Dodging out of the way of a well-timed kick, Ash’s feet slid across the floor. The bleached blond woman stood a mere few feet from him, her stance guarded. She danced back and forth on her feet, hands raised. Letting his mind settle, a feeling of calm falling over him, he raced forward, aiming his fist for a sharp right hook to her nose. Ducking, she swung a leg out to send him plummeting to the ground. It felt better than the rage he’d just left Isao’s office with, his body relaxing with the familiar beats of their sparring.

Ash fell into a clumsy roll and popped back up by the wall, spinning around to face her. His face turned serious. Every graceful move seemed full of annoyance, her grey eyes focused on him from the moment she found him outside and dragged him into the raucous hall. “Echo, what’s your point?”

She snorted.

“You’re getting cocky.” Pulling a knife from the rack, Tenya brought it down only inches from his face. Dropping the pointed tip to his exposed throat, she pressed herself closer to block him from moving away. Going flush, he tried—and failed, to his dismay—to ignore the scent of gardenias and sweat that seemed to surround her. Ash mockingly widened his eyes. She lowered the weapon, taking a step back to fold her arms across her ample chest. “You aren’t indestructible, kid. Just because you’re out in the field doesn’t mean you get to slack off. You’re clumsy enough as is, so get your shit together!”

“Fuck off, you’re only two years older than me!” Mirroring her, Ash huffed. Tenya cocked a brown eyebrow. “And I outmaneuver you eight times out of ten! I’m just tired.”

 “Ah, so now we’re willing to talk about whatever the fuck pissed you off, hm?” She looked worried, her lips twisting down into a frown. He sighed, dropping to sit on the floor. She joined him, tucking the knife in the side of her belt. Thoughtful expression deepening, she nudged him with her elbow. “This isn’t about the kid again, is it? Is that what Cipher called you up here for?”

“I mean… that assignment is still complete crap, but no.” Ash picked at an indent in the mat, forcing out an irritated breath. Even as infuriatingly superior as the family acted, their thinly veiled barbs were nothing compared to the worry that arose at the thought of the meeting he’d left the hour previous. “You heard about my parents, right?”

Tenya stared up, a contemplative look crossing her face as she nodded. Following her gaze, he looked at the wooden beams crossing the ceiling. His mouth quirked at the sight of a throwing star stuck in one of them; one of the more unruly trainees possibly did it, though it was just as likely that he’d thrown it up there when he was younger.

“It’s gotta be serious if they’re putting them into the program,” she murmured. Concern showed on her face, her shoulders pulling back with tension. “What kind of threat was it this time?”

Isao had looked alarmingly unsettled when they met. Even as he explained that the threat had likely come from the same man that his parents had started investigating again, his face had betrayed an undercurrent of worry that was unusual for him.

“An assassination, I guess.” Ash wasn’t certain how much Isao would be comfortable with him sharing, but he couldn’t hold in the hurried thoughts as he picked at his nails. “No details, but the guy they’re chasing threatened them. I don’t understand it, and Cipher couldn’t explain it, but I promise there’s been bigger threats than this that didn’t force them into the program.”

Ash ran his hands through his hair to pull it back from his face. The uncertain promise of a secured line nor Isao’s last words of reassurance were enough to ease his worries, tension sitting tightly in his chest. He sat up straighter, an angry growl escaping when he remembered the last bit of information their commander had shared with him.

“God, fuck him!” Ash’s enraged stage whisper startled Tenya, her eyes going wide. “He’s a dipshit! The fact any of the lieutenants would trust him in the program! With my fucking parents! Is…” Stupid as fuck, was what he wanted to say. Instead, he let his words peter off.

Tenya rubbed her face, groaning. They pressed closer to the wall when a pair of trainees rushed past, their weapons clacking together. “Right, no need to guess who he is. You could’ve taken that promotion if you didn’t insist on taking every suicide mission they throw at you!”

“I could, but at least they trust me to go on those assignments,” he retorted, “Unlike Searchlight-”

“Talking about me again, Shadowfire? I didn’t know you thought about me that often!”

Ash’s head jerked up. He glared at the smug man approaching them, rushing to stand before he could stand in front of him. “Says the one that followed me here,” he muttered. “What the hell do you want?”

