Rogue

Chapter 24

The week had come and gone and before they knew it, it was Friday again. Just about everyone in Tamakoma had been in and out because of school, leaving Akira to spend all of her time with Reiji and occasionally Jin when he wasn't running off and being a conspirator. It was a good thing that the older male was easy to talk to and quite kind for his large size. Plus, he always invited her to join him on his runs and workouts which she was grateful for. Since she was no longer fighting wars and running for her life, she hadn't exactly exercised as much as she used to.

Akira lay on her bed, staring up at the projection given off by her mapping device. She had zoomed in on Meeden and watched nervously as Aftokrator floated in its range. It had been present for the last few days but they had yet to appear. Also, they were to remain in range with Meeden for almost another two weeks, so it was any day now that they could pop their heads in and wreak havoc.

A knock on her door broke her out of her thoughts but she continued to stare at the projection floating above her. She zoomed it out, now completely filling the room with years of knowledge and exploration.

"Come in," she called. Figuring it to be a Tamakoma dweller, she didn't care to ask who it was since they all meant no harm. The door swung open and swiftly shut behind the person. The female felt no need to check who it was since they'd likely just come to make small talk anyway. "What's up?"

"Good to see you're feeling better." Her green eyes widened like saucers and she'd moved so fast she didn't even realize how hard her back hit the wall. She stared up at the unwelcome presence with fear. Meanwhile, Tachikawa leaned into the far corner to try and seem as unintimidating as possible. "Not happy to see me?"

Is he finally here to take the trigger? She scanned him up and down. He was in his regular attire but she had no doubt in her mind that his trigger was on his person. It always was.

"Not really." The man put his hands up in surrender and tried to give her a polite smile.

"Don't worry, I'm not here on behalf of the Commander. Jin invited me over." Akira's brows furrowed. There was no way Jin would set her up like this, right? "Listen, Akira. I just came to apologize to you properly. I made a mess of things and I take full responsibility for it, so please don't be mad at the others."

"Sorry for what? Using Izumi and the others to sneak behind my back and take the black trigger?"

"I'm sorry for ruining your date." She grit her teeth and watched him closely. Tachikawa pushed himself off the wall, stepping through the plethora of glowing orbs that floated around the room. "Nice decor," he commented, taking a seat at the edge of her bed. The action only made her scoot further away and turn her body to fully face him. "I made a mess of things without even realizing it.

"I'm here to be honest with you, Akira. When you first got here, we were assigned to figure out how to get your black trigger into our hands. Izumi originally got close to you for that reason but I didn't account for him actually having feelings for you. Also, the seizure of the trigger was void after you enlisted, but I seemed to have missed that. As of right now, Border has no intention of taking possession of the black trigger unless you violate the Commander's terms and use it without authorization."

"Do you want me to pat you on the back for failing your mission?" Tachikawa chuckled and leaned back on his hands.

"You're funny. You bring good energy to the team, keeping us on our toes and making sure Izumi doesn't bully Yuiga too much. I'm glad you joined Tachikawa Squad."

"Even though your invitation was double-sided?" She sure does have a comeback for everything, huh? Tachikawa smiled at the female. No wonder Izumi and Jin had become so fond of her.

"I'm really sorry for trying to lead you into a false sense of security. That is my fault and mine alone, so please don't be mad at the others for my mistake." The man dug into one of his pockets and fished out a small, plastic device. At first, she recoiled thinking he was activating his trigger until he attempted to hand it to her. "I believe this is yours."

Akira scooted a bit closer to him, realizing that the trigger was hers; her Tachikawa Squad trigger. She hesitated for a moment but ended up taking it from him. She then relaxed a bit and shuffled to sit beside him but maintained a decent gap between them.

"Are you here because of Izumi?" The man nodded and allowed his hazy eyes to travel across the glowing projection in the room.

"Yeah... The kid's a mess right now. I finally got him to go to school the last couple of days 'cause he's been crying in the squad room since the weekend." Akira looked down at her knees. So Jin was telling the truth when he mentioned Izumi crying like a baby. "I feel like a father," he deadpanned.

She chuckled a bit and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears.

"You're not the first person to come to me about this... I didn't know he was skipping school because of it though."

"He's really heartbroken over it. What do I have to do to get you to talk things out with him?" The two locked eyes for a moment while she mulled over the idea. As much as she wanted to run back into his arms and go back to how things were, she wasn't sure if she was ready for that yet. After all, this was the second time that Izumi had broken her trust and she made him work to earn it back the first time. Of course, this was all Tachikawa's fault but that didn't mean that Izumi hadn't lied to her.

"I don't think I should..." He was completely taken aback at her response. A frown grew on his features which wasn't common for him.

"W-What? I thought you liked him, too... Why not?!"

"It's not that I don't want to, Tachikawa." Akira's head dropped into her hands as she contemplated her options. "I really like him... But with Aftokrator approaching, I wonder if I'll ever actually get the chance to be with him." The grey-haired male stood and crouched down in front of her and forced her to meet his eyes.

"What do you mean by that?" Akira took a deep breath and thought long and hard if telling Tachikawa was a smart idea. In the end, she decided that there was nothing he could do even if she told him.

"If the chance comes that I run into my old mentor, I'm gonna do what I promised I would do," she gripped her pendant. Tachikawa opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by her. "I know the consequences that'll come from using my black trigger and that's why..." She bit her lip at the thought of leaving. "That's why I shouldn't try and fix things between us. I don't want to get thrown in jail at Border, so I'll probably just leave.

"I don't want Izumi to stay hung up on me by trying to make things work just for me to disappear. That's not fair to him." Tachikawa hung his head as he contemplated her words.

"Is it too late for me to confiscate the necklace?" She sadly smiled down at him.

"You can't touch it unless I activate it." The man finally sighed and stood up, now looking down at the blonde.

"I know you think you're saving him the heartbreak, but," he ran a hand through his hair, "I think it'll kill him if you leave."

"Then you'll have to take care of him for me." Akira finally turned off her projections, leaving the two in the dim bedroom, shrouded by silence. "Thank you for clearing the air, Tachikawa. I'm still definitely mad at you, but I appreciate you defending the others."

His lips curled inward as he nodded, proceeding back to the door to leave her to her own devices. Since she wouldn't go talk to Izumi, then it seemed that his work here was done. She watched him open the door and couldn't help but feel pain in her chest. Why did this feel like their final goodbye?

"It's gonna kill all of us, Akira..." With that, Tachikawa stepped out and shut the door behind him, leaving the woman slack-jawed on her bed. Now, why did he have to go and say that? Her lip pulled between her teeth in an attempt to keep her jaw from trembling. The floodgates had opened and all the tears she had thought to have gotten out days before came rushing out.

She sunk to the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest, bawling as she tried to figure out what the hell she was gonna do. Could she really go against every promise she'd ever made for this little, broken, makeshift family? She didn't know and she prayed that Aftokrator decided not to bother wasting it's time on Meeden at all.