

Then, the dots on his visor shot off and it took a second for it to return to it's usual visual. "I have notified Brimstone. He'll be with you shortly." He then began to turn and walk away without saying another word. 

"That doesn't answer my question!" He yelled down to the hallway, though Kay/O said nothing and continued to walk along. "Ugh." Yoru crossed his arms with frustration and put on an angry glare, pointing at the floor. Just when he thought he could get a thought to cross his mind, his mind was soon interrupted by an annoying voice he wished he could avoid.

"Yo bruv! I've been looking for you! Where've ya been?!" Phoenix waved from down the hallway. Yoru groaned, which made the British scoff with annoyance. Just if matters couldn't get any worse, a second later, Jett dashed into Phoenix's chest and caught herself; the other yelped out of shock and fear. "Damn, girl, stop dashing into me like that out of nowhere! It keeps scaring the shit out of me." He said, which made Jett laugh aloud.

"What? I can't help it! It's too funny!" Jett shrugged, smirking.

The two continued to bicker with each other and Yoru found this was the perfect time to slip away from them. Though, as he was about to turn the corner, Phoenix called out to him. "Riftwalker?! Where ya going?" 

"Wait, Yoru?" Jett questioned him until he saw him. "Damn, bro, we haven't seen you in forever! Where'd you go!?" 

Fuck, no, just leave him alone, please.

Yoru paused but didn't turn to look at them; he could hear the two running up behind him. He dug his short nails into his palm, hoping that they would just disappear and leave him alone so he could go see Skye. 

This has happened before; he's been stuck with those two before. He was even forced to hear them flirt a lot when he was on missions with them or when he was stuck in a dorm room for a vacation/mission on the now Breeze. They were basically always with each other, aside from Jett and Neon being best friends and him and Phoenix hanging out here and there. He had to admit, they were cute together but damn did it suck to be a forced third wheel. Phoenix and Jett had dragged him to Raze's room and she was enthusiastic about the sight of him. Who knows why Raze was so happy to be around Yoru? They barely talked in the first place. Their only conversations were about how loud she was and the way she ranted about not having enough color in his room. He couldn't count on his fingers how many times he tried to sneak away but he was always caught by at least one of them. So much for his stealth strategies. He was forced to sit next to Raze on her bed while Jett and Phoenix sat on the floor. Neon had shown up at some point and been called by Jett to come over. During the entire time, Neon teased him to the point of leaving. The others were so devastated that he left and started to blame Neon for it. He didn't hear anything else they said before he practically ran to Skye's room.

With a loud knock on her door, Skye didn't answer. He knocked again but she still didn't answer. It was pathetic to admit it, but Yoru was terrified that all four of them—Jett, Phoenix, Raze, and Neon—would run after him and drag him back to their room. So for his safety, he ditched Skye's room and ran to his room. With a sigh of relief, he lay against the door, hearing Raze's flourishing voice call from down the hallway. Yoru was hoping to stay clear of anyone except for Skye. 

He thought he was in the clear until he heard heavy footsteps booming down the hallway. He didn't think much of it until those same footsteps stopped abruptly by what seemed to be outside of his door. Yoru thought this day would go fine since he teleported without any repercussions, up until he was yanked away by the two idiots. And he thought it couldn't get worse when a loud knock bounced off the walls of his door. 

Yoru groaned and buried his head in his hands. "What do you want?" The annoyance in his voice was easily visible.

"Oh so you're back finally? It took you long enough." Brimstone said this from the other end of the door. "C'mon, we need to talk."

Yoru was half-thinking if he should just stay quiet and hope Brimstone knew he wasn't there to salvage himself from a lecture. Though he knew Brimstone would continue to nag him until he revealed the truth, “Yeah, and?” He muttered. The shivering cold that lingered in his forgotten room pricked his fingers, causing them to tremble. At least the muscles in his face and hands were beginning to thaw.

“Care to explain?” The leader asked. Yoru stayed silent. Brimstone didn’t need to know anything about his family; the only person he confides in is to Skye and she’s nowhere to be seen. With a defeated sigh, he said. “If you refuse to tell me, then I might as well drag you to my office.” Seriously, does he have to be this strict all the time?

F inally, Yoru dug in, and he followed Brimstone down the hall, staring at the back of the leader's head with a glare.

“I mean, we don’t have to discuss this topic in my office. Just tell me where you were.” Brimstone’s harsh and tired tone dissipated into just a tired one.

”I-uh…” Yoru stuttered, hesitant if he should reveal what he had done. Though he soon realized, it was only for the better. “I was in that ship on Icebox.” He finally spit out, which made Brimstone turn his head and raise his eye brow at the younger.

“There? Isn’t that restricted and dangerous?”

“W-well, yeah, but it was the only thing I could think of.” His now warm fingers fidgeted with each other, hoping to just get out of this situation. They had now entered a sort of open area in the hallway that showed the outside world, with windows on each wall. He never went to this area, always thinking that it was pointless and not as beautiful as the others thought. “It might’ve worked…” That was the last thing he said before looking away, cringing, and feeling some sort of fear.

“Are you sure?” he asked. 

All Yoru could do was shrug as he continued to walk slightly behind him. 

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Yoru doesn’t know how he got out of that situation with Brimstone. After he had confessed what he did—sneaking out to a forbidden place, destroying the armor set, missing for two days straight, and so on. It took a while for him to stutter the meticulous details, hoping the others wouldn’t ask any questions. Thankfully, he didn’t, dismissing Yoru with, “You’re free to go,” and he was gone in almost a second, running off. He thought about teleporting analytically to see if his consequences were healed. Although he had a weird feeling in his gut about it, it was restricting him.

The early afternoon started to turn into the evening as he wandered around for Skye. He had run into Viper at some point, who gave him an angry glare. For fear of his life, Yoru quickly ushered in the opposite direction. He had entered the infirmary, hoping to see Skye treating someone but only for it to be Sage working through files. Her eyes widened at the sight of him and he had reassured her he was fine and asked where Skye was. Sage had told him she hadn’t been in the infirmary all day and offered him to check the green house. So, Yoru made his way to the green house, only to find it with two people he did not expect. Harbor and Astra were having a delighted conversation while Harbor was watering Skye’s plants. He waited a second before initiating anything, waiting to hear that familiar Australian accent. To his dismay, he heard no sign of her. Using his trained stealth, he rushed off without a sign. He only heard in the last few sentences of their conversation that Harbor was watering Skye's plants because she was having a rough time when Astra showed up. Shit, did he make her feel like that?

