Heart of the Infiltrators

by MordinofSolus

Senran Kagura x Male Insert - Amidst the turn of the modern era, a young man is forcibly contracted to cure twenty shinobi of a mental ailment known as distortion, caused by the corrupted blood of Yōma. As time goes on, the long hidden societies of the world are forced to come out into the public spotlight when they are pitted against one another.

24. Chapter 24: Bubbling Havoc

Heart of the Infiltrators

(Senran Kagura x Male Reader)

Chapter 24: Bubbling Havoc

After the third day of enduring her punishment, Yumi finally began to settle into her routine as the de facto janitor of Gessen Academy. Of course, it sucked the heart right out of her on the two previous days. One could only stand mopping hallway floors, scraping the grease out of stoves, and polishing toilets for so long. But, once she'd finally solidified a schedule for herself and got around to truly appreciating the bell at the end of the day, Yumi ultimately bit the bullet and took all of her new duties on in stride. Even when her sisters offered to help, she politely turned them away and went about her work without a second thought. After all, in her mind, it was not only a start to making right of all the wrongs that her distortion caused… but it was a point of justification for her to pursue her interest in the young man.

"I don't get it," mumbled Minori shortly after school had ended. Beside her sat Yumi, who'd given a halfhearted explanation as to why she wasn't accepting help.

"Sorry, Minori," the older sister said with a cheery smile as she polished all of the smudges on a window away, "but I'm not very sure how else to put it to words."

Tilting her body to the side, the pigtailed girl scratched a bit at her forehead before clasping her hands together and swiveling her arms back and forth in thought. Once she found what she wanted to ask, her innocent voice came, "Why not just confess to him? I don't think you need to clean toilets alone just to date him."

Once the first few words came out of the girl's mouth, Yumi immediately began to shake and fidget before rushing out her words, "Because these things take time!" But, after taking a moment to breath and hearing Minori's second sentence, the girl cooled her head and replied in a much calmer manner, "It isn't so much that I think doing all of this cleaning means I can date him… It's more a matter of… proving I'm… responsible, I suppose?"

Minori's eyes drooped as she tentatively uttered, "Responsible?"

"Oh, you know what I mean," chattered Yumi as she turned back to the window, hoping to starve the discussion.

"No, not really…"

After letting out a brief sound of frustration, Yumi sucked in some air before she set down her towel and stated, "Well… okay, maybe it's not so much to prove I'm responsible as much as I am… accountable."

"I still don't get it."

Blowing a humored breath of air at her little sister's response, Yumi said with a steadily growing smile on her face, "Bear with me for a moment. You agree that people like honesty, right?"

Nodding her head, Minori began to say, "Uh-huh, that sounds right-" before clapping her hands together and shouting the young man's name, "That's part of the reason you like him, right? He seems pretty honest."

Nodding along as her sister seemed to catch on to where she was going, Yumi closed her eyes and cheerfully enunciated, "Indeed, he is," and began to cheerfully gush, "Even if it was a rough start, his intentions and efforts never bore us harm."

Bobbing her body up and down in agreement, the shorter girl froze for a moment before quirking a brow, "But what does that have to do with you doing all the cleaning by yourself?"

"As an honest person," Yumi started as the smile on her face only bolstered, "I've no doubt that he believes in people being accountable for their mistakes. So, if he hears about or somehow sees me taking on the punishment I've been doled-"

"I see now!" cried Minori as her face beamed in enlightenment.

"Not so loud."

"He'll see you being responsible and he'll like you for it!"

"Not so- oh well, you're done yelling. Anyways," Yumi said as the smile reignited itself on her face, "You're not far off. He'll see me fulfilling the tasks I've been given and, yes, see that I'm being responsible and accountable. By that, I'll probably be fitting one of his ideal imaginings of a desirable woman. Now to say someone, let's say Asuka-"

"According to Shiki," Minori interrupted with a raised hand, "she was pretty clingy during your guys' sing-a-long session."

Remembering for herself just how much the brunette kept vying for the young man's attention, Yumi's eyes briefly turned dull and lamenting before she shook herself and stated, "Maybe a bit, but that's just Asuka being who she is: welcoming and loving," before averting her eyes and continuing, "But, let's say that she held an interest in him. Do you think he'd reciprocate any advances she'd potentially make? She, who combated him and likely is on a pedestal of uneasiness for him? But, if I made an advance, I think he would be much more comfortable. After all, by taking on this punishment by myself and refusing help, I'm fully accepting that I was in the wrong despite how heavily distorted I was… in a way, I'd be saying 'You were right in coming after me the way you did, I hold no ill will against you' and such. Don't you think he'd be much more open to me?"