It was easy enough to get along with most of the other agents. The lone exception was Agent Searchlight—Yamada Kazumi—and Ash envied the minutes before he’d laid eyes on the infuriating man, wishing he could go back to that time. They sized each other up. Many of the agents referred to his relationship with the man as a rivalry, but the word felt underwhelming with how hostile all of their meetings became.

With a sardonic smile, Kazumi nudged him with a shoulder. “Did Commander Cipher tell you the news?”

Ash scowled, stepping away from him. His stomach churned with nausea. “That he’s lost his damned mind? Yes. Now kindly fuck off.”

He hadn’t meant for it to turn out that way, but when their first meeting led to them sitting bruised and muddy in the nurse’s office, any chance of friendship evaporated. Being chastised by the head instructor within a week of joining the academy had not been the introduction to the school he’d hoped for. Ash’s ears still rang when he thought about the dressing down his mother gave him after she received that phone call.

“At least someone competent is working with them. It could be you instead.” Kazumi shrugged his leather jacket off to toss it on the hardwood floor beyond the mat’s edge.

Tenya exchanged a look with Ash.

“So you’re on babysitting duty?” He beamed, giving the other agent an innocent smile when his response was an enraged growl. It wasn’t a fair comment; being promoted to the Protection team was a major achievement, one that countless agents aspired to. Yet, he couldn’t resist making the jab when he knew it’d piss Kazumi off. With a begrudging wave of his hand, he added, “Congratulations on the promotion.”

“That’s funny, considering I heard you’re on babysitting duty yourself. At least mine takes skill. How about yours?” His mouth twisting into an angry frown, Kazumi shot him a dark look. Ash scowled, but he ended up laughing when the other man motioned toward him. “I’d be glad to show you how I got into the program. Maybe you could one day, too.”

It’d been so long that Ash couldn’t remember why they’d fought the way they had that day, but even so, he’d never deny a chance to put him back into his place, his frustration eventually turning into resentment toward the other man. To Ash’s dismay, many of the trainees learned to scatter if they both showed up in the training hall to avoid being caught in the middle of their scuffle; a glance over showed that hadn’t changed, the handful of young agents huddled on the other side of the mat, watching them.

Of course we’d have an audience for this, Ash lamented. Settling an impassive gaze on him, he tilted his head. “Appreciate it, but considering they offered me the promotion last year, I think I’m good.” His voice dripped with sweetness. He’d only told Tenya and his family about the offer, not wanting to cause any hurt feelings if the other agents found out. The opportunity to point out that Kazumi was, once again, the second choice had been too tempting to pass up, however. “If you’re still struggling with how to dodge, maybe I can teach you. We’d hate to see you killed in the field while trying to protect my family, after all.”

Kazumi grabbed him by the throat, his face contorting as he shoved him against the wall. Tenya shouted, scrambling to rise and help; waving her off, Ash scowled.

“You wish I’d let you get that close to my body,” Kazumi growled.

Ash fought to not let his disgust show. He down-turned his face, taking in how close they were due to how the shorter agent kept him pressed against the wall, fingers still loosely held around his neck. His eyes rose to meet Kazumi’s dark ones, a brow ticking up. Gross. “Who put us here?” he blithely asked, clasping a hand around his wrist to yank it off, “Projecting much, Searchlight?”

The swing of a fist caused Ash to duck, swinging around to tackle Kazumi to the ground. Bile burned up his throat, his face heated with the anger that unleashed with every punch he landed following the ones the other man got on him. His teeth clicked together with a particularly rough hit to his chin.

Kazumi’s self-satisfied grin widened when Tenya yanked Ash away. He wiped his mouth, the thin trail of blood trickling from his lip smearing across the back of his hand. “Go fuck yourself!”

“You first!” Ash snapped. Tenya hooked her arm around his neck, yanking him back to place herself in front of him. He glowered at her; he didn’t need her help to deal with Kazumi. He’d been doing it so long that it was almost second nature to beat the living shit out of him every time the other man picked yet another fight with him.

“Asshole!”