Without any other place he could think of, Yoru made his way to the cherry blossom tree close to the greenhouse. At this point, he wasn't expecting much. He had already searched all over the headquarters and island so he was pretty much losing hope. Although the sound of scraping wood filled the flowing air, he paused, staring at the back side of the tree. His breath hitched in response. Carefully, he strode over to the person. 

Please be Skye, please.

Finally, Yoru found the courage to peer over the tree without making a sound. A wave of relief rolled over his entire body. It was Skye. He was going to say something until he realized her state. Her red hair was in a braid but it was way messier than usual; her muscles seemed tense, and her entire body couldn't seem to find a state that wasn't extremely stressed. However, what was worst was that she was carving something into wood but it didn't even look like carving; it was more like scratching at a piece of wood with a tool out of pure anger. How she was furiously destroying reminded him how he destroyed the armor set, just less brutal then he was.

Yoru swallowed the lump in his throat, fearing the consequences of messing with Skye when she was angry. "Skye?" he whispered, crouching down.

Just in an instance, Skye whipped her head around at him. "What!" She yelled, causing Yoru to flinch and tumble backwards slightly. Instantly, Skye's face turned into guilt and regret. "Yoru?"

Yoru was hesitant about whether he should say something or even move a muscle, considering her angry state. He was sure she would yell at him for disappearing on him for days on end; he couldn't blame her. What he didn't expect was Skye immediately wrapping his arms around his waist, pulling him into a very tight embrace—one he couldn't breathe in. It reminded him of Raze's obnoxious hugs. Her nails dug into his jacket through his jacket, causing him to wince. It took a minute to process what she was doing until he returned the favor, wrapping his arms around her back and hugging her awkwardly. Now was not the time to think about how awkward his hugs were.

"Why were you gone for so long?! Do you know how worried I was?!" She pulled out of the hug. He saw how her eyes had turned pink, signaling she was about to burst into tears.

"U-uh..." He had no idea what to say, afraid that whatever he said was going to cause her more harm. He hates seeing his flower girl cry. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect to be gone for so long, Skye. But trust me, I'm fine."

"You could've at least told me." Her eye brows furrowed and she crossed her arms after wiping her tears. 

"I know, I should've and I'm sorry." He said this as he waited for Skye to say something back, but she didn't for a while. Instead, she sat back against the tree, staring at the discarded, destroyed carving that she had messed up very badly. Yoru sat next to her, scooting closer to her, hoping that her anger at him would dissipate. His suspicions that she was very mad at him were proven wrong when she rested her head on his shoulder. Yoru couldn't stop the blush that covered his face and neck. He soon came to the conclusion that Skye was directly mad at him; she just missed him.

"What did you do?" Her previous angered tone was decreased to a mellow and calm one.

"I, um." He stuttered but continued anyway. "I took the armor set and destroyed it on the ship. It's completely unrecognizable." 

Skye raised her head at that. "How would that help?"

Yoru shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just hoping it puts her spirit to rest and will leave me alone. If that didn't work, then I don't know what to do. The armor is already destroyed; I can't fix this problem without it so if it doesn’t work, then I’m basically screwed." Yoru explained bitterly, letting his body cave in on itself. His knees are close to his chest, and his hands are hidden in his jacket. He could feel himself shaking, either from the lingering frost on his hands or from the remnants of everything that had happened to him. Skye could easily see what state he was in when she gently grabbed one of his hands and cradled it. Her face dropped when she felt how cold his hands were. Yoru leaned into the warmth of her hands against his freezing ones. He watched as Skye opened his hand to reveal his palm and traced her index finger in between them, trying his hardest not to pull back due to the ticklish feeling.

Her lips opened yet they didn’t say anything. She nudged her way closer to him, just until their shoulders and knees were pushed together. Despite how cold his entire body was, Yoru was going to melt from the heat that was radiated off of blushing. When he thought he couldn’t get anymore flustered, Skye’s fingers trailed down to his wrist, entering his sleeve but they didn’t move after that, much to his dismay. She then took her other hand and cupped his cheek, laughing at how flushed his face got.

“I’m just glad you’re okay.” She smiled and leaned in to kiss his opposite cheek. A pink blush appeared on Skye’s face, while Yoru’s bush deepened significantly. 

“I-uh, um.” He was speechless and what didn’t make his situation better was how close she still stayed. In a way, she wanted something else but waited for him to calm down first. He looked away but Skye grabbed his chin and forced him to stare at her. 

She giggled, her breath hitting his ear, making a shiver creep up his neck. “You’re so cute when your flustered.” Yoru grimaced and glared at her with false hatred in his eyes, though Skye knew all too well that it wasn’t true. It was proven in the past that nothing could make Yoru hate Skye. 

In the mist of the birds chirping, he heard a slight crinkle in his back pocket. That's when he realized he had shoved his recent note that he wrote for her in his pocket before he left. He paused, which made Skye raise an eyebrow. Yoru then reached into his pocket and pulled out the small piece of paper. Skye couldn't help but grin widely. Was he doing what she thought? She damn well missed those notes. Yoru took a second to compose himself, rereading the sweet words he had written prior. As always, he cringed but held it out to Skye with shaky hands, glazing away to hide his embarrassment. He couldn't believe he was doing this in person. Skye gently took the paper in between her fingers, unfolding it until words flooded her vision. Yoru glanced over at her occasionally, waiting to see her reaction. Luckily, he saw her lips twinkling upwards and he couldn't help but smile lightly too. 

"Oh, Yoru." Fuck, why did she say his name like that?! "I've missed these notes so much." She giggled at the sight of him having trouble meeting her gaze. Skye thought about if she should keep teasing about the notes he had secretly given her or if she should confess that she knew he was the one sending them the entire time. Oh, whatever, it's time to tell him anyway. 

"Yoru, can I tell you something?" She asked, and Yoru gave her a flash of attention, giving her the sign to continue. "The truth is, I've known these notes were from you for a while, before you even started venting to me."

She watched firsthand as his eyes went wide and his entire body altered to flustered. "H-how..." His voice was soft and shaky, making it hard to understand what he was saying, even if it was only one word.

