Guardian

Chapter 7

Soft, green light illuminated the forest as a small figure set up a post in a tree. He stopped after doing so to enjoy the cool autumn air and glance toward the sky, judging the time. His watch had stopped working weeks ago and as a result, he relied more on the sky to tell the time. Running a hand through his hair, he let out a sigh, grabbing his bow. Always a good shot, he waited for his prey. A businessman who'd hurt girls in ways that couldn't be fixed without years of therapy. Not his own issue, the man in the tree had been paid to do it, though he didn't mind it knowing his prey's crime. Prey. He found himself thinking of those he was hired to kill as prey more often. It helped him sleep. The sound of a branch breaking caught his attention and he grabbed an arrow. The man walked through the trees, stumbling and confused. The hunter drew back the arrow and aimed. A bird cawed as a light twang was heard when the arrow was loosed, flying through the air and-

Nishinoya woke up in the hospital once more. He sat up, finding it easier, and sighed softly. After nearly three days, he could finally move freely. He looked down at his hands, examining the scars over them from years of dealing with a wooden bow, sharp arrows, knives, learning how to be a killer. He held his face in his hands, feeling guilty from his dream. A soft sigh escaped his lips and he regained his composure moments before a nurse came in with food. He thanked her and ate in silence. Hopefully, he'd be able to leave. 

"Are you feeling okay?" The nurse asked. "You aren't in pain, are you?" This was his chance. 

"Not at all. I feel great." He assured her, giving a soft smile. "Can I stand?" She permitted him to try and he swung his feet over the bed, taking a deep breath before standing. At first, he leaned on the bed but he let go and still stood, smiling to himself. "See? I can stand!" He smiled a real smile and took a few steps to the shock of the nurse. "No pain." He reported. "No, there's a bit of an ache in my side, but I did get stabbed."

"You're sure there's no pain other than the ache? None at all?" She asked. Nishinoya confirmed and she nodded. "Sit back down, I'll talk to the doctor." He obeyed and sat on the bed, waiting. After about an hour, a doctor came in. 

"There's no pain? Are you absolutely positive?" He asked. Nishinoya confirmed again. "Alright. If you'll sign these forms, you can leave." Nishinoya complied after reading all of it and retrieved his things, changing into an outfit Asahi had brought for him. He texted him once he got his phone back. 

[Nishinoya Yuu] 4:31 pm
Hey man, just got checked out. Mind
picking me up / sending a car? Don't
have taxi money. :/

He sent the message and yawned, waiting for a reply. Nishinoya got a yes and waited out front for a car. Whether the driver was Asahi or not, he wasn't sure. Asahi pulled up in his car ten minutes later, getting out to hug him. 

"I was so worried about you! I'm so sorry I didn't visit more, the company's been going down somehow and I'm trying to fix it and I-" He was silenced by Nishinoya's hand over his mouth. "Sorry. Sorry. Come on, I'll drive you home."

"No, I want to see Leo. He's out of school by now." Nishinoya said. "Is that okay?" Asahi agreed and they went to his house. Nishinoya was uncharacteristically quiet. Asahi was worried for him, but he didn't say anything. 

"Noya!" Leo cried, running happily towards his best friend. "You're all better!" He giggled and held onto Nishinoya's leg. He smiled and ruffled his hair. 

"Heya, kiddo. I'm all better now." Nishinoya picked him up and held him on his good side. "Have you been a good boy for your parents?" Leo nodded and told a made-up story about how he and his toys had an adventure in the backyard. Children. Nishinoya could never understand them, but they were strangely relatable. "That sounds fun. We should have an adventure one day." Leo agreed excitedly and wiggled down, running around.

"He's been worried sick about you." Asahi said. "Barely ate his food yesterday. I'm glad we did this. Maybe now he'll actually do things besides play and sleep." He played with his hair for a second and sighed. "Stay for dinner?" 

"No, I have some work to deal with, but I can come over whenever you want." He said. "You have my number." Nishinoya smiled. 

Asahi nodded and headed back out to his car. "Be safe, will you? I don't want you to die too." Nishinoya silenced himself after that and nodded in agreement. "I'll drive you home. Come on." Nishinoya didn't protest and let him drive him home. 

Once at his apartment, he said goodbye and headed inside. Tanaka was already there waiting to talk. "You're sure she ordered it? You didn't overlook something? Traced everything back?" He asked, putting his coat up. 

"What do you think I am? An amateur? I double-checked everything. Even my source! I had to make sure I was right. If we accuse her and have any doubt at all..." He trailed off but Nishinoya got the picture. He nodded softly and sat down. "Okay, so she ordered the gunman a week before, and the break-in soon after the trip began." 

"Giving her no alibi to either." Nishinoya noticed. "And the trace?" 

"Can't directly trace it to anything she owns. She has a VPN service of very high quality. Rare quality. Prove it's on one of her devices and we've got her. Even these can be traced to electronics. We'll find a trace." Tanaka said. 

"How's Kiyoko? You two are married aren't you?" Nishinoya asked. 

"This June we will be. She's doing fine, got a new job with the FBI. I hate having to doubt her, but I needed to double check. I'm just glad she understood." 

"You made sure she couldn't be traced into this, right? I'd hate to have any blame on her." Nishinoya said.

"Of course I did! She's my fiance, I'm going to protect her." Tanaka said. They spent a few hours discussing their plan before Kiyoko picked up Tanaka to go home. Nishinoya said goodbye and went inside to sleep.