Ash sighed, brushing his damp bangs out of his face. They’d emptied the kitchen and filled the living room with his family’s belongings. He walked past the stacks of boxes, each with his mother’s neat handwriting on them, to return to his parents’ room. They’d only been in the home for a little over two years, but even so, a bitter sort of sadness flourished that they were being forced out of it so abruptly.

Back at his father’s side, they fell into companionable silence, each working on separate parts of the barely touched bedroom. They’d refused to let the other agents in it, a frustrated scowl from his mother scaring them into focusing on the rest of the apartment. The vague tension sitting tightly in his core coiled tighter. “What did Isao tell her?”

Once Kasamari had returned from her phone call with Isao, she’d pointedly pulled his father aside, shooing him away to direct his peers. Ash went without comment, nervousness causing the lunch they’d eaten to flip uncomfortably in his stomach, and in the intervening handful of hours he couldn’t get either of them alone long enough to ask.

Renier made an annoyed sound. Peeking out of the bedroom door to look for Kasamari, his mouth slipped into a frown. The door closed with a soft click. He took the blanket Ash held out to him as he returned to his side of the room. “A threat,” he muttered. “He wouldn’t tell her who’s threatening us, but the upper brass are demanding we be put into the program. Bullshit… your mom has been chasing that asshole since the beginning of her career, and now that we stand a chance, we’re taken off it?!”

“Seriously?” Ash paused, handing over the sheets he’d just pulled out of the closet. He huffed out a breath. The door opened and his mother stepped in, her face turning weary as soon as it closed again behind her. “It just seems too… convenient, I think.”

“I agree.” Renier leaned over the boxes between them to guide a strand of hair that’d fallen out of Kasamari’s bun behind her ear. She exchanged a look with him, her eyes going narrow, as Ash turned away from them.

Picking up one of the framed photos off the dresser, Ash swept the dust off the top with his fingers. His own eyes stared up at him, face still round with baby fat. The next included Kasamari, wearing her summer kimono and holding her much more gangly, giggling toddler. A third appeared to be their wedding photo, Renier with his arm around Kasamari’s waist and their bundled up newborn son in her arms, as they smiled at the camera. There were more, each being looked at before he packed it away. He groaned, seeing one of his best friend Tenya and him as teenagers, her brown hair up in a ponytail and a grin on her face as she held him in a headlock.

Ash had only been a few years younger than that last picture when they’d gone into the program the first time. He’d been a confused eleven-year-old when they turned his entire life upside down. They moved from place to place, in some cases only having the clothes on their back and his faithful plush to keep him company. It broke his heart seeing it happen again, and without a good justification for why.

Tucking the photos into the empty box his mother offered him, Ash chewed on his lip. He couldn’t stand it. “I should camp outside his office until he tells me what the hell is going on,” he muttered, taking it from her to plop it on the floor beside him.

“Don’t start.” Renier stacked his box on top, slamming a hand down on it. Rubbing a hand through his hair, he made a face at him. “It’s all bullshit, but you don’t need to get in the middle of it.”

Kasamari made an agreeable noise, her back to them as she emptied the drawers. “Ashu, please don’t go digging into it for our benefit,” she pleaded, turning a lovingly stern look on him. “It’ll be fine. As soon as we can come back, we’re going to catch him. I’m not worried.”

“You’re the only one.” Ash winced; she slapped his arm as she made her way past. “This feels bigger than us.”

Renier snorted. “I have my theories,” he said, a dark look crossing his face. “Corruption, bribes… It all sounds like conspiracy theories, but I can’t make sense of it. We just don’t want to see you hurt by whatever is going down, son.”

“I know how to keep myself out of trouble.” Ash gave them a weak grin. Getting disbelieving glares from both, he shrugged. He missed the easy back and forth they had while he was gone, and having it ripped away as soon as he returned was a punch to the gut, even if he sometimes found their protectiveness overwhelming. “Maybe I’ll take down the Yoshino’s and the agency while you’re gone.”

Both men snickered at Kasamari’s exasperated groan. Renier pressed a kiss to her cheek before letting her snatch away the box he held, watching her take it out to add to the pile in the living room. Throwing a balled up pair of socks at Ash, Renier retorted, “If you do, let me know so I can start putting in applications.”

Ash cocked his head, rolling his eyes. He moved on to helping his father pack up their clothes, his face settling into an unhappy frown once his back was to the other man. Why now?