Minori had to take a moment for herself to put all of the logic together before scratching at her chin, "Well, I guess when you put it that way-"

"It's pretty irrelevant."

Yumi and Minori jumped from their spots with loud yelps of surprise before turning to the doorway to find Yozakura with a dubious expression. The former took in a breath of air before turning back to wipe the windows, "Try not to scare us like that in the future, please…" before she began to process what the blue-haired girl said. After a quick moment of thought, Yumi turned back and asked, "And what do you mean? Does my logic not make too much sense?"

"Well, there's that…" Yozakura shrugged before bringing up her phone with a pitying frown, "But, your primary concern may be a couple of texts I've gotten…"

"Oh?" Yumi turned back with a curious glow to her eye before asking, "Could you read them?"

As the two were talking, Minori peered her eyes onto Yozakura's phone before her face fell into confusion. She blinked a few times and turned up to her sister in order to ask, "Why is Ryōna almost naked in this picture?"

Having failed to realize the smaller girl was so close, Yozakura shrieked a short noise of embarrassment before pulling the phone out of view, "That's Ryōna being a perverted Ryōna! Never mind that. Yumi, your primary concern will be what she had to say."

The addressed girl nodded her head before urging, "Go on. I'm listening to you."

Taking a moment to clear her throat, Yozakura was about to begin reading but then Minori's finger scrolled further up into the messages. Before she could be stopped, the girl asked innocently, "What's so special about 'putting the bottle-shaped thing in' with Miyabi's crush?"

Yozakura let out a frustrated yap and was about to dismiss whatever Minori had seen before she spotted their older sister's expression. Covering up her reddened face with a flattened hand, Yumi tutted, "What a scandal… I never thought Ryōna would so actively pursue her leader's crush in such a way." Before any corrections could be made, the girl continued with a sly smile, "But, of all people, that does sound believable. If you don't mind me gossiping with you two, who is Miyabi's crush?"

"It's a misunderstanding!" Yozakura cried, "I asked Miyabi for clarification! She said they were talking about a water bottle! Ryōna only drank a water bottle!"

The other two simultaneously let out a hushed, "Oh."

Needing to take a breath after the suggestive dialogue, the blue-haired girl paused for a moment before stating, "Getting past Ryōna's antics, the major thing is that a certain someone has taken part in a jog with the rest of Hebijo. Do you know who?"

Yumi raised her head and brought a hand up to stroke her chin before making the connection. A few gushy thoughts ran through her mind before she closed her eyes and said cheerfully, "Yup, I heard about that on the sidewalk shortly before Shiki and I left the group last night. It was a bit unfortunate, seeing as I, myself, was going to invite him out but… my time will come eventually."

Casting a doubtful look at her sister, Yozakura shook her head, "Actually, if you don't act, that time may not come."

Hearing those challenging words, Yumi's eyes shot open and narrowed with deep-rooted interest, "Speak openly, please. What do you mean?"

As the scrutinizing gaze of Yumi settled in, the blue-haired girl was about to speak before she turned to find Minori also staring at her. While the younger sister steadily pressed her face forward only to have it gently pushed back, Yozakura answered, "According to Ryōna and a few pictures she's taken… Miyabi may have a crush on him…"

From where Yumi was wiping the window, the sound of glass crackling could be heard. Yumi didn't even blink for a moment before letting out a calm breath of air to ask, "Well… I suppose he saved her too… It's only natural that she gains such an appreciation."

While the girl next to her was effectively put off and a bit scared by the ice queen's apparent indifference, Minori raised her hand and asked, "Aren't you worried that she'll confess to him and become his girlfriend before you do?"

Again, Yumi froze and the sound of the crackling glass only intensified. Still, she only took a breath and calmly replied with a smile, "Not terribly. After all, Miyabi probably isn't much to his tastes. Getting past her undoubtably more awkward mannerisms when she tries to be intimate, from what I've seen with her team, I doubt her lack of elegance could compete with me."

After a moment of silence, Minori pointed to a photo on the phone, "Well, with what she's wearing, Miyabi may be trying to compete with looks."

Letting out a brief cry of surprise, Yumi launched herself forward at the phone while begging, "Let me see! Let me see! I need to know what I'm going up against!"

But Yozakura only kept the phone away while shouting, "Not now! There's more! There's more!" as she jumped back and forth, trying desperately to keep her older sister calm and out of reach.

Yumi was shaking but managed to stop herself and put a weak smile back on her face. After a moment of thought, she murmured with heavy doubt, "Well… it's not as though he's one to be attracted to looks alone… So long as no one else acts… I should be fine."

