Rivals

A Hassle

(Myura's POV)

"What the? Have you gone crazy or something? Why're you asking me to be the decoy?" Maiko blurted out. She felt flustered.

"Because I said so." Jackie replied with an attitude. "Come on Maiko, we ain't got no time for this drama." Jackie's response made her even more angry.

"Oh my! Do you think I'm your puppet or something?" She sounded hurt this time.

"No! You don't understand. We're a team."

"So what!? Why are you targeting me?"

"Targetting you!? You're saying that I am targetting you!????"

"Shut the hell up, you idiots!" Ayako silenced them.

"Good job, you two. Quite an entertainment." I said with sarcasm. "Now shall we procede with the mission? I think I should leave you with your plans, Jackie."

"Aghhhh," She groaned, "Alright, fine! Do whatever you want. I'm going my own way!" Without waiting for a reply, she ran out of the lane without turning back at us. I could see the tears in her eyes though.

What an arrogant idiot. I sighed, Look at that attitude of hers, like she can crumble the Earth. And now she's upset for a stupid reason.

I realized that all of them were glaring at me expectantly. "Oh, I guess I'll have to lead then." Gazing out the lane, I said, "We'll let Jackie be for a while. Let's go home."

"Go. . . Home?" Ayako questioned. "What about the attacker?"

"Oh, I already tied him up." Maiko said. He was gagged and tied all around, from head to toe. His funny expression was quite entertaining.

It was surprising how an amateur like him was sent to attack us. Whosoever did this, their main purpose was to test our abilities. Guess Jackie just messed that part up. Or. . . Did she? She did mention about Maiko being a bait. I wonder what her plan was.

Just then, I heard a whimper.

"No. . . This can't be happening." A desperate voice said, "Jayden is. . . His life is in danger."

"What the?" Ayako backed down. The blondie had just spoken up.

"Who removed his gag?" Maiko questioned in a demanding way.

"I did." Ayako raised her voice, "He's been trying to say something since long."

She stared at the blank face of blondie. Okay, I should stop calling him that.

"Oi, what's your name?"

"I-It's Cyno."

"Cute name!" Maiko remarked, "I hope we could've met somewhere else in a different situation, you know." She winked.

Oh seriously, does she think it's gonna work?

Cyno looked away, refusing to interact.

"Now, don't be a naughty boy. Tell us what you know. . . About Jayden." As soon as she mentioned Jayden, I could see Cyno shiver with fear.

"Let him relax, you guys." Riko ushered usus into a corner. "You guys sit and have an ice cream. Bring me and Cyno some, too."

"Thanks for the help, Riko. I really appreciate it." I smiled.

At least someone in our team wasn't fighting! "We'll leave you at it. By the time you interrogate him, we'll try to gather intel from other sources. See you."

(Jayden's POV)

Things are getting out of hand. With so many close calls, I think I need to come up with something better. Ayako is way more difficult than I assumed. She must be stopped, no matter what.

I sighed heavily and sank in my couch. Rubbing my temples, I raced my mind back to all the events that had occurred.

She might seem innocent at the first impression. Though, there's still a lot more to her than that. Using her for the mission's sake is something risky. . .

I got up, changed into something casual and jogged out of my house. I needed to think this through, I can't always just remove her memories. Besides, I didn't even know how my powers worked, they were just there.

I decided I should head towards the park. That way I could avoid attention.

But I was damn wrong.

"Hey, Jayden?" A girl in sporty wear approached me. She looked familiar, though I couldn't exactly remember where I'd seen her.

When she saw my confused face, she stuck out her hand and said, "I'm Jackie, pleased to meet you. I believe we met at MacDonald's before, you know, that day." She giggled sheepishly.

"Oh, so you're Ayako's friend?" I shook hands and beamed brightly.

I noticed something. When I mentioned Ayako's name, her face grew serious, like she got reminded of something which she didn't want to hear.