"Um, I'll tell you another time." Despite all the 'pain' that Cypher put out with dropping people's secrets, she was going to rat him out. Skye knew for sure that Yoru would end up beating him to death like he's threatened in the past and knowing how Yoru is with people he cares about, he will not hesitate this time. Seeing how bad he was trembling from embarrassment, Skye thought the only thing that could get his mind off of this situation.

“Here.” She whispered, getting close to his lips before stopping. They were now sharing the same breath. With one more giggle, she closed the gap between them. Her lips were soft compared to his and he melted on them. And Skye could care less that his lips were as cold as ice. Yoru’s eyes widened, trying to identify what the fuck she just did. But before he could kiss back and close his eyes to lean in, she pulled back while biting her lip, laughing when she saw his expression. The kiss was too quick for his taste, especially the first one and the one that came out of nowhere. He wanted more. 

“I don’t know why I did that. I just-” Skye knew damn well Yoru wouldn’t freak out about her kissing him. His fascination with and admiration for her had been there for years. They had known each other and had only gotten to a stronger level when they got close. She also knew that Yoru was a sweetheart to her and wouldn’t force her to do things he wanted, so it only resulted in her making the first kiss. And she could tell on his face that he loved it and was just surprised; she couldn’t blame him. “Maybe because I know you like me. And I like you too.” That was all she could think to say. “I miss you.”

“I-uh…” Yoru tried so desperately to find words to respond to her but he couldn’t. All he could do was lean back in and kiss her again, longer.

After what felt like an eternity, Skye finally kissed him and he was going to cherish this moment until the day he died. His hand then intertwined with hers and he was practically leaning on top of her. His other hand went down to her waist, which was moved away by her grabbing his wrist and holding it up mid-air. 

To his dismay, she pulled back, taking in the fresh air and giggling. “I just know you’ve been waiting for that for so long, yeah?” She said this while trying to hold back her laughter. Yoru blushed with embarrassment and burrowed his face into her chest in an attempt to hide it, though it made Skye laugh even harder. He abandoned her hands to wrap around her waist. She stumbled backwards a little bit and supported herself by prompting herself up with her hand; the other hand was stroking strands of Yoru’s messed-up hair lovingly.

This is where Yoru dreamed of: burrowed in Skye’s arm after having kissed her. This moment replaced every bad moment he’s had, a place he longed for. Nothing could be better than this. 

“You do know we’re going to have to hide this.” She whispered into his ear. He responded with a nod but didn’t say anything. Skye crushed the paper in her hand before realizing what she had done. Oh, well, whatever.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

"Omg, they’re so cute!” Jett squealed, peering from a bush with Neon and Phoenix next to her. They knew Yoru was desperately searching for Skye when they had dragged him with them. Raze had dismissed herself before they started spying on him to hang out with Killjoy. Phoenix was hesitant at first but he then nonchalantly agreed to spy on one of his closest friends. According to his facial expression, he was confused, probably about how an arrogant bastard like Yoru was able to find someone so nice and caring. Jett came up with the idea, while Neon just wanted to watch.

“Do you think if Skye’s around him, he will finally shut up?” Neon asked, wincing, when the spikes of the branches on the bush poked her fingers.
Jett spit out a laugh. “Maybe.”

“How though? He’s never quiet!” Phoenix shouted before having a hand slapped over his mouth by Jett.

“Shhh, they might hear us. And maybe Skye just relaxes him, especially with how calm she is. I don’t know, bro.” 

“Hmph.” Phoenix pouted.

“What? Are you jealous now that you’re not the only one with someone anymore?” Neon giggled. Phoenix rolled his eyes and looked away, frowning. It reminds him of how Yoru looked every day.

“Anyway, we better not tell anyone about this. They’re to cute together!” She exclaimed, holding out both of her pinkies for a pinky promise. Neon shook it without another word, while Phoenix was hesitant but relentlessly agreed.

It was going to take everything in his power to not tease Yoru about this. “Can I at least bring it up?”

“No! Then he’ll know and rat us out.” Jett said. “I know you can keep a secret, right? Plus, Neon and I really want to see his soft side and you won’t help with it.” She practically smacked Phoenix in the face. 

Neon nodded, half paying attention to their conversation as she stared at Skye’s soft fingers brush through the riftwalker’s hair. “It’s weird to see Skye actually fall for him.” Neon muttered, which caught Jett’s attention away from Phoenix.
“I know, right? Either Yoru’s really sweet to her in private or Skye just has shit taste in men.”

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

If Yoru could stay in that position until the end of time, he would. Though Skye suggested they both head to the base since the night was beginning,. She also hadn't had any food since three and begged Yoru to at least eat something. For her sake, he ate something but not much; his attention was just on her giggling figure. His mind was not yet processing how he had finally kissed the girl he'd been chasing after for so long. Later, he had walked her back to her dorm room, which ended with Skye tightly hugging him; her strong muscles compared to his aching body almost suffocated him to death. She then apologized for evaporating all his air out of him before she kissed him on the cheek and disappeared into his room. 

Yoru had stood there for a second, rubbing the spot on his cheek where she kissed him. It had now just gotten to his mind everything that had happened. Fuck, how could he talk to her normally after kissing her several times with passion? He wondered if they would actually date but she hadn't said anything about being in a relationship and Yoru was too awkward with that type of shit to ask her about it. 

Sticking out a blindside in his hand, Yoru stared at the illuminating spikey orb in his hand, staring at with disgust as it squirmed in his hand. That was one thing he hated about his abilities: how gross they moved and the weird sounds they made. Killjoy had commented one time, when she was waiting patiently next to his gatecrash, that she was absolutely terrified at the sounds it made, saying that it could be a prop in a horror movie. Ugh, if it were just silent, it would be so much better. Somehow, he had seemed to get so lost in the writhing and reverberating sounds of his orb that he hadn't seen Gekko moving down the hallway behind him. Not even with Mosh wiggling in his hands, the riftwalker was unable to snap out of his trance. 