"See, that's the thing…" whispered Yozakura in great fear for her life, "I was texting with Katsuragi today and she told me that Asuka was going to lead them all to his place-"

The sound of a large piece of glass shattering into a thousand pieces could be heard echoing through the hallways.

For a few ominous seconds, Yumi only stared with wide eyes as her head began to uncontrollably shake in a mix of fear and fury. Once she gripped her hands into fists, Yozakura waved her hand at Minori to guide her out of the room and take cover. Finally, once her two sisters were evacuated to a safe distance, Yumi let out a frightening shriek before throwing her hands up to her face and accidentally smacking herself with the towel that she was just using to clean the windows, thankfully without cutting herself with a shard of glass.

As frustration and fear turned into a determined anger, Yumi smacked the rag down to the floor before stomping her way out of the room. Waiting for her outside was Yozakura and Minori, both quivering in each other's arms out of fear for whatever their sister may do. They looked up into her fierce glare and the dreadful premonition of death ran cold through their veins. In a low and emotionless tone, Yumi asked, "Would you two be willing to help me with something?" Once the two nodded their heads, Yumi turned her murderous eyes forward before viciously declaring, "Good! Brace yourselves, girls!" before balling up a fist and throwing it into the air with all of the rage brewing within her heart, "Tonight, we're going shopping!"

It wasn't too long after Yumi's resounding declaration that Asuka led the rest of the Hanzō elite over to the young man's residence, where they found his broken door and an empty apartment that they suspected of being robbed. Fortunately, after some bits of panic and drama, the young man arrived and managed to clear up the misunderstanding without uttering a single word after his initial greeting. Unfortunately, the way he went about that was by giving all five of the girls a horribly sour look.

As all of them kneeled next to one another on the floor and kept their eyes down, they could feel the young man's piercing glare ripping into the top of their heads. Not even when he moved to leave a plastic bag of items on the counter did anyone look up for fear of what horror they may find. Regrettably, Asuka dared to peek up her eyes so that she could say something but she instantly regretted it. The young man's lips were pulled tightly and toppled any grimace that would dare challenge him. On occasion, he'd take a long breath of air into his nose before blowing it out over the course of a few seconds. Most effective, as was usual with the young man, was the earthshaking glare from his sharp and narrow eyes. As far as any of the girls had seen, those eyes didn't blink when angered. All they did was watch and invoke the same level of shame as hearing a parent say: "I'm not angry… I'm just disappointed."

Asuka's eyes darted back to the floor as that same terrible feeling fully rang through her again. If it weren't for Katsuragi's voice mumbling, "To be fair, what were supposed to think when we saw the broken door?" then everyone else would have been stuck under a thunderous glare for hours to come.

The young man's condescending voice rang back, "You had my number. Call me."

Nobody really blamed him for being angry. Not even Katsuragi and Ikaruga, who'd silently withdrawn their previous promises of forgiveness once they realized the young man hadn't been robbed. The girls had invaded his home unannounced and had thrown a wrench into whatever he had planned for himself for the day.

Even still, Katsuragi felt as though his reaction was a bit too harsh considering the lack of maliciousness in their deed. But, based on the suppressive look that Ikaruga gave her, it wasn't time to voice defiance. Instead, the blonde kept her head down and murmured, "If you don't mind me asking…"

The young man's response was immediate, "Go ahead."

Katsuragi pointed to the busted door, "What happened there?"

For a few seconds, he didn't respond and just continued to try and hold his glare. But, after the young man sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, everyone looked up just as he replied, "In all honesty, I was hoping to ask you guys about it during our meet up at Han- sorry, Asuka's grandfather's restaurant. But I didn't get the opportunity and I guess…" By that point, he'd averted his eyes with a lace of embarrassment, "I'm kind of adjusted to it at this point."

At that statement, everyone else felt their faces fall into confusion. A moment of silence took and held the room until Yagyū asked, "Aren't you afraid of thieves?"

Turning his head away, the young man replied in a level voice, "Some clothes, a futon… simple utensils… there isn't much to steal."

Ikaruga stood up on her feet and took a step forward to press, "But there are still people in the world who would steal those. You know that, right?"

Arcing his torso away while leaning back and forth on the balls of his feet, the young man replied, "Of course."

"So why didn't you do anything to fix it?"

Not wanting the tables to be turned on him by home invaders, the young man huffed a rebellious breath and straightened his body to face forward again. With a bit more volume than he intended, he defended his lack of security by stating, "I've been trying to reach Jasmine about it! She hasn't picked up nor returned any of my calls!" before closing his mouth and blowing some feisty air through his teeth. Realizing quickly just how much of a child he must have come off as, the young man quickly tried to change the subject by turning to Asuka and asking, "In relation to that, is your grandmother alright? Have you spoken with her?"

