The Fault in Our Mango

A Pact?

Nicolette's POV

We raced through the hallway nearing the front door. Oddly enough, we hadn't met anyone. No guards, no men in suits, nothing. I knew there was something wrong and I'm pretty sure the others could sense it too. Anyways, we raced toward and out of the front door. To my 'surprise' (I expected it, really), we were met by a brigade of guards. They all held weapons: swords, guns, a bunch of other deadly looking stuff. I was surprised to see that many people standing, considering how many bodies littered the ground.

My group stopped just outside of the entrance. We glanced at each other, then a the guards. Suddenly, Aika grabbed one of Natasha's arrows and made to run towards the guards. Quickly, Kimiko ran towards Aika, getting in front of her and slapping the arrow out of her hand.

"You idiot," Kimiko hissed. "

"What?!" exclaimed Aika.

"You don't always have to throw yourself into battle. Especially with your powers sealed," Kimiko said firmly, holding Aika's wrist up with the sealer bracelet. The two girls started fighting, the guards looking at them bewildered, and the others of our group staring blankly at them.

I was getting annoyed, and was about to break their fight up, when I heard a gun fire. I saw the bullet flying through the air. Kimiko's sword appeared in her hand and with quick reflexes, she deflected the bullet.

"Why you," Yato glared at the guards. Kimiko stopped him before he could do anything, trying to tell him to calm down and not act irrationally. Aika walked over and stood next to Yato, and the three started arguing. My sister walked over and started defending Kimiko's point, saying it was best to come up with a plan. The other's joined the argument, each defending what they though best.

I stayed away, bewildered at their naivety. How could they start fighting in the middle of a battle? Annoyed, I decided to break their little argument up. "You people are idiots!" I exclaimed loudly, making both my group and the guards jump. Everyone was staring at me now, and I couldn't back down. "How can you start arguing here? Those people could pull the trigger in a heartbeat and we'd all be dead!" I pointed at the guards, who looked down at their weapons as if they'd forgotten they were carrying them. I scoffed.

"Why is she encouraging them?" Catnip muttered to Natasha, who shrugged.

I continued. "Honestly, I agree with Kimiko, but I wouldn't start fighting. It's better to do as so.." I walked up to the guards and stopped about a yard away. "I have a proposition for you. I know there's been many losses today... (Mostly on your side, I thought). And just because of our peculiarities... But if we can make an agreement, a peace treaty of sorts, I think it'd be best for all of us..."

The guards looked at each other, and one of them made his way from the back. "My superios wouldn't agree to this... But I'll hear you out. Oh, and if you try anything, you'll be dead in a second," he said.

I smiled slightly. "Okay," I took a deep breath and started telling them the conditions. "You will let us go with out refusing. We won't do anything, just walk straight out. You will not follow us. We will leave you alone as long as you do the same. No capturing, threatening, nothing. If so, we won't attack anyone."

The front guard raised an eyebrow. "What's the upside for us? What do we get?"

"Peace and time to recover your strength and numbers." He scowled and I continued. "The pact is broken if one of your men attack or capture one of us, or if we harm someone with our powers." I finished and looked at him expectantly.

He sighed and turned to look at one of his men. They murmured to each other for a while. I glanced behind me to see the other's reactions. Aika was pouting, Yato had his fist clenched. I could tell they didn't like my decision at al. I saw Kimiko, who nodded slightly and I shrugged. I turned my attention back to the guards. The leader was still murmuring with the other guys. Then he nodded and turned to me.

"We agree with the terms. But since the higher ups aren't here to make the decision, the treaty will only last a month." He extended his hand and I shook it.

"Okay. I agree to your terms." I let his hand drop.

He stepped to the side and his men followed his lead, making a pathway in the middle for us to cross. I waited for the others to catch up to me, then together, we walked through the pathway in silence. We crossed the gate and headed into the woods. And all that time, I felt the guards eyes boring into my back.

Yato's POV

We walked through the forest, a wary silence hung over us. I think we were all shocked that those government bastards agreed to a peace treaty. I wondered if the'd actually stick to their word, then I shook my head. That battle was over and we'd get peace for a while at least.

I made my way to Kimiko, she glanced at me and smiled warily."Hey," I said.

"Hey," she answered. We drooped our pace and ended up waling at the end of the group. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" I asked. I tried to make myself worry like a friend would, but a part of me couldn't shake the feeling of emptiness I'd feel if something bad happened to her.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just a bit tired," she answered. "And... how about you? You're fine, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah," I answered and she let out a sigh of relief.

Right then, I felt a spark of hope, that maybe, perhaps... She liked me too. I smiled and we walked on in silence. Content with the bit of hope and the feeling of her close to me, only one thing nagged my mind. There was a way in which Kimiko knew everything about the government. The weapons they use, the location and lay out of their base... I decided to ask, hoping it wouldn't make her uncomfortable. "Hey... Uh, I've been wanting to ask you something," I started.

"Hm?" she murmured.

"well, I kind of noticed... You seem to be very familiar with that base."

A dark look spread across her face. "Oh, that," she spat.

"If you don't wanna say, you don't have to," I told her, but she shook her head.

"No, It's okay," she sighed. Let's just say that I've had my moments in that place.."

"Oh." I stated bluntly. So she'd been there before. I wanted to hug her, make her feel safe and comfort her.

"Yeah..." her eyes looked distant, but then snapped back to normal. "Well, that was a long time ago. All in the past. I can't stay cooped up just because I've had a few bad days, right?"

"Yeah," I answered. To myself, I made a silent vow to protect her from now on. I'd never let anyone hurt her, or anything bad happen. She'd be safe. I reached for her hand slowly, taking it in mine. She din't take it away, instead she squeezed my hand and I squeezed back. We didn't say anything, and we made the rest of the trip home in silence.

When the group of friends made it home, they were all bone tired. Though most of them hadn't suffered any injuries, they all felt as if thy could sleep for a week. Except Aika, who hadn't fought because of the power confine bracelet. She kept bugging everyone for food, but they all groaned. They entered the house, Aika still nagging, and dragged themselves to their bedrooms.Giving up on bothering, Aika made her way to the kitchen, to find something to break the bracelet and also something to eat.

The others got ready for bed, each respectively thinking different things. Nicolette felt snug, knowing she'd done the peace treaty. Natasha felt deeply tired, emotions from the others drowning her senses. Catnip crawled into bed with Zach, feeling happy because she'd seen action today, but also because she was with Zach again. Sanji also felt satisfied because tjey'd managed to save Aika and teach those government people a lesson. As for Yato and Kimiko, they both felt happy, their stomachs fluttery. But Kimiko couldn't help but shake the memories that'd been aroused in her mind about that horrible place. Shaking her head, she got comfortable, and immediately fell asleep, along wit the others.