Gekko had always helped him bust his ego. Always calling him cool and impressive, especially whispering compliments to his creatures. Yoru was not mad at all. Though a youngling like Gekko made him flinch, he always resorted to physical contact, including pats on the back and hugs. Similar to other situations, Gekko was no different in his ways, patting Yoru hard on the back with his spaghetti arms when he walked by him. Yoru flinched his hand to the floor in a way he was scared or embarrassed about something. At the same time he twitched his hand to the floor, his flash found that it was the perfect time to pop against the floor. Thankfully, Yoru saw what he did immediately and quickly turned away from the flash. After fighting Phoenix many times, he had gotten used to his quick flashes. However, on the other hand, poor Gekko did not, which resulted in him getting absolutely blinded.

"Ah!" Gekko yelped as he stumbled backwards.

"Shit." He whispered. Suddenly, he felt something begin to ache right on his waist. "Shit." Yoru cursed again but not at the blinded younger man behind him but at the familiar pain that started to erupt that he fought to get rid of. No, no, no, no, he thought he was finally fixed.

"Yo, Yoru! What was that about?" Gekko yelled in a humorous way, making sure not to piss off the riftwalker, like the one time Thrash thought he didn't exist for a moment. However, his amusing tone and smile soon vanished when he saw his perplexed facial expression. "Yo, you good?"
Without another second, Yoru teleported away, leaving Gekko stranded in the hallway. "What?" Gekko whispered, trying to put the pieces together of what just happened.

As fast as he teleported away, Yoru was on the floor, laying against his wall. He pulled his knees tight to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs, rocking back and forth to try to understand what he had felt until the same pain reappeared. He turned to lift up his shirt to examine what had been throbbing. A sight he didn't want to see again, two glowing blue scars visible on his waist and right in his chest. Fuck! His eyes widened and his whole world felt like it was crumbling in on itself. He thought he was fine; nothing like this would happen again yet here he was. Yoru was always confident in himself; it was a part of his ego, although in this situation he was the very opposite of it. On the verge of his tears, fear struck his entire body, trembling along with the shivers. 

Was this something he would always deal with for the rest of his life? God, no. 

"No, please don't do this to me... Kudasi, no."

┗━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┛

Chapter Text

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

How could Yoru just move on with this? Everything he had worked for to get rid of this problem hadn't solved what was wrong with him. What could he do now? Nothing. There was nothing. His fingers trembled and his eyes continued to water. Fuck, he needed to tell Skye. She will help him, even if she can't fix his issues. There was no way he could tell the others, like Brimstone, Sage, and Viper, since the entire cycle of sitting in a medical bed would start again. He just needs Skye.

Knowing himself, he would never stop fighting so there was a high chance he would keep going even in pain, which is where Skye could desperately help with his physical and mental health. Part of him was hoping he wouldn't use his powers to teleport to her room, but he didn't care what happened to him. As long as Skye was with him. That's all that matters, right? In an instant, Yoru gatecrashed right into Skye’s room, slightly losing his balance as he gripped the edge of what seemed to be her bed. The first thing that came to his mind was the sound of running water in a shower. Skye was in the shower. Shit, she would probably freak out if she exited her bathroom and just found him standing there. Worse, she could be-

Standing up with wobbly legs, he thought he should probably warn her that she was here but how? He could feel a wound starting to grow but he pushed the pain away, breathing deeply and sitting against the wall. He would just wait here until she came out. It couldn’t be that hard. All he had to do was keep calm and control his breathing.

A couple minutes later, the shower turned off and Yoru curled deeper into himself. Staring at the floor, he waited for Skye to leave the room, hearing her shuffle some things around. Yoru thought he was ready for Skye’s harsh words to ask why the fuck he had entered her room without her permission but his words were stolen when she opened the door and walked out. His body stilled; she hadn’t noticed him yet. Although Yoru couldn’t help but blush at the loose clothing she had on and her wet, long, red hair, which was one of the main reasons he’s been drawn to her, her fiery air was the first thing he noticed when he joined.

In a second, she turned around and flinched, her soul looking like it had left her body. “Holy shit, Yoru! What are you doing there!?” She yelled, lifting her arms up out of frustration. “You scared the shit out of me!”

Yoru opened his mouth but no words came out. Instead, he slumped deeper into the wall, plastering on a sorrowful expression. Skye seemed to notice his state and her face softened. “Hey, you okay?” She walked over to him and kneeled down next to him. 

All Yoru could do was lift his hand up and rest it on his knee, asking for hers to be intertwined with his. She accepted his offer and interlaced his fingers with hers. This caused Yoru to relax all the tension in his shoulders, causing them to shrink. Skye moved closer, sitting next to him on the floor. She didn’t hesitate to lace her arm around his waist, using her strength to pull him closer. Yoru leaned into her in response. Her other hand was still coiled, with his just down by their legs. 

For a while, they sat in silence, with Yoru keeping his mouth shut and Skye caressing his side. Thankfully, she wasn’t touching his tear on his lower side. That is, until she whispered something right by his jaw. “You mind telling me what's wrong? I don’t want you to suffer from whatever this is.” 

“I-uh… I thought I was okay.” He stuttered.

“What do you mean?”

“It didn’t work.”

“What didn’t work?” She asked; he was getting impatient but refused to snap at her.

“What I told you. I thought I was fixed. But I’m not. I got more,” he confessed. 

“Oh…” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her face drop and he regretted telling her. He would much rather hear Skye’s harsh words blaring at him than her shedding tears. 

He decided he should say something. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad-“

“No, Yoru, it’s okay. I’m just guilty that I can’t help you with these things.” She muttered, glancing away.

“Don’t be. I think it’s impossible to fix it so don’t put it on yourself.” Yoru said, desperately trying to make her look back. That did make him think of something: since when did he comfort others? “You… You’re helping me by being here. That’s more than enough. I don’t deserve you, okay?” He was trying to comfort her but not make her run away, unlike in past times. 

Without looking back, she leaned onto him, her head finding his shoulder and their hands remained in their position. “Can I try to heal them?” She whispered. He nodded serenely. “Where is it?” She asked, sitting up, and he whined when she let go of his hand and removed the arm around his waist. Though he consented, he lifted up his shirt, whipping his jacket out of the way. He saw firsthand her muscles tensing out of probably guilt and fear. Yoru watched her hands carefully as she held her healing trinket and applied the radiant powers to his wounds. He leaned on her shoulder to avoid crying out in pain as she began to work.
When she finished with the three on his chest, he remembered that there were still some on his back from before. “Skye, there’s still some on my back.”