Dropping the subject of the smashed door, Asuka lifted her head in thought as she began to reply, "Well, we did so by text. But we don't really talk-" before she was interrupted by Ikaruga.

"Replace it yourself in the meantime. Just ask her to reimburse you later," came the rebuttal.

To that, the young man's upper eyelids fell with a sarcastic glint before he strode over to his bag of clothes in the corner. He bent down and ruffled through it before producing a small pouch. He brought it over before stating, "These are all of my savings," and proceeded to open the bag up to reveal a few rolls of cash, "Now, how much would you estimate it to cost for a new door?"

Just as Ikaruga was about to retort, Hibari had already taken out her phone to do a brief search on the internet, "Sorry. I'll have an average in a moment."

"Take you time," came the young man's straightforward words.

After a bit more tapping and searching, the pink-haired girl finally nodded her head before turning to the rest of the group, "About fifty thousand to fifty-five thousand yen."

"That's what I found too…," grumbled the young man before throwing the pouch back at his clothes bag, "and, as of today, it is officially beyond what my budget can do."

To that remark, everyone's heads turned to face him with a bit of alarm. No one uttered a sound in fear that they would bring some kind of offense to the young man, who's overall demeanor was still unreadable. But, after a moment of reflection and remembrance, Ikaruga stammered, "But… wait. The other day on the sidewalk, you didn't sound fazed at all when you said replacing your glasses would be about fifty thousand yen."

The young man scratched at his cheek before stating, "Well, I wasn't but… At the time, I had expected I'd be able to reach Jasmine by now. But," he gestured over to the plastic bag of items on the counter, "after purchasing what I needed to fix up my glasses, I'm sitting at thirty thousand yen… and I'm still without a proper door."

Once he was done speaking, everyone else lowered their heads as Yagyū asked curiously, "So, you had the money to replace the door before today? But you decided to repair your glasses instead?"

Without a hint of regret or shame, the young man faced her and nodded his head, "They both serve the same purpose, that being security. It's just that one, the door, serves to keep out burglars while the other, the glasses, serves to keep me wary of observing shinobi… I'll let you guess which one I consider more dangerous and deserving of attention."

Seeing the logic to his words, Ikaruga nodded her head before turning over to the bag of items the young man had brought in. After a moment of consideration, she turned her head over to ask if she could peek inside but, much to her surprise, the young man was already waving his hand for her to go ahead. Unsure of what to expect, the raven-haired girl took a few steps forward with Asuka and Katsuragi following closely behind. In the meantime, Yagyū had taken Hibari and huddled toward a corner in fear of whatever may be inside. After all, if the glasses were powerful enough to sense shinobi barriers then who knew what capabilities it had in an unrefined state?

With a great mix of eagerness and caution, Ikaruga took her final step and reached her hands forward to open the plastic bag. Behind her, the young man urged her on sarcastically, "It's not a bomb. Just open the friggin' thing." Pushed a bit by his words, the senior-most member of the Hanzō elite clasped her hands onto the bag and parted the hem before feeling her jaw go slack in shock.

Everything inside was perfectly ordinary and unremarkable. Inside, there was a new smartphone, which had no doubt taken the bulk of the cost, sitting beside a pair of reading glasses. Sticking together in one corner of the bag was a small bottle of invisible ink and electronically heated mittens. There was no arsenal of tools nor a piece of super powerful hardware that was capable of bringing the Japanese government to its knees. Instead, there was only four common everyday items.

Katsuragi was the first to turn around and speak with dulled eyes, "Alright, quit screwing with us. I thought you said you were replacing your glasses."

"I am replacing my glasses," replied the young man.

"No, no, no," came Asuka as she dashed forward with a forced smile. She stopped in front of the boy, who had reeled his head back in caution, before she took both of his hands and clasped them between hers and gave them a firm squeeze. After closing her eyes in the most charming way she could muster, the brunette iterated, "No, no. We mean the special~," she dragged the word for more than a few seconds, "glasses that you used to spot our shinobi barriers. The super glasses that void our techniques in stealth. Those~," she held that word for an exaggerated few seconds too, "super-duper glasses."

"Yes," replied the young man frankly, "I'm replacing those."

"And how are you going to do so?" asked Asuka sweetly.

"With the materials in the bag."

"Your clothes bag?"

"No, the bag you guys just looked through. That one there."

