Cleared Up. Devil's Syndicate On The Move

"You what!?!" Chizuru exclaims while her eyes sparkle with excitement. 

"Yeah…"

Sugawara says softly. Shiori smiles deviously while Hikigaya rolls his eyes and gives her five Isos. The group is sitting around at their desks during lunch, but Haru and Lucy aren't there. 

"What else happened??" Chizuru asks excitedly.

"That's the thing… We kissed and made out, sure, but… come the next day, he just acted like his normal self. As if nothing happened at all."

He throws his arms over his head and slams his head into the desk in confused frustration.

"Ugh, and now I just don't know! Are we together? Does he think we're just friends with benefits now? I don't know what to do…"

"Why don't you just ask him?"

Ryuji says casually. Sugawara looks up.

"Ask him?"

Ryuji nods. Sugawara looks down with an unsure look on his face.

"I guess that's a good idea…"

He then begins to imagine scenarios where he asks him about what happened.

'But if I ask him…'

'"What? No, it was just a one time thing. I'd never be with you for real." 

He looks at him with a look of disgust.'

Suddenly the thought cloud bursts as Sugawara falls down again.

"No way! What if it was only a one time thing! I don't think I could handle that kind of rejection…"

"Well, you're gonna have to figure it out eventually. But seriously, good on you for making those moves. I couldn't imagine having the confidence to do that."

Shiori says as she crosses her arms over her chest and leans back in her chair a bit. 

"I know! That just sounds too scary, even for me!"

Chizuru says as Ryuji leans forward a bit.

"Talking about it is important. Trust Haru. He's a kind person."

He gives Sugawara a straight look and Sugawara nods a bit, still nervous about it. Before he can think much more, however, Haru and Lucy come back to the room with their lunches. 

"Sorry about that, guys! I got so busy catching up on that show I was telling you about, I forgot to pack my lunch haha!" Haru says happily.

"Let me guess, you overslept and didn't have the time to pack your lunch?"

Hikigaya says with a playfully snarky tone to Lucy. She retorts.

"Ha ha, jokes on you. I actually was busy catching up on all the ways you are a nerd so bleh."

She sticks her tongue out at him as he does the same back before they giggle and she takes a seat. 

"Haru, do you have something to say to Sugawara?"

Chizuru says, encouraging action between them. Sugawara looks up with a surprised and scared look on his face. Haru seems kind of confused before he lights up like he figured it out.

"Oh yeah! Here you go. I got you your favorite chocolate milk from the vending machine."

He puts down the bottle in front of him and gives him a big smile. 

"Yeah, thanks."

Sugawara says with a low tone. He grabs the bottle and turns away from Haru. His lukewarm response makes Haru's smile fade a bit with confusion.

As the day goes on, Sugawara keeps his distance as he feels awkward and even a little upset at Haru about everything. Once the end of the day comes. Sugawara is walking alone, heading toward the entrance and straight home as he doesn't feel like socializing today. Before he can get far though, someone calls out his name. He turns to see Haru chasing after him and waving his arm trying to get his attention. Sugawara decides to stop and wait. Once Haru catches up, he catches his breath for a moment before talking.

"Sugawara.. I need to talk to you."

"About what?" He responds slightly distantly.

"About you. About us. You've been really distant all day and I'm not sure why? Is it… about yesterday?"

Sugawara sharpens his eyes a bit and looks away. Haru notices and begins to sweat.

"Look, I'm sorry about all that… I thought maybe you wanted it too? But I guess you really didn't, and I made you feel like you had to…"

As he speaks, he lowers his head and gets a sad look on his face. Sugawara's eyes widen a bit and he looks at Haru.

"I understand if you don't want to see me for a while… I just hope you know that I… I…"

"I love you."

Haru's eyes widen and he shoots his head up to look at Sugawara. He blushes intensely as Sugawara does the same. 

"You… you do?"

Haru asks. Sugawara nods and smiles in response. Sugawara lifts his hands towards him as if asking for him to take them so he does. He puts his hands in Sugawara's and they step closer together. 

"You're not mad at me about before?"

He shakes his head.

"Then why were you so distant today?"

"You were acting so calm and normal after. I thought maybe you didn't want anyone to know and I was just… a fun time for you. I guess, I realize now that you were just being happy the way you always are."

Sugawara explains with a sense of relief greater than he's ever experienced. The smile conveying that emotion.

"You make me very happy."

Haru says in response with a warm smile on his face. Sugawara blushes and they hug tightly. After a moment, Haru lets go and steps back. He takes his bag off of his back.

"Well, I'm quite glad we cleared that up because that would've meant I got this for nothing."

Sugawara looks confused as Haru pulls out something from his bag.

"I always noticed the way you sleep. You hug that pillow on your side but I always thought it was too short, even for you. So I got him for ya."

He pulls out an air compressed bag with a stuffed animal in it. Sugawara looks at it confused since it's fairly small. Haru notices and laughs.