Skye paused before setting her trinkets down and trailing her hands up to his neck and to his back. “Where?” She asked and he pointed to where it was. On the plus side, it didn’t hurt as much as the ones that appeared just now. Maybe it was the rotting effect or whatever. Her arms were around his neck, tempting him to burrow his head into her shoulder, which he did as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. This position was awkward to both of them; he knew it, especially them being on the floor against a wall. 

“But I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, Skye. It doesn’t hurt as much-”

“I don’t care.” She spit out, her Aussie accent thick right by his ear—not as thick when she was drunk though. He shivered at the feeling of her breath going down his neck and back. 

Maybe the older ones were more difficult to deal with because this one took a while to stitch back together. Either that or Skye was growing weak from something for it to go slower. Gosh, he didn’t want to do that to her.

“Okay, I’m done.” Skye finally said it after a while of silence. She pulled away from him to much of his dismay and took a minute to stare into his deep brown eyes. For a second, he thought she was going to kiss him again; he was hoping for it but it didn't happen, sadly. Unlike the loving expression she put on, Yoru stared back, confused, wondering if he should say something. 

"Um..."

"Are you going to stay here tonight." She blurted out, interrupting him. "I would prefer you do, but you don't have too."

Yoru thought that Skye knew he was going to beg her to stay with her for the night. Even in non-dreadful times, he would still do his best to convince her to at least sleep in the same room together. 

"I can." He blushed at how fast he rushed those words out. 

Skye couldn't help but grin in the darkness. "I knew it." She giggled, tapping his nose in a playful way, teasing him. It did the trick. Yoru pouted and crossed his arms across his chest. Skye giggled and stood up, pulling him up by his arms and forcing him on his feet. She then led him to her bed, holding him by the waist.
"I don't need help." He choked out, trying to shove her hands off of him very sloppily. They both knew he just wanted to keep his ego and not be helped to walk over to a bed.

"Oh, c'mon, riftwalker." She remarked. "Let me help you once. It's the least I can do."

"I told you, you've already done enough." Despite his ego, he allowed Skye to guide him to her bed, laying him down and under the covers while she settled next to him. She didn't hesitate to nuzzle her face into his neck as he leaned into her touch.

Skye had told him she wasn't going to fall asleep until he did but she did not keep her promise. He grinned at her passed out state, stroking her face and flicking strands of loose hair out of her face. 

Maybe if this girl was always by his side in the future, he might finally be safe. She could get him through the horrific nightmares at night and heal the wounds that were to form. Yoru doesn't remember the last time someone cared for him this deeply. Yes, some of the agents were worried about him sometimes, though they took no action to help him, except for Flower Girl. He doesn't think he could find someone better than her. Nobody could last even an hour with his annoying bickering, except for her. He didn't want to jump to conclusions but she's probably the only thing he has left. His parents sent him away, and his sister probably doesn't remember him. He purposefully ruined his past relationships, and most people left him because of his anger issues and ego. It hurt but it was the reason he enjoyed being alone. Although this girl was the only one that could keep up with him, maybe it was because he chased her for so long.

Shuffling closer to her, Yoru wrapped his arms around Skye and cuddled into her chest, relishing the feeling of her warmth compared to how cold he usually was. He shivered when her wet hair dripped down his neck, shoulders, and back.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Over the loud, blaring music, Yoru eyed Skye closely while sitting at a table. She was bowling with a couple of the other agents, like Phoenix and Harbor. Astra was watching from a distance, casually complimenting Harbor and Skye when they made a nice shot, while she teased Phoenix. Killjoy was working on one of her bots on the couch. He didn't mind those three; he was only eyeing Harbor. He remembered it all too well when Skye told him she went on a date with him once. There was no way he would let that happen again, even if Harbor and Astra had a thing. Skye had noticed him staring a couple of times and gave him a quick smile, which forced him to look away and blush. 

Mostly everyone went out clubbing along with playing games such as any card game, truth or dare, spin the bottle, and of course, bowling. Oh, and there was alcohol, like at every party that was hosted.

After the bowling game ended, Skye went over and sat down next to him. "Hm, I see you were eyeing me the entire time. Do you miss me, riftwalker?" She teased, her tone slurring from the alcohol yet her mind was still somewhat sober. She crossed her legs, leaning closer to him.

Yoru took this time to admire her facial features, especially her freckles. He tried to find hints of her makeup but found no trace of it. Either she was good at blending it or he was just stupid. 

"Hmph. You were spending time with Harbor." He pouted, resting his hand on his cheek as he looked away.

Skye laughed loudly. "C'mon, Ru. There's nothing going on between us. I thought I told you that." She only called him that when she had alcohol in her system.

Skye continued to talk to him, lingering her fingers on him several times. She didn't seem to mind the eyes he knew were on both of them. Although the only thing Yoru wanted to do was kiss her again, he missed her soft lips against his. Without another word from her, he placed his hand on hers, and she stopped talking mid-sentence.

"What?" Her tone was obviously slurred.

"Maybe we can go somewhere else. People are staring." Yoru mentioned, pointing at Jett and Neon's stares, who quickly turned away.

"Oh, you're right. C'mon." She remarked, gripping his hand back and pulling him upwards to his feet before dragging him out of the main party area. As soon as the blasting music was quiet enough, Skye turned around and held both of his wrists, grinning as she forced him to look straight into her eyes. "So... what do you want to talk about?" She was very close to him as she maneuvered his hands out of the way. They were sharing the same breath and Yoru winced at the strong, toxic smell of alcohol in her breath. "Other than getting away from the others, of course.

"Um..." He was hesitant to ask for another kiss yet he craved it so much that he felt like he had an unhealthy obsession. "I was thinking about a couple nights ago when we..."

"What, kissed?" She beamed further, showing her perfect teeth. Finally, she had successfully taken control over his flushed self, hence how she kept a firm grip on his wrists, immobilizing him for the time being. "Are you asking if we kiss again, Riftwalker? That's funny." Her provocativeness manipulated his mind into submitting to her more than ever, even without the influence of alcohol inside him; he learned his lesson from accidentally spilling secrets while drunk.

"I-uh..." God, he wondered how red his pale skin was. Despite how pathetic he looked, he allowed her to control him further.