“ENOUGH!” she hollered. Kazumi had barely stood when she slammed a fist into his chest, glaring furiously back at Ash when he tried to move around her. “Cut it out, or you’ll both be scraping your stupid asses off the floor!”

“Maybe next time you won’t need your sister to save you.” Kazumi brushed himself off. He shot Ash a grin, sweeping his jacket up as he stepped off the mat. “Talk to ya when Cipher gets you that number, Shadowfire.”

Tenya rolled her eyes, looping her arm around Ash’s waist when he rushed to swing on the retreating man. Ash scowled, shaking her off. “He needs that stupid smile smacked off his fucking face.”

“You’re supposed to be sparring with me, dumbass! You can get off on fucking him over later!” Tenya pulled her knife out and offered it to Ash, her eyes going narrow. He declined it, instead taking out his own worn one from where he’d neatly strapped it to his thigh. She shrugged, pushing him back toward the center of the mat. “So you were telling me what’s been eating your ass? Go on.”

He touched the hilt of his aged blade, feeling the indent of the characters carved into it against his fingertips. Shadowfire, Sabre, and the names of five more of his ancestors sat immortalized in the wood. Tapping her on the shoulder with the flat edge of the blade, he circled around to get into position. Ash let out a long, drawn out breath; he would almost rather go back to fighting Kazumi than continue their disrupted conversation. “I’m worried. There’s… a lot of questions”

Barking out a harsh laugh, Tenya readied herself. “Isn’t there always?”

As they spoke, their blades rang in meeting. Almost dancing with her, a comfortable silence befell them once he finished his breathless venting. Every thread of frustration unraveling, from having to work with a teenager to his family’s upheaval, he bit his lip in concentration once they came to one of the more complicated parts of their drill. He met each of her moves with one of his own. Every turn she made, he went the opposite. When she aimed high, he dodged low. It was a routine as familiar as breathing, the transition from offense to defence and back again fluid even in the midst of his exhaustion.  

They had been friends for years, ever since they met at the academy. Despite him being two years below her, she took him under her wing and helped him thrive. Even after they both graduated, she was often his go-to when he needed a partner to train with. She was one of the few he knew he could rely on in just about any situation, something she mutually agreed with regarding him.

“Let me remind you…” Their steps whisper quiet on the mat, Tenya tapped her weapon against the side of her head. “You could sweet talk Ona into giving up what she knows. Bat those pretty eyes of yours at her and she’d spill everything. Everything.”

Even though she often used their time together as a chance to tease him mercilessly, he reminded himself that she could be supportive and sweet when she wanted to be. Embarrassment creeping up the back of his neck, he groaned. “Echo, what the hell! No!” 

They circled each other. Letting his mouth settle into a faint smile, he lunged. Tenya dodged his strike to smack his hand out wide. Seeing an opening, he swung his leg around to hook behind hers and swept her foot out. Catching her before she could hit the ground, faces inches from each other, he grinned.

Tenya huffed out a breathy laugh, pulling herself up. “Ok hero, that’s it for me. You should go home and relax. We’ve worked up enough of a sweat.” She wiped her forehead, her partially painted lips forming a brilliant smile.

“Pft. Rest so I can get bitched out when that kid realizes I’m going to school with her tomorrow, too. Yay.” Stretching his back, Ash flicked his knife point toward her. “What’ve they got you doing?”

“Oh, just testing some new agents. Putting them through the paces, physically, and-” With a mischievous grin, she pushed her breasts together and winked. “-mentally. I’ll need my beauty sleep, too.”

Ash turned red. With a nervous laugh, he averted his gaze. Her antics were nothing new, yet he couldn’t seem to get through them without becoming flustered.

Tenya laughed, punching him in the arm. “Get out of here, and no thinking about me tonight!” 

He choked, any retort coming out as a nonsensical gasp. Grabbing his belongings from beside the mat, he only paused when he felt her teasing pull on his ponytail. He’d never get over the fact that his crush on his best friend was one of her favorite sources of entertainment, giving her a good natured scowl and elbowing her. “Never going to let me live that down, are you? I was a teenager!” 

“Never, Kurokawa. Let me find out you’ve forgotten, I’ll be here to remind you again!” she teased, calling after his retreating back, “And you better not forget our lunch date either!”