Ethereal - Suegiku

1

        "I see. Thanks for letting us know." The man set down the phone before turning to his colleagues, smiling. "Good news, everyone."

A much younger looking girl jumped up from her chair, almost like she knew what she was about to hear.

"Do tell!"

"The government gave us a one week break since we all worked so hard during the Decay of Angels incident, so if you have any ideas, then-"

"Camping! Roughing it outdoors sounds super fun!"

"Teruko-kun, at least give us a chance to celebrate before you throw out any ideas. Especially one like that." Across the room sat a clearly agitated peppermint haired boy, who was currently stuck with someone acting as his shadow.

"That's captain to you, sir! And Tachihara was the one who said we should suggest ideas anyways!"

"Fine. While that may be true, camping is a terrible idea. I refuse to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere with you three, especially if it's for a week."

The man behind him hummed in thought.

"Not even me?"

"You're the last person I want to be stuck with out of everyone on this planet, even if it was for 5 seconds. What do you think, Tecchou-san?"

"I think you're mean. Maybe we can try something else, like lionfish spearing or-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." The man spun in his chair and slapped his coworker without hesitation, who didn't even flinch in response.

"Both of you, shut it! What I say goes, and I say we go camping! I think it would be fun." Teruko huffed, hopping up on one of the desks to take a seat despite the many office chairs around.

"Fine then. I'm going to clear my head." The peppermint haired man swiftly stood up, walking towards the door. Once he stepped out into the hallway, his so-called "shadow" followed.

"Jouno, why are you so against the captain's idea? We've spent multiple weeks together on some of our longer missions. It can't just be that you don't want to be around us." Upon hearing the brunette's voice for what seemed like the millionth time that day, Jouno groaned in annoyance.

"Would you stop following me around like a lost puppy?! And I just don't want to be around you guys when I could be doing much more important things."

"Really? I thought you were always complaining about how bored you can get when you're not working, especially since there's nothing important enough to do at home." Immediately after finishing his sentence, Tecchou realized something.

"Wait a minute." He was silent for a moment, then smirked.

"You're scared, aren't you?"

"Shut the fuck up!! Why the hell would I be scared?!" For the second time within 5 minutes, Jouno slapped the man next to him as hard as possible.

"You've never been fond of insects." The brunette shook off the slap almost immediately, insistent on getting a solid answer out of his coworker.

"You just never stop, do you?" The man stopped in his tracks and sighed in defeat. "Fine. I don't want to be around that many insects for that long. Are you happy now?"

"You can stay in my tent if you want. It might help to have some company-"

"Absolutely not. I am not spending the night with you." To his sheer horror, especially after saying that, Jouno noticed the sound of approaching footsteps, which just so happened to be Tachihara. It appeared that he was surprised at what he had just heard.

"What did I just hear? What were you saying?.."

"Nothing. Ignore everything."

"I'm not judging you! It's just that since the vampire incident ended, you two have been really close, so I assumed-"

"Tachihara," Jouno unsheathed his sword slightly. "Stop. Talking."

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry!" The redhead jumped back, clearly not willing to get stabbed.

"A-Anyway, the captain wanted you two to come back for some reason. She sent me to come get you."

"Oh. We'll be there, just give us a moment."

"I'm not spending any more time alone with you today, Tecchou-san. Let's go." Agitated and still slightly flustered by what Tachihara had assumed, the man walked back towards their office at a higher speed than usual for most; probably in an attempt to lose Tecchou, who was still tagging along behind him without struggle.

"Finally! What took so long? Was Tachihara right?" Teruko once again jumped up from her chair and walked towards the 3 men who had just entered the room.

"Was Tachihara right about what?" Tecchou seemed clueless in the face of the captain's obvious smirk.

"You two were definitely-"

"Okay, please stop before I die." The redhead hastily walked away from Jouno, who appeared disgusted with him.

"... Continue, captain." The man quickly changed the subject in an attempt to ignore his slightly red face, and the brunette next to him seemed confused- although there was no denying that his face was red, too.

"Thank you for finally remembering who I am!" Teruko smiled, clearly proud of herself. "Anyways! Tachihara told me that this little break of ours begins tomorrow, so you should go home and pack. Captain's orders."

"Why didn't you tell us this while we were still in the room?!" The peppermint haired man shouted, incredibly annoyed with the other people in there with him.

"Huh, I sure wonder. It's not like you shouted at me for sharing my idea and left, right?" The girl spoke sarcastically, but wore a smug expression.

"That is what happened, wasn't it?"

"Tecchou-san, for the second time, shut the fuck up." Jouno once again let out an exasperated sigh. "I guess I'm stuck going camping, then. Great."

He was not going to enjoy this. Not one bit.