"You liar!" cried the brunette as she gripped her hands onto the young man's elbows to shake him back and forth while tears rolled down her cheeks, "I can't believe you'd go back to lying to us after everything!"

As his head rocked back and forth with an unmoved expression, the young man replied as Asuka continued to waggle his body, "I already told you that it was fairly cheap to make… considering what it is."

"Bu-, but I thought you'd be getting a whole bunch of materials! Like some metal here, a hammer and some nails there… something other than those simple things!"

"What good would a hammer and nails do for making a pair of glasses?"

As Asuka continued to express her complete disbelief, everyone else was still pulling themselves together. Based on the lack of a humorous expression on the young man's face, they could only presume that he was telling the truth. The item to trump supernatural shinobi stealth, a pair of seemingly advanced glasses that superseded all other forms of effective shinobi radar, could be made using four simple household items. Frankly, the lot of them wanted to make like Asuka and begin an interrogation to see if there was something that they were missing.

Then a desirable proposition came after Asuka cried, "No! I refuse to believe that such a thing can be built with those items! Not something that deprives shinobi of their ability to hide!"

"Would you like to watch me do so?"

The moment they heard the offer, all five of the shinobi lined up and leaned themselves toward the young man in excitement, simultaneously declaring, "Yes!"

After a few blinks, the boy let out a sigh and gestured for them to follow him outside. From there, they went down toward Jasmine's workshop around the back of the building. Though the young man assured them a few times that it wouldn't be anything spectacular, the five girls were quivering in anticipation for whatever was to come. Ultimately, there was no settling them after they realized they'd get to see what few other shinobi had ever seen before.

Meanwhile, Homura had just arrived back into the cave that she called home after a long day of work. Same as the day before, she'd moved furniture and heaved heavy items up and down flights of stairs. But, also like the day before, she was still rife with an insatiable urge to fight. Of course, it wasn't the sort of urge that could be filled by a spar with her teammates. In fact, even if she dueled Asuka, Homura was sure that her desire wouldn't be fulfilled unless she took the fight to one particular individual: the young man.

Despite knowing and regarding him as a pacifist, the tanned girl couldn't help but find herself curious about how a match between him and herself would go. Perhaps it would go like Yomi and Hikage had betted on: the young man would be easily toppled and thrown onto his back while Homura sighed from how easy the match was. Or, if Mirai and Haruka were to be believed, perhaps he would have an arsenal of dirty cards up his sleeve to keep the match on even grounds. But, based on a conversation she had with Yumi at the sushi restaurant, Homura believed the young man would either win or would fight until he lost consciousness.

By the way the ice queen recounted her fight with the young man, it was more than evident that he was just as tenacious and unbending as he was in the alleyway when he refused to surrender himself to the shinobis peacefully. With every detail of how he apparently observed, broke down, and bent the fight to his advantage, Homura couldn't help but fantasize that she would have a match to par with her fight against Asuka some months back. Perhaps it would even be better

In the depths of her imagination, Homura foresaw an epic battle in the fields beyond the city's outskirts. On one end would be her, wielding her six katanas while flexing her great strength; on the other end would be the young man, raising his arms while his glaring eyes took in every bit of his opponent's technique. The fantasy of such a battle was grand enough but, as Homura thought about how the real-life encounter would go, she couldn't help but believe that such an event would shake the cosmos from how epic it would be.

Then, just as her daydream was getting to the good part where she and the young man would trade their first mighty blows against one another, Homura's thought bubble was blown apart as Mirai sassed, "I can tell what you're thinking… and I think you're blowing it out of proportion."

Though she was irritated to be taken out of her fantasy world, Homura replied without a hint of aggression, "We both know that you don't have as refined a taste for combat as I do… and the battle that I foresee…" The girl trembled a bit as she smiled, "It will be a good fight. The next time we meet, I'll challenge him and it will be a good fight."

"I don't think he'll accept," stated Hikage as she was curled up like a cat on her chair.

"I have to agree," noted Yomi as she continued to prepare a beansprout stir-fry from the farther end of the cave, "I don't mean to be a spoilsport, but he's a pacifist."

"It's not like he needs to punch me," grumbled Homura as she stretched herself out on the couch, "It's like Yumi said: he managed to subdue her and even used her own fan to get offensive. He's not helpless, in case you didn't notice the wound he left on Yumi's head."

"She said that was an accident," Mirai argued before she shook her head and stated, "Plus, she probably blew her description out of proportion."

"What makes you say that?" asked Homura as she quirked a brow in confusion.