"I'll take that as yes." In an instant, she closed the gap between them and he practically melted in her awkward, drunken embrace. He relished the taste of her sickly sweet taste engraved in her soft lips. This kiss was even better than the first one, if you ignore how sluggish Skye was. It was way deeper than the last one, as he tilted his head to get more of her. Fuck, he never wanted this moment to end.

However, all things must come to an end when Skye forcefully separates them, laughing through her pants and sighing. Yoru was in the same condition, only more flushed and, obviously, yearning for more. 

Skye laughed aloud, causing Yoru to squirm underneath her grip. "Oh my god, you're so cute like this. And it's funny to see you in this position." She leaned in and nuzzled into his neck; her lips were parted against his skin but didn't move.
"Maybe you should drink less alcohol." He stated.

"Hmm, we'll see about that. Also, you can't say anything. You're worse when you drink." He grumbled in response, causing shivers to be sent throughout his entire body when her giggles verberated against his neck. 

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

She doesn't know exactly how it started. Ever since Yoru's issues began, Sage has been extra observant of him and Skye. She had to admit that they were very cute together, especially when Yoru confided his problems to her, unlike what he did with anybody else. 

It made her think of her relationships. Everyone knew Reyna had an interest in her and Sage tried her best to ignore Reyna's very affectable flirty comments. Although it reminded her when she saw Skye helping Yoru so much with his physical and mental problems, her immediate thought went to Omen. Such a tortured soul that she cared for and helped. Despite the no-fraternization rule implanted into the protocol's set of rules, maybe something could happen.
She recalled how many times their touches lingered on each other. Looking back at the two with an untouched drink in her hand, she then saw Skye dragging Yoru out of the room, nearly forcing him to trip over his own feet. Oh boy, what were they up to or most importantly, what the hell was drunk Skye getting poor sober Yoru into? Fuck, she thought she was done with the eavesdropping and spying days but she had no other choice. 

Sighing and dismissing herself from Sova's sort-of boring conversation with a couple of the others, she followed them out the bar. Sage tried her best to be quiet and almost tripped over her feet and ran into a wall during the process, which would completely blow her cover considering the two were just around the corner. When she turned the corner, the sight she saw was… questionable. Skye was gripping Yoru’s wrist so tightly that it could cut off circulation. She was also very close to him, and of course, they were both grinning like maniacs. 

Oh gosh, she shouldn’t be here. Fuck, this was so uncomfortable and awkward for her. Sage nodded frantically in disagreement, turning back around the corner. As she was walking away, she heard Skye whispering something about kissing him. That’s when she picked up her pace down the hall.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Sage one-hundred percent knew Skye and Yoru’s relationship would end up in the same rabbit-hole as Killjoy and Raze’s relationship. The only difference was that their downfall would be much more brutal since they were not on the soft side of Brimstone like Killjoy was. Everyone knew Raze and Killjoy had a thing for each other; they’re definitely dating, just not announcing it for obvious reasons. And everybody knew Brimstone wasn’t going to do anything about it because of the father and adopted daughter relationship they had. Other relationships, such as Phoenix and Jett, were going to face the same consequences as Skye and Yoru if they didn’t convince Brimstone that their flirting was platonic. To her dismay, Viper couldn’t do anything since Brimstone was the leader of everything, even though Viper would be a much better leader. Stricter and scarier, yes, but at least she didn’t have soft spots and made everyone fair. They were all important to the protocol, even if some of them were annoying. It would basically be going on a suicide mission if everyone (six total people) were to be kicked out because they wanted to be happy. The best thing for them was for the no-fraternization rule to be abolished, which would take much negotiation with Brimstone and Viper. At least Sage was a trusted friend of his so he’ll listen to her out of everyone, aside from Killjoy, of course. 

The day after the party, Sage asked Brimstone for a request to scrap the no-fraternization rule over email. She hesitated before sending it until she remembered the many reasons why it should be eliminated, which definitely included how Skye helps with Yoru’s mental health. She did mention that if he was true to the rules that he agreed to, then he should punish Killjoy for having an established relationship with Raze. It was probably best not to go too in depth with Phoenix and Jett's weird relationship/friendship. Her mouse hovered over the send button, wondering if she should actually send this message. Yes, it was important to allow all the agents to live as freely and happily as they could before they might never come back one day. Although it could ruin Brimstone's thoughts about her, he would think of her less. 

Without another negative thought that could run through his mind, she pressed the button on her mouth. The message was sent and she couldn't take it back. Either she was going to get yelled at or do everyone a favor.

She remembers later that day how her entire body stiffened when Brimstone called her to his office. Part of her was glad to get out of Reyna's flirty situation, which she was trapped in. But the other part was absolutely terrified of what he might say.

"You called me." Sage said, entering his office to find him staring at his tiny computer screen.

"I got your message and I would like to discuss it. Sit." He said it sternly but it sounded like it wasn't intentional. 

Sitting down in the chair, she strained her posture just like all the other times when it was work-related stuff. 

"I can understand where you're coming from in your message and I think you have a good point." She felt a stress relieved breath rush over her entire body. "I can see how Yoru is much more relaxed with Skye present and their is definitely something going on since everything happened." He took a sigh of defeat, leaning back in his chair before continuing. "And I understand that I'm favoring Killjoy. You're right. It's not fair. I've known that she and Raze are very close and started performing better when they started working together. Even if it's not a good idea to abolish the rule..." He paused for a couple of seconds and Sage was longing for him to speak more.

"You're a trusted friend, Sage. Out of everyone, I never thought you would bring it up until I realized how much you care for the others and how it would benefit them." 

That's not what she was going for in her message but hey, she'll take it. She'll go along with it. "Yes. I also think they'll be happier in general since this job involves taking many risks. I just think they would rather die happier, you know."

Brimstone nodded. "Yes. That's why I agree with you. We should abolish the no-fraternization rule." 

Sage's eyes widened but in a good way—a joyful way. "Really?" 

"Yes. I know Viper won't be too happy but it doesn't matter. Why should it bother her? The only thing that I need to warn others about is that if we get rid of this rule, they are not allowed to risk the mission and their lives for their lover."

That's how the conversation went and how things went from now on. Later that day, he told Sage that Viper disagreed with the idea—no surprise there—though she had no choice but to agree with him, considering the benefits of it being eliminated. 

