Birds of a Feather

Back to the mission.

カラス

"So, how's house arrest?" Hawks asked as his sister stepped off the elevator into his agency.

Spending more time with her was nice, but more and more he missed their house. They'd had such a good domestic life- he had actually gotten to experience something like parenting, what a family felt like. He had even considered requesting that she start spending more nights at his agency while under the protective order, but he knew it wouldn't work with her school schedule or be safe. He just missed his sister.

"About as fun as you think it would be." Karasu sighed and looked at him. "I do understand why it's necessary, Keigo. I really do. It's just so annoying."

"Careful there- you're starting to sound like your boyfriend." He teased her as he motioned for them to walk.

"Well, it has been a year. Maybe we're starting to adopt each other's personalities." She smiled slightly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Oh, God, please don't." Hawks let out a groan as he glanced back at her. "Before you, Shoto was so insufferable."

"He was just a little rough around the edges." Karasu waved her hand dismissively, a grin spreading across her face. "But he was still sweet when he decided to be."

"You say that because you had questionable taste and liked the most unattainable boy in the world." Hawks quipped back. "You can't trick me into thinking he was nice back then."

"And then I made him attainable to me, and everyone started seeing that he is nice." Karasu grinned at her brother. "It's hard to believe I've been with him for a year already."

"It is." Hawks sighed. It's hard to believe she isn't the little girl I basically adopted in court all those years ago. She's my little sister but she isn't so little anymore- even though she isn't an adult yet, even if she thinks she is. "But how strong you guys are together is something that makes me really happy to see. I want you to know that, Kara."

She smiled genuinely as they stopped and looked at each other. "You really mean that, right? I know it can be weird for you sometimes- but it's important to me that you like him and like our relationship."

"I really mean that, Kar. I promise." Hawks ruffled her hair, laughing as she swatted his hand away.

"You know- because I only have the one hand I find it very unfair that you keep ruffling my hair. My defences against you are literally cut in half." Karasu sighed as they kept walking and she fixed her hair as best he could.

Hawks laughed again as they kept walking. "Now that all three of you are here, we can start our meeting." Hawks said as they got to one of the smaller meeting rooms in his agency and hopped up to sit on a table.

"Koe. Tsukoyomi." Karasu nodded to them as she took her seat.

"Raven," both her classmates said simultaneously.

"So- is there an update on Shinda?" Karasu crossed her left leg over her right and rested her hand in her lap.

She missed the ability to cross her arms.

"There is." Hawks nodded, pushing a few buttons on the remote next to him.

The screen behind him lit up and he held his hand out to gesture towards it. It was a map of a small portion of Mustafa.

"We've narrowed down her active radius to these three blocks. Jeanist noted that she's most active between 7pm and 3 am." He cleared his throat and changed the slide to an alleyway. "We're planning an ambush here. Kara and Shoto will be our bait, as previously discussed, and we're actually teaming up with Fatgum Agency as well."