"Well," Haruka chimed with a sultry smile as she suddenly appeared and rested her hand on Mirai's shoulder, scaring the poor girl, "Yumi was rather excited when it came to recounting the story. I'd say she even got a bit too into it when it came to him trying to get on top of her."

"You're saying something tinged with lewdness, toots," growled Mirai as she tried to pull herself out of the older girl's grip, "Let me go!"

Ignoring her comrade as she tried to pull away, Haruka continued, "Plus… there is the other matter at hand."

Homura straightened herself on the couch and rested her chin onto her hands, "What other matter?"

"That Yumi loves that boy, of course."

Upon hearing the sentence, the leader of the renegades sucked in air to argue against the statement. However, just as she went to speak, Homura had forgotten to stop inhaling and began to choke on her breath. She heaved her chest and forced out a few coughs before Yomi approached her from behind and delivered a serious strike against her friend's back to blow out the remaining air.

After exchanging glances with the others while Homura took in a few deep breaths, Mirai eventually commented, "Why such a reaction? Haruka only said that Yumi loves him."

With her face having dug itself into her chair, Hikage's muffled voice rang, "Just like Homura likes Asuka."

Having managed to finally catch her breath, the tanned girl huffed a few times before raising a finger into the air to murmur, "Actually… and I have been thinking about this through the last few days, but I…" before her voice died in her throat.

As her friend's voice trailed off into silence, Mirai impatiently stamped her foot onto the ground and demanded, "Just get it out of the way. Whatever you have to say, it's probably nothing compared to what we've heard before… or seen, if we remember your dorky 'crab' performance."

"Shut up," mumbled Homura as she continued to wrack her mind for the right words on how she felt. It was difficult, considering that there were two things that should have come into complete conflict rolling around freely within her head. However, those same two things were peacefully coexisting. The only resulting detriment brought about was the shame that Homura felt once she tried to speak about her feelings.

At one point, as the tanned girl continued to struggle, Yomi placed a kind hand on her shoulder and softly declared, "Whatever it is, you know that it won't make us regard you any differently." As if to further emphasize her point, the blonde closed her eyes and clapped her hands together, "After all, you'll always be our Homura!"

Feeling energized by the encouraging words, the girl nodded her head before facing the rest of her team with their mix of nods and smirks. After bringing a smile onto her own face, Homura took a breath and thought her next sentence through. She was sitting in front of the people whom she regarded as family. However shameful her words would be, they would stand by her just like they had when they all rebelled against Dōgen. Without any more hesitation, Homura declared with a steady voice, "I really like Asuka and-"

"We already knew that," said everyone else nonchalantly.

But, as they began to settle from the declaration, Homura also uttered the young man's name shortly after she was done speaking. Haruka tilted her head as her small smile was replaced by a look of curiosity, "Sorry, what about him?"

"I like him too. Him and Asuka."

From outside the cave, a squirrel was beginning to guzzle some water from the river before Mirai and Yomi's cries echoed from out of the cave, "WHAT!?" and scared the little critter away. For the rest of the night, the whole area would continue to shake chaotically as yells and screams were exchanged between the renegades… except for Hikage, who remained mostly silent and slept in her chair through the whole ordeal.

At the same time those screams erupted, Katsuragi was letting out her umpteenth sigh from within Jasmine's workshop, "This is so boring."

Hunched over at the worktable, the young man retorted, "Saying that every other minute won't make it better," as he continued to gentle chisel away at the frame of the reading glasses with a mallet and screwdriver.

Off in the corner, he could hear Hibari breathing out a similar sigh while Yagyū tried to desperately keep the girl entertained by making bizarre and cartoonish requests, "Could you be a little… flashier while making that? Maybe juggle something or tell some jokes?"

"Yagyū," came Hibari's low voice as complete dullness and boredom seeped into her features, "let's bear with it for a bit longer. Something interesting is bound to happen… soon." But the white-haired girl ignored her and continued to ask for ridiculous feats and stunts, much to the young man's silent frustration. Meanwhile, unlike the rest of their peers, Asuka and Ikaruga continued to watch with genuine interest.

Despite how slow the process was going, the two leading figures of the Hanzō Academy elite were immediately hooked once they saw the young man clap his hands in anticipation at the very beginning of the assembly. Their eyes barely blinked as he plugged the electrically heated mittens into their charger while he placed the tools he'd need at precise points around the table. At that moment, he was working with the tools closest to him, the mallet and screwdriver, to carefully chip away the edges of the reading glasses' frame to get into the hollowed interior. At his flank, the young man had already popped out the lenses and set them beside the opened bottle of invisible ink with a thin paintbrush dipped inside. Off to the farthest side was the smartphone that he bought, connected by a wire to his personal phone as a particular file was copied over. Much to Ikaruga and Asuka's shock, the file itself was about twenty-four gigabytes in size. As such, they began to reasonably question the young man on how much storage his phone could hold. Frustratingly, he only replied, "More than average…" before he redoubled himself in his effort to chip away the glasses' frame.