"Don't worry! He'll grow once he's free, watch."

He tears open the bag and once it's free from its cage, it begins to grow. Sugawara eyes widen and sparkle as he watches the stuffed animal grow to almost his size. Haru lifts it toward him.

"Would you… be my boyfriend, Sugawara?"

He blushes as he asks timidly. Sugawara grabs the stuffed dragon in his hands for a moment before hugging it tightly and swinging it around a little. He then looks up to Haru.

"Yes."

Tears are in his eyes and he blushes but all from the wonderful feeling he has right now. Haru smiles widely for a moment before Sugawara uses his finger as if to tell him to come in close. Haru blushes harder then leans down and Sugawara puts his face next to Haru's, his mouth next to his ear.

"Just so you know, I really like getting affection like, all the time."

He whispers. Haru blushes even harder now as they lean away from each other and Sugawara gives him an affectionate look. Haru smiles nervously before leaning forward and kissing him once again. As they do that, just around the corner, Shiori, Chizuru and Hikigaya watch it unfold. Hikigaya gives an approving smirk while Chizuru blushes and awes over it. She pulls up her phone to take a picture but before she could , Hikigaya pushes her phone back down. Shiori stares with a smile on her face. Still smiling a bit, her gaze begins to lower as she gets deeper in her thoughts.

'I'm happy for them. At the same time though, I'm… jealous… Something so cute could never happen to me.' She thinks with hints of sadness in her eyes.

Late into June. A laboratory, at the top of a hill far out from the main city, is conducting research into an experimental serum. Something a private corporation is funding in secret.

Late at night, while the scientists and engineers work, outside, a group of people begin to form in the shadows. Roughly twenty members of the Devil's Syndicate are stationed outside, all staring at the building that is not intensely fortified as not many know of its existence. A familiar face, Frontier, steps forward. 

"All personnel in position. We will strike on my mark. Get in, retrieve the serum and exit. Minimal casualties." They says with a serious tone.

"Well well well, I'd say I'm proud, trying to minimize deaths tonight and all but uh, that would be a lie."

Shocked by the extra voice, Frontier shoots their head up to see Fullsky standing on a branch just above them.

"You!"

They shout angrily. Everyone focuses their attention on her.

"How did you know we'd be here?"

"Oh you know. Large group of uniformed, conspicuous people all formed around a fairly shady facility. Pretty obvious."

As she speaks, she walks along the branch then under it, completely hanging upside but maintaining her footing like it's nothing. Frontier gets an aggravated look.

"Come to get in our business again?"

"Yep."

"Don't forget what happened last time we fought."

They smirk at Fullsky.

"Yeah, but I don't see that big machine around anymore, soooo."

She smirks back. She then jumps off the branch and flips to a landing behind them. They all turn to face her, stanced, ready for a fight.

"If you don't mind, I'm gonna end this quickly. I gotta get up early tomorrow."

She lunges at them with a dash but before she could strike, she is suddenly frozen in the air. 

"W-what?! What did-"

"Oh yeah, about that machine."

Frontier lifts their arm up to reveal it to be augmented. The same glowing parts from the big machine pieced throughout their arm, energy bolts and metal bands protruding from her flesh, having replaced the entire arm with the upgraded machine.

"After our lead engineer got a hold of the old, might I say, clunky one, he modified it, upgraded it and gave one to me to test."

They suddenly shoot Fullsky back, hard, and smash her through a tree. She gets up as a little blood falls from her mouth. Frontier smirks but gets serious then puts a finger to their ear for coms. 

"Everyone, move in. Retrieve the serum. I will fend off Fullsky."

The group starts running in. Fullsky notices and tries to get past Frontier but is stopped. 

"Gah!"

She yells in pain as Frontier looks to be grabbing her with their hand, crushing her. They pull her in closer to them and flips her upside.

"You like my upgrades? It'll certainly be easier to fend you off now. Oh, and there's one other thing."

They slowly raise their hand and take off the bandana wrap around their head, revealing a marking on their forehead that is slightly glowing red. 

"The boss gave me a gift. I'm much more than a human now."

They give her an evil smirk before they smash Fullsky into the ground head first. She coughs out blood while smashing into the dirt. Immediately after being released, Fullsky disappears. Frontier smirks and begins to take off their jacket. They stand in their black tank top for a moment before their eyes sharpen. They snap around and quickly collides blows with Fullsky.

Fullsky pushes with her leg in a kick against Frontier's machine arm. They both get shot back from the force. Fullsky lands on her hands and flips onto her legs then releases one large wing. Using it, she propels herself in a twist motion hitting Frontier in the arm they used to block. This sends them flying back into a tree.

After a moment, they regain their footing and grabs a large rock with the Pulse Arm. They hurl it at Fullsky. She stares at it with an unamused look.

"What's with you people and rocks?"