Let's just say everyone was pretty stoked about the no-fraternization rule being abolished. Even a few of the older agents who were there when the protocol was first starting didn't remember the last time a regulation had been taken off the list of rules; the last one that was abolished was that nobody could fight each other in the range. Obviously, a lot of people hated that, even with just ten of them there. 

The only problem was that the couple of agents who were trying to avoid the flirtiness of some of the others did not benefit from this, especially Viper and Sage herself. Chamber kept trying to ask Viper to at least have a drink with him while Reyna kept calling Sage teasing words. She ended up hanging out with poor Omen, who had no idea he was defending her from Reyna.

One thing she did not expect was for Yoru and Skye to be barely talking after the rule had been terminated.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Yoru tried his best to talk to Skye after Brimstone had abolished the no-fraternization rule but was only met with her walking away from him. He had finally got her alone with him once and tried to talk to her about it but she hushed him, saying, "We'll talk about it later, promise." 

"Yeah, yeah, talk about it later, my ass." He grumbled to himself, crossing his arms out of frustration. 

"Pretty boy, come back here!!!" Yoru glanced over to see Jett chasing after Phoenix, trying to wrap his arms around him. Neon watched from a distance in silence and confusion; at least Gekko was there to support her when Neon was left alone standing in the middle of the room.

When things began to die down, Yoru tried to talk to Skye again but he abruptly stopped in his tracks when she walked Breach back to his room, then proceeded to talk to Astra. To get her attention, he stormed off, irritated, and slammed his door shut, hoping she would finally realize he was trying to talk to her for the entire night. All he wanted to do was talk about their relationship. They had kissed each other several times but showed no signs of dating. They hadn't even talked about it at least once. And the fact that she had practically ignored him the entire night really pissed him off. He always tried to not get pissed off at flower girl but he had a reason, though if she tried to talk to him about it, he knew he would drop the act without trying.

What he didn't expect was a couple minutes later for a knock to be heard on his door. Yoru continued to lay in bed, glaring at the door from his bedroom. Whoever it was, knocked again. Ugh, can't they just understand he wants them to leave him alone? “Just leave me alone!” He groaned. He could hear the person sigh from the other end and pause for a minute. Were they leaving? Thank god. However, luck was not on his side. The door quickly opened to find a familiar Aussie face peering in. Of course, she used his left-over key card to enter his room; at least she noticed his anger.

Her face fell into a disappointed expression as she stared from the entrance through the dorm and to his bedroom. Really, Yoru? You’re moping in bed?” She said, entering his room and closing the door. He shuffled over his covers and pouted. What seemed like anger from before had vanished when he heard her accent and saw her face.

Skye threw his keycard down on what looked to be  be the kitchen counter. Yoru glanced away from her and heard her let out a heavy sigh. She walked over to his room, standing in the doorway. 

“Are you mad that I wasn’t giving you enough attention?” She asked, leaning on the door frame.

“Hmph, maybe.” He grunted. “I just thought... nevermind.” He watched out of the corner of his eye as she trudged over to him, settling herself down by his bedside. Her hand reached out and rested on his shoulder. He tried his best to shuffle her hand off of him but failed miserably and he found himself slightly trying to keep her hand on him.

“Is this about our relationship?” Her voice was soft and close to melancholy. The fingers on his shoulder traced circles into his sleeve, which gladly made his entire body relax from tension. He nodded in return and she hummed delightfully. “Huh, well, I didn’t want to talk to you about it in front of people just in case, you know?” He nodded yet again, bringing his hand up to grip hers tightly close to his chest. 

“Hmm, I was thinking about it too.” She took a moment to compose herself. Yoru’s stare was glued to her. “Well, I’ll tell you this. I want to be in a relationship with you, if you want.” 

Yoru’s heart felt like it could leap out of his chest. A blush spread to his cheek as he gripped her hand harder. In the loud buzzing sensation within his ears, he heard her laugh aloud at his flushed condition. Beyond both noises, she said, "I'm guessing you'll like that." And if his face couldn't get even more flushed, she leaned down and pecked him on the cheek. Even if everything was over, Yoru was still in denial that Skye liked him back. He felt like a teenager again, just in an embarrassing way that involved crushes. A teenager's moment if radianite didn't exist. Just pulling back an inch, Skye giggled, which made him shiver as her breath ricocheted off his cheek. She then pecked him again, only by the corner of his lip this time, catching a section of his lip. This did not stop Yoru from bringing her face closer and kissing her fully. They stayed like that for a while. Skye kept on trying to pull away to talk to him but he kept on interrupting her by pulling her closer and deeper into a kiss.

"Yoru..." She muttered between breaths. He responded with a small grumble. They were now laying next to each other on his bed, enjoying their company and locking lips. "Who should we tell first?" She whispered. 

Which made Yoru pause before he could go back in. "What do you mean?"

"You know, tell people." Skye asked, and she saw Yoru's face drop. She had accidentally started fiddling with his gloves, though he didn't mind. Instead, he glanced away, mumbling something to himself.

"I mean, I was just hoping to keep it a secret." He remarked, not looking back.

"Oh... why?" In her past relationships, the guys she's been with had never minded keeping a relationship hidden, only from her brothers, who were too protective of her. But other than that, it wasn't a big deal. Her mind started to go places, like, what if Yoru didn't want to be seen with her? That didn't make sense considering how much he hung out with her. So why...?

"It's not like that." His eyes met hers again, and his heart panged when he saw her distraught face. "I just want us to be happy without them teasing us because I know they'll do that." Rearranging their hands, Yoru intertwined their fingers. "I feel like I'll be more comfortable but I want you to be comfortable too." He confessed. 

Skye couldn't help the gentle smile that spread on her lips. It was so cute to see him try to favor her more than himself. This was the Yoru she wanted to see every day. Although she knew where he was coming from, despite the no-fraternization rule being abolished, Yoru felt more comfortable keeping it to themselves without the many pairs of eyes that the protocol had right on them. "Hmm, I think we could do that." Besides, if people found out they were in a relationship, they wouldn't get kicked out of the protocol for breaking a rule.

Yoru glazed his eyes back into her emerald green eyes. "Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I understand why you want to keep it hidden and we'll do that." Skye beamed and proceeded with her hands to crawl to the back of his neck, pulling him closer to her body. Yoru allowed her. "For our sake." She whispered, booping him on the nose, which made Yoru whine and snap her hand out of the way before burrowing into her chest. 

