Relaxation?

The journey back to Police Headquarters was a long and silent one.

They got back to the car park, Fuhira got out immediately and went straight for his motorbike. He didn't bother strapping on his helmet, he got straight on, put the keys in the ignition, started the motorbike and drove out into the night, with the moon and the streetlamps illuminating the streets.

Yagita sighed loudly, still trying to comprehend what she had just witnessed. In all that confusion, she couldn't help but think, [how am I going to keep up with that? What on earth was that power? So Fuhira has a dark and secret past. Wow, I need rest.]

Her thought process was interrupted by a noise coming from the shadows. She quickly drew her gun and said with a firm voice 'Step out into the light with your hands in the air'

'put that toy away, I'm not here to hurt you' a familiar voice said, as Aihara Utari stepped out into the light.

Yagita froze.

'Wh-wha-what are you doing here?' She asked.

She tried her best to hide it, but she was terrified. She continued, as she began backing away slowly, her gun still pointing at Aihara. 'you're in a police station, do not think of doing anything stupid'

'I wouldn't dream of it. I mean you no harm, I just wish to talk'

'I have nothing to say to you, unless you want to turn yourself in'

Aihara folded his arms and leaned back against a wall with his left foot up on the wall. 'I don't think I've introduced myself. My name is Aihara'

Yagita remained quiet. Aihara continued, 'I want to talk to you about my brother. As crazy as this may seem, I do care about him'

Yagita laughed, 'Well you have a great way of showing it. You sent those... dogs after him and fought him with whatever it was that was back there.'

Aihara smiled and replied,'I had to check if he could defend himself against unfamiliar enemies. Dark times are coming Detective and I want my brother and those he cares about to be ready'

'Dark times?'

Aihara picked up a bag and threw it at Yagita's feet and began walking towards the exit. 'Use the weapons in that bag when the time comes. Not those toys the police department hand their officers'

Yagita followed his movements, her gun still pointed at him. Right before he walked out, Aihara turned back to Yagita with a serious but friendly expression, 'look out for my brother, he clearly cares for you'

After that, Aihara walked out into the night.

Yagita dropped her hands and looked at the bag on the floor in front of her, picked it up and went into her car and buried her head in her hands.

*

It was about a week later on a rainy Wednesday, Yashiro, Rani and Rando were jogging along a now muddy path in a park. Rani led the trio along the path as Rando and Yashiro tried to keep up.

Rani was a good runner. She pumped her legs, gaining more distance with each push. Her shoes pounded heavily across the ground causing mud to slash up her leg. She looked back, the boys were a few metres behind her. The fact that she was in the lead and the thought of them catching up sent a wave of adrenaline coursing through her body, which helped her move even faster.

They had been running for an hour and 20 minutes and they were all starting to feel the effects of it.

Rani looked up and she could see the position they all started from, it made her smile as she continued pushing to the finish line.

Rando finished 5 seconds later, and Yashiro, a second later. Both of them dropped to the floor, breathing extremely heavily.

They didn't mind laying in the wet grass, away from the muddy path as the rain fell on their backs.

Rani laughed, as she caught her breath 'you guys are lazy'

'wha-what are you?' Yashiro asked, as he struggled to catch his breath.

Rani laughed and joined them on the ground, resting her head on Yashiro's back.

They lay there for a few more minutes, all three of them getting a beating from the rain. Then Rani spoke, 'guys, we should go now, we might catch a cold'

The boys agreed and they began to get up.

'Let's go to my house, no one's home' Yashiro said, 'we all need hot shower'

'I get your shower first' Rando said, smiling at Yashiro.

'How about this' the boys looked at Rani as she continued, 'first one to Yashiro's house gets the first bathroom, last one there showers last'

Rando laughed and shook his head. 'No way we're doing that. Right?' He turned to look at Yashiro, who was already sprinting towards his house. Rani followed suit and started running too.

'Shit' Rando exclaimed, as he covered himself in a steel sheet and ran after them.

The trio got to the house fairly quickly, Rani getting there first, Rando second, and Yashiro last.

Rando and Rani were laughing hysterically, Rando clutching his stomach. 'How did you fall like that?' He asked, as he laughed even harder.