She dives forward and rolls past it as it smashes behind her. As she comes out of the roll she lifts her hands and points them at Frontier. Then she points her finger at them.

"Let's take this somewhere I can really move."

Then she points up in a snapping motion. Suddenly, Frontier is shot into the sky. 

"What the hell?!"

They float around for a moment before Fullsky jumps up to follow with her wings. As she is going up she looks over to see the others running up to the building. She grits her teeth in frustration.

"Some help would be really useful right about now."

As she says this, the members almost hit the door when a large crash happens in front of them. Once the dust clears they see Watchdog standing before them.

"Sorry I was late boys. Got a little lost." He cracks his knuckles. "Now, who wants to go first?"

He says as he stances up. A couple members start yelling and charging him as he dodges and hits them back. He knocks them out with one strike each and they fall one by one.

"Come on. At least one of you has got to hit harder than that right?"

As soon as he finishes his statement, he is punched through the large steel doors to the facility. He tumbles across the floor before landing on his back. He coughs a bit as he sits up holding his chest.

"Okay.. That's fair."

He looks up to see two large people standing over him. They both have the same symbol as Frontier on their heads.

"Woah, cool tattoos. Where can I get one? Ah-!"

He is grabbed by his leg and thrown through the wall next to them, crumble the cement around him. He sits up once again, in a pile of rubble, as scientists begin to run away.

"I see how it's going to be. Let's go."

He leans forward on one knee before lunging at one of the Hexed individuals. Their fists collide and they are both instantly shot back a bit by the force. With a heavy stomp, they both charge once again and start throwing a barrage of punches at each other, each with the intent to break the other.

As they are trading blows, the second Hexed goes around and begins a strike at Watchdog from the side. As he is throwing punches, suddenly, an eye appears on Watchdog's shoulder. He looks at the second Hexed coming from the side and quickly stops punching, crouches and dives into the legs of the first Hexed. This causes him to stumble forward and look over with shock before he is struck in the face by the second Hexed and sent packing. 

"Ah! Sorry!"

The Hexed shouts with a worried look. Watchdog whistles at him. He looks up to see Watchdog hanging from the roof before dropping and slamming both his knees into the Hexed's face and straight into the ground. Watchdog stands up after a moment, panting.

"That should buy me a little time. I hope Fullsky is doing alright."

He looks back out the now destroyed entrance where Fullsky and Frontier face off. Frontier struggles to gain footing in the air and Fullsky approaches them fast. After a moment, Frontier uses the Pulse Arm on themself to adjust their feet in the air and keep them upright. Fullsky floats not too far from them. 

"What does the Syndicate want with this serum?"

"You have no idea what the Devil's Syndicate is plotting, do you? You just know how to stick your nose in business that has nothing to do with you." They spit back.

"What you're doing is hurting people, I think that is a part of my business. Now tell me, what do you want with it?"

Fullsky demands. Frontier smirks before shooting themself at Fullsky at full speed. Their arms collide as Fullsky blocks the punch with her elbow.

"If you want to know so bad, make me say it."

They smirk even more sinister than before as their arm begins to glow with intense heat which burns Fullsky. She lets out a yell for a moment before throwing them back. As Frontier spins, they grab a tree from the ground with the Pulse Arm and swing it hard, hitting Fullsky who blocked it but is still sent flying back. After catching herself in the air with her wings, she looks up to see Frontier diving at them with a glowing fist.

Back in the facility, Watchdog is running through the building's halls looking for any of the Devil's Syndicate members to beat up while directing civilians towards any exits he thinks is safe. While rushing a couple civilians along, he turns to look down a long hallway to see three average members run from around the corner and stop when they notice him.

The four of them stand for a moment in silence, staring at each other before Watchdog takes a sharp breath in and bolts towards them. The three men do the same and rush him. As they go, Watchdog dives forward with a twist before grabbing one man by the face and slamming his head into the floor followed by a rollover and a quick turn towards the other two he passed. One pulls out a baton like weapon with electricity coming from it while the other points a gun at him.

The man with the gun starts shooting while Watchdog dodges and jumps off the walls making his way towards him. The man with the baton rushes forward and swings at him as Watchdog lands in front of him. He misses a couple times as Watchdog dodges then strikes him in the face upwards. The man with the gun stopped shooting due to his partner rushing in the way he did. Watchdog then strikes the baton wielding man with both fists in the chest which sends him flying back, knocking into the man with the gun.

Before the gunman can regain his footing and look back, Watchdog rushes him and grabs his wrist, pointing the gun up, and jabs him in the throat causing the man to collapse. Watchdog empties the bullet and clip from the handgun before dropping it and looking back over his shoulder.

"They don't seem to know where they're going anymore than I do."

He observes while catching his breath for a moment. He then winces, noticing a gunshot wound in his lower left side. He sighs a bit in disappointment before continuing to run down the hall.