Maybe this could work out...

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

"C'mon, Yoru, take me to Japan! Please!!!" 

"I'll think about it, jeez."

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

A couple months into their secret relationship, Skye had started to nag Yoru about going to his motherland, Japan. She was a huge history freak and wanted to know everything about the ancient temples and periods of Japan. It was mainly his fault. She had directly said that she only started getting fascinated by Japan's past when he told her about his family. He had gotten mad at her since that was a serious point in his life but she insisted it would bring them closer together. He then made up a lame excuse that he knew wasn't going to help, which was that she already visited Japan when they went on missions on Split. 

After months of her nagging, Yoru caved in and agreed to take her to Japan but for only two days max. Skye was stoked about it, to say the least. At least she gave him more attention, such as hugging him from behind when he least expected it and cuddling with him more without making him beg for it. 

The last months they had been officially dating, they were able to keep their relationship hidden for the most part. Although they had been getting questioned when they stopped hanging out in front of everybody, Skye reassured them that the two were still happy together in private, putting Yoru on the bus as she stated he liked to be with her alone. Yoru was also forced to go on missions again. He was happy that he could go back into action but this meant he had to use his abilities. After a couple of missions, he was able to control himself to act normally when he felt the wounds forming. Skye said he shouldn't fake it but he didn't listen. She had kept her deal to heal him, at least, which was the main reason he hid the pain because he didn't have to hide it for very long. Skye would heal him after the mission. He did go back to having competitions with the other duelists, which was always worth using his powers for when he saw Phoenix's annoyed face when he lost.

Long story short, Skye had dragged him to Tokyo the day after Brimstone agreed to a break, basically without his permission. 

The first day went fine; Skye went wherever she wanted, while Yoru suggested places, though he stopped giving a list because he knew she would never stop. However, midway through the next day, it had started sprinkling. Skye didn't mind it but she started to when it began to pour harder around the start of the evening. Yoru thought it was funny, despite the whining she gave. He also couldn't say anything. He didn't want to get his perfectly good hair messed up, which was an even stupider way to complain.

"Yoru, pleaseeeeee, it's our last day here!" It had hit late nine o'clock when Skye wanted to dance out in the pouring rain yet Yoru didn't want to. "I just want to dance." With his own money, Yoru had bought an umbrella, which was the only thing keeping them from getting dumped on by rain.

"I already said no." He rolled his eyes as she pouted. She would never let him win in these cute situations. 

"Hmph." Skye pouted. She gave him one more glance, up and down his body, before smirking. Yoru didn't have time to react before he watched Skye run out from the protection of the umbrella and into the pouring rain.

"Skye, what the fuck!" He yelled, though his voice was barely audible. 

He watched her smile grow big. "C'mon, Ru! It's just rain! It'll be cute!" She shouted, throwing her hands out.

Yoru rolled her eyes but involuntary smiled. He might as well go with it. Would they even have this alone time together like this? On the plus side, nobody was stupid enough like them to walk out in the rain so nobody could see his soaked hair. 

"Oh my god, fine." Yoru muttered and un-did the umbrella. Almost immediately, his entire body was soaked and he could hear Skye scream with excitement.

In one instance, Yoru was in Skye's arms, ignoring the pounding rain that surrounded them. With their same height difference, he found it easier to bury his face into her slippery neck. The shivering of the cold water caused him to cave deeper into her body, wrapping his arms around her. In his ear, he flinched as she loudly laughed. "I love you so much." She said. Yoru felt his entire body run hot at her words, ignoring the freezing cold on his skin. That was the first time she had said that to him.

"I love you too." He responded with the same tone as hers. In his entire life, he really thought he would never say those words to someone he truly loved.

The same goes for Skye. She missed those words so much. 

"I-I don't think I could find anyone better than you." He stuttered out and Skye's eyes widened before she smiled very widely. 

"Same here, Yoru." She then pulled herself out of his grasp, which made him shiver at the feeling of her warm body disappearing. Skye then locked their lips tightly and Yoru kissed back. His hands crept up to her neck while her hands first tried to do the same but they seemed comfortable at his waist. 

This is where, mostly Yoru, they longed for. Just in each other's arms, even if it was in the pouring rain on the sidewalk.

『 °*• ❀ •*°』

Skye waited until her panting calmed down. She shuffled in her sheets. Her legs almost immediately stopped when she felt her lover's legs next to her. A chill went down her entire body when Yoru snuggled deeper into her body, specifically her bare shoulder. Her hair was still wet from the rain; the same goes for him. Unlike her, he had fallen asleep so quickly.

Taking a deep breath in and out, Skye stared at the ceiling as she reminisced about the events after they got back to the hotel room. This was something they could only do when they were out of the base. She hadn't had anything like this and it was so nice. It was even better with someone she loved—maybe someone she thought she never loved when she first met him.

Skye turned her head to look at his sleeping face. A smile crept onto her swollen lips. Her hands trailed up from under the blankets as she glazed over each hickey that was left on his back neck by her. specifically so it could be hidden by his jacket in the future. That was her plan; hopefully it would work out. She smirked again at the sight of him squirming when she drew shapes in his chest, right below his ribs, with her other hand. Her hand then shifted to his wrists. She then started to feel bad after remembering how hard she gripped his wrists against the bed. It was a strategy that she performed to allow her to dominate him for the night, even if she was a virgin. Yoru had reassured her that it was okay, which did make him relax slightly. 

She ditched caressing his skin and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer. His hands found their way to her back, caving into Skye’s touch, which made her laugh but not too loud.

“I love you... Ryo…” Skye whispered into his ear. She knew she would get yelled at if she said his real name. Some of the agents clearly stated they didn’t want to be addressed by their real names, and Yoru was one of them. Oh, whatever, he passed out; he wouldn’t hear her. Just this one time.

Her eyes fluttered, threatening to fall asleep but she didn’t want to. All she wanted to do was stare into Yoru’s sleepy and tired face. 

In the back of her mind, she kept replaying this one vision, one she thought was too much but in reality, it was true. “I love you and I want to be with you for the rest of my life.” Sleep then overtook her mind. 

┗━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┛