'Whatever' Yashiro replied, covered in mud and slightly annoyed. 'Hurry up and take your showers'

'no one told you to try and jump over that fence' Rando said, still laughing 'it's you rolling down the hill that gets me '

Yashiro shook his head and walked towards the kitchen. Rani smiled at Rando and mouthed the words 'leave him, go take your shower'.

Rando continued laughing as he walked towards the guest bathroom.

Rani looked at Yashiro, smiled and said 'please bring me a bottle of what you're drinking when you're done, I'll be in the shower in your room' she stuck her tongue out and ran to the room.

Yashiro shook his head and thought to himself as he walked up the stairs to his room.

I can just use my mum's shower and then clean it after. He opened the door to his room, Rani smiled and grabbed the bottle "thanks, I was really thirsty."

As she drank, Yashiro watched her, she was wearing a t-shirt and shorts.

Rani was beautiful and curvy, she had changed her style and now had brown curly hair, and a well toned body from all the training she had been doing.

She finished drinking and turned to go to the bathroom.

[Damn.]Yashiro thought to himself. [When did she get this sexy?]

'It's rude to stare you know'

'I wasn't staring' Yashiro replied, with a cheeky smile on his face. 'I was admiring, there's a big difference'

'Oh' she said, as she started to blush

'Yeah, you're beautiful Rani'

She looked down at her feet, tucking her hair behind both ears, while trying to hide how red her cheeks were.

'Thank you, Yashiro'

'you're welcome. I'll leave you to your shower, which you won by luck'. Rani laughed and replied,'Yeah yeah, I'll be out in a few minutes'

'Your clothes are really wet so I'm going to get something from my mum's wardrobe that you can wear'

'Thank you, Shiro'

He smiled and walked out of the room. After he closed the door, Rani had an even bigger smile on her face as she thought about the comment Yashiro made about admiring her.

After the trio had showered and put on fresh clothes, they all sat in the kitchen as Rani made hot beverages.

Rando spoke up. 'So the exams are in two weeks. Do you guys feel ready?'

Yashiro replied,'not even close. The three of us have improved in terms of using our powers but I just don't know if it's good enough. We haven't really worked on combat training'

'Yeah that's true.' Rani said, as she poured hot water into 3 mugs. 'Thanks to you guys, I can use my poison in many different ways now.'

Rando laughed.'You're welcome Rani. Just don't poison our tea'

She shook her head and continued speaking. 'I heard there was a tournament later this week. We should all sign up, to see where exactly we are in terms of fighting ability. We should cover all grounds before the examination. I have a feeling they're going to test that somehow during the exam'.

Yashiro grabbed one of the mugs and held it with both hands 'Thanks. I think it's a good idea to sign up for the tournament, but we shouldn't overdo it. We can't go all out so we don't get injured or put a strain on our bodies'

Rani and Rando agreed as the three of them sat and drank their tea

Rando finished first and stretched into a yawn. 'Man, I'm beat. I'm gonna go take a nap'

'you do that, lazy ass. I'm gonna watch a movie.'.

Yashiro got up aswell and started walking towards the living room.

'Whatever Yashiro. I'm tired' Rando walked upstairs and went into the guest room. Shutting the door behind him.

'I guess I'm watching a movie too then' Rani said as she began walking towards Yashiro, who was already laying comfortably on the sofa bed.

When he saw her coming, he adjusted his position so there was space for her to join him.

She lay next to him with her head on his shoulders as they began watching a movie. Yashiro adjusted his position again so he was laying down and Rani's head was on his chest.

As the movie progressed, they started to have a few conversations, telling each other jokes and talking about awkward past experiences.

Rani looked up at Yashiro and said, 'you haven't told me why you want to join the Academy'

He paused for a few seconds before responding. "Well, It's something me and Rando said we were going to do from a young age. So I've been looking forward to it for a long time"

'Is that the only reason?'

'I haven't really thought about it to be honest with you. I guess for those who have powers like us, it's one of the best schools that also prioritises education.'

'I guess that's true'

They continued watching the movie for a few more minutes and when Yashiro looked back at Rani, she was already sleeping. He smiled, turned the television off and closed his eyes. He was asleep in a matter of minutes.