The Light in this Dark World (Kenji Kishimoto x reader)

Alex Wade

"Come on, you were a little hard on her."

"No, I wasn't!"

I raised an eyebrow at Kenji.

"I'm sorry you're crying, but I'm not sorry I asked. It's my job to constantly be thinking of our safety, and that means I have to look at every possible angle," I mocked him.

"Well, I didn't say it like that," he defends. "We are talking as we prepare for tomorrow's mission." A.K.A. going to the supply rooms and checking on what's low

"Ok, how about But that does not make me your clown or your babysitter. At the end of the day, I do not give two shits whether or not you and Kent are going steady. We have a million things to take care of down here, and less than none of them involve your love life."

"Damn, that does sound mean. Do you think I sounded like a jackass?" He pauses counting boxes of cotton swabs and looks over at me for a serious answer.

"Well, um, you sounded very...," I pause as I look for the right word.

"Passionate"

"Uh-oh," he says, and flings his head on a cot.

Life has been tense. After Juliette had her tantrum, everyone has been walking on eggshells around her, and that was only made worse after she freaked out and Adam was sent to the medical wing. Hopefully now things will change as she gets out on the field for her first mission. She will see what Omega Point stands for and will finally try to help the cause. Today, me and Winston are sitting at the table in the conference room making bets on Ian and Lily when Kenji comes in and Juliette follows. Her eyes are as wide as saucers, but I think she calmed down a little when she saw her friends there.

9or at least attempted to be) and walked over to our table.

"Hey, sunshine," Kenji said, plopping down next to me and wrapping one of his arms around my shoulders.

"Hey dork," I said, leaning into him, then gasped as I saw him steal my coffee cup and wince as he drank its contents.

"Damn," he said and grimaced.

"You really need to stop drinking black coffee; that sh*t is nasty."

"You're the one to talk. "You need to stop drinking other people's beverages!" I grabbed the mug from him.

Castle gestures for Kenji to stand up and speak, and I sink back into the shadows. Winston and Juliette strike up a conversation about how Kenji is unnecessarily dramatic.

I pull at the itchy sweater on my neck and look at my RR card. I've been going on these missions since I was 14 and have begged Castle to let me go out on the field, but that still hasn't lessened my anxiety. I read over the name on my RR card, "Alex Wade." I put my card away and tapped my fingers against my side. Kenji reaches over and takes my hand in his, and I relax a little bit more. I see Juliette walking by, and I put my other hand on her covered shoulder in what I hope is a reassuring way. I can only hope she adjusts well to the outside world. When I was a kid, I could go outside and see wildflowers growing, hear birds singing, and walk to the store.

Without a dumb ID card, the first time I stepped outside after getting to Omega Point, I almost burst into tears.

When we get to the end of the tunnels, the castle does what he requires us to do every time we say our name. ID. Age. Sector and occupation. I zone out until it gets to Kenji's turn. Kenji doesn't wait for a prompt when he says,

"Hiro Yamasaki, 8891-11DX. Age twenty. Sector 45, Artillery, 13A-XC2." then castle looks at me

"Alex Wade, 1739-83DJ "I am 19, agriculture 34H-ZR6, and I live in sector 45," he says, then nods and looks over to Juliette, who answers the questions without hesitating. I silently high-fived her, and then we all held our breath as the doors to the outside opened.