But, regardless of how interesting the process was for the two shinobi, Katsuragi was still not pleased with all of the sitting around that she was doing. Once another two minutes had passed, she obnoxiously asked, "Is it almost over yet? Please, just do something interesting or set something on fire…"

"The door is open," grumbled the young man, "If you don't want to stick around, please feel free to head out."

Still bored out of her mind, the blonde gazed over at Asuka before a mischievous look came upon her face. Tiptoeing up to the girl's back, Katsuragi was about to unleash her hands to grope the unwary target before Ikaruga swatted her hands away and growled, "Not now. We're trying to pay attention," before turning back to watch one side of the frame pop off.

As the young man proceeded to take off the other, the blonde let out a sigh of relief before saying, "Oh good, you've finished with those things," and eagerly began rub her hands together, "This is where the fun starts, right?"

Upon hearing her words, Hibari and Yagyū stood up and eagerly began to step forward to watch whatever was to come next.

"Actually," mumbled the young man as he lifted the phone to check on the file's copy and paste, "Now's the part where I dress the lenses."

Katsuragi froze and tilted her head with a stupid smile on her face, "What?"

Not turning to face her as he reached for the brush dipped in invisible ink, the young man further elaborated, "I'm going to apply a light layer of ink onto the lenses. Once that's done, I'm going to slide them into the mittens and let them stay covered and warm for twenty-four hours."

"What does the ink do?" Asuka enthusiastically asked with sparkly eyes.

"It's a reactant," said the young man while he began to gently stroke away at one of the lenses, "The best way to put it is, once the program on my phone- wait, I didn't tell you about that. The program is a… well, I'm not the one who wrote it but it's an EXE file that automatically launches when it detects- no, the lenses detect it once they're connect to-"

"Slow down," ordered Ikaruga as the young man began to stammer off, "How about you just tell us the process of how a shinobi barrier is detected. Save the really technical details for another day."

After letting out a grumbly noise of embarrassment and mumbling, "Sorry," the boy took a moment to think out his words before slowly explaining, "When the energy emissions of a shinobi barrier are within the lenses' line of sight, they'll be connected to the circuitry that'll be taken from the phone and installed into the glasses' frames. Once the program in there registers the emissions, it'll send trace amounts of electricity, generated by tiny little mechanisms inside, to the ink, which will light up and show the shinobi barrier in question with a semi-transparent white light."

As her eyes still shined with curiosity, Asuka raised her hand and questioned, "Is this what the first infiltrators did to hunt shinobi?"

"No," replied the young man immediately as he moved onto the second lens, "Originally, it was some kind of European glass that they imported and smelted. Overall, the glasses from back then were actually really ineffective and were hardly used… despite the assurances of some that they were the only weapon infiltrators had."

"So, how did these glasses come to be?" asked Ikaruga.

With an empathetic shake of his head and an awkward frown, the boy could only reply, "Unfortunately, I only know what these are and the basics of how they work. As for who created them, how… even the details of the program that's used… all of that's a mystery to me too."

"As interested as I should be," Katsuragi called as she sank to the floor, "I'm still just so sick of this build-it-yourself mumbo-jumbo."

By that point, Yagyū and Hibari had already retreated back to their corner. Despite how annoyed he was with the rude member of his audience, the young man wasn't at all angry with the disinterested response. Thus, while maintaining an expressionless look, he peeked at the new smartphone to confirm whether the copy and paste had been successful. Once he saw that it was completed, he mumbled a few incoherent things under his breath before unplugging his personal phone and offering it to Katsuragi, "There's a whole bunch of music on here. I've got a cloud player back in the apartment, stored in the clothes bag, if you'd like to go DJ for yourselves."

After snapping her eyes back and forth from the young man to the offered phone, Katsuragi quickly snatched it from his hands, "Thank you so much, you merciful angel!" before darting for the door with Yagyū and Hibari cheerfully following right behind.

"We'll be following after you in around five minutes," called the boy before he sighed and turned back to Asuka and Ikaruga, who'd decided to stay, "Once I get to drying the lenses, all that'll be left will be for me to deactivate the new phone and dismantle it. Everything else can be done a different day."

"We'll stick around with you," chipped Asuka, "I'd like to see the rest of this."

The young man grunted a noise of approval at her before turning to Ikaruga, who only nodded her head. Thus, after placing the lenses in the electric mittens to dry at a safe and controlled temperature, he went about tapping his fingers on the new phone before it turned off. Under his breath, he muttered, "We'll need to wait a bit for all of the power to die out. I don't want to risk the program getting corrupted."

"The way you say it makes it sound ominous," noted Ikaruga, "Does something bad happen when the file gets corrupted?"

Before the young man could offer an answer, Asuka raised a finger to ask, "Would it cause the glasses to… I dunno, reverse the effect? If they're corrupted, that is?" Just when the boy went to answer, the brunette clapped her hands and asked, "That'd actually be pretty neat! We'd be able to track and hunt other infiltrators- not you- and keep them at bay… if they're a threat, of course… So, would any of that happen if the file got corrupted?"

The young man blinked once before stating, "No."

"Ah, I should've guessed," replied Asuka before rubbing her chin in thought. Then another idea popped into her head as she looked up and began to ask, "Would the program gain super-intelligence and-" only to be interrupted by the young man.

"If the file gets corrupted, it just becomes unusable. I'd have to repair and restart the phone from scratch, which is tedious, and then do the same copy and paste again… which is also tedious."

"Oh," replied the brunette with a great hint of disappointment.

"If you don't mind me asking," started the young man before he eyed the two shinobi warily, "Are either of you two- no, are any of you guys computer literate?" and watched as the two girls nodded their heads pridefully. After casting a doubtful look onto them, he asked, "Are any of you guys computer literate beyond just basic operations and files? Do you understand what RAM is or how to manage memory… any basic programing knowledge?"

The two shinobi felt their faces freeze and immediately fell into an embarrassed shame before Ikaruga shook her head, "I'm afraid there's only a few of us, like Shiki and Mirai. Maybe Murasaki too but… I don't know… None of us at Hanzō Academy, at least." The young man made an affirmative noise and turned back around to dismantle the phone after having confirmed that it had powered down. Though the raven-haired girl did feel a bit bad about her lack of knowledge, she felt even more curious about one particular thing. After a moment of silence, Ikaruga asked earnestly, "If it's fine with you, I'd like to know how you came to learn about all of this."

"Building the glasses, you mean?" came the reply.

The senior girl bit her lip before hesitantly elaborating, "Those… and, if it isn't too personal, everything else." Ikaruga knew that she was encroaching onto thin ice by asking that question, considering the young man would have likely been taught by his family. Perhaps she should've held back, considering how divided he was from them at that moment, but she still couldn't help but wonder. As a few seconds went by and the young man's head seemed to dwindle in thought, the girl began to believe that she had encroached into matters too personal for him.

But, much to her shock, the young man answered frankly, "Well, I learned the basic infiltrator stuff from my oldest brother…" before pausing for a moment and turning around to eye Asuka, "Not the one that I mentioned at your grandfather's restaurant." Once he took a moment to regain his bearings on the conversation, he continued, "But, I learned everything else from my grandfather."

"Oh?" Asuka leaned forward with a smile, "And what was he like?"

As a few memories passed over his face, the young man snorted a laugh before stating with a toothy smirk, "Well, he's a Scottish immigrant who asked to marry my grandmother without having proper knowledge on Japanese customs… so, I'd say he's a rather animated character, to say the least."

"You're part Scottish?" asked Ikaruga with a quirked brow, "I'll be honest, you don't look it."

But the young man just shook his head and answered, "No, we're not blood. He married my grandmother shortly after she had her last kid. He's technically my step-grandfather but," before letting out a short laugh, "he'll always be my grandfather, blood or no."

"Was he a drinker, at all?" asked Asuka as she mentally pictured an old man in a kilt with bagpipes and a bottle in hand.

"That's an Irish stereotype," noted the young man as he turned his head with a cross expression, "Scots are a bit more known for their anger and heavy accent."

"But was he a big drinker?" Asuka asked again.

"Why is that relevant?"

After taking a moment to scratch her cheek, the girl answered, "Well, I suppose I just can't help but imagine your grandfather being that way…? I guess?" before drooping her shoulders and sighing, "I don't know, I can't help but imagine an old guy with a bottle and some bagpipes."

"He can't play bagpipes," said the young man with a dull look on his face before raising a finger, "He can play a violin better than anyone I know but he can't play bagpipes."

"But is he a big drinker?"

Taking a moment to blink and avert his eyes, the boy finally answered, "Yes…"

While her underclasswoman clapped her hands in satisfaction, Ikaruga sighed and took a look at the worktable to check the young man's work. Between the drying lenses and the phone he was dismