Rogue

Chapter 14

It was Monday afternoon when Akira was sitting boredly in her room. Or so they thought. Unbeknownst to them, the girl was thinking up a way to convince the top brass to allow her to join Border like they had allowed Yuma. After hearing this from Jin, she knew that she had to try. She just wanted to live among them and be like everyone else. Her past as a Neighbor was behind her, and with this, she could forget about all of it.

Tachikawa yawned, his eyes watering slightly as he stared down at his phone. He had a gap between his college classes this afternoon, so he was able to guard the girl's door while his teammates were in school. And, when he had to leave, Kunichika would take over since she could leave school early unlike the younger boys.

The man stood there, barely paying attention to his job considering Akira wasn't hostile in any way. That is, until the door opened and he got yanked inside by his collar. He stumbled slightly, his eyes adjusting to the different lighting and the blonde standing before him. Tachikawa tugged at his collar, his throat sore from being momentarily choked. However, it was the fact that she was so strong without her trigger on that startled him.

"Tachikawa," she began, her tone inquisitive. "I have an idea, but I need your opinion."

"You could've just asked me to come inside. You didn't have to attack me."

"Now, that wouldn't have been any fun, would it?" She smiled at him teasingly, enjoying the deadpan look on his face. "Jin told me the other day that Kido approved of Kuga's enlistment in Border... And I was thinking," she twiddled her fingers together, "what if I enlisted, too?" Tachikawa chuckled, finally pocketing his mobile device.

"I don't think Commander Kido will allow it."

"Why not?!" She stomped her foot like a child, her facial expression matching the action. Her pink lips pouted and her eyebrows furrowed together. "He's a Neighbor with a Black Trigger... I'm a Neighbor with a Black Trigger... If he can do it, why can't I?"

"First of all," he began. "Jin had to give up his Black Trigger in order to persuade the Commander to allow it. Secondly, allowing you to join would ruin his ideology of Neighbors being our enemies. It would turn people against him."

"But everyone I've met already knows I'm a Neighbor."

"You've only met a small portion of people that work here," he shot back. It was like he had his rebuttals well-planned in advance. Her shoulders dropped. If Tachikawa didn't think it would work, then he was probably right. All she wanted was to fit in, yet she was treated solely like an outcast with her own bodyguards.

Akira clenched her fists, her eyes downcast and a whirl of emotions ready to spill out at any second. Tachikawa crossed his arms and watched carefully as her attitude shifted.

"I'm just trying to move on," she mumbled. "I just want to be seen and treated like a normal person. What's the point of me staying here if I'll never be anything more than this," she waved her arms, gesturing to him and his role.

Kei sighed. He honestly didn't have a problem with Akira. He was simply doing as he was told and doing what his Commander would expect from him. This was his job. But that didn't mean that he couldn't see where she was coming from. She was constantly holed up in her room 24/7 (unless Izumi took her out because he was the only one nice enough to). She hardly went outside, she had to hide from people, hell―she wasn't even allowed to decide what to eat for dinner!

He had sympathy for the girl. Living this way wasn't living at all, but there really was nothing he could do to help her. "Maybe I should just go," she muttered. He cocked a brow at her sudden statement.

"And how would you do that?" Akira sighed and looked straight at him, gently scooping her pendant from her chest.

"Just like I always have." He cocked a brow in curiosity. Did her Black Trigger possess some kind of inter-dimensional property that helped her jump around? Though he wanted to ask, he had to refocus on the situation at hand. He knew exactly what would happen if she left. He could already see Tachikawa Squad crumbling. Yuiga would surely be upset since she was the only one within these walls that showed some kind of respect for him. Kunichika would be sad about losing the only girl they ever brought around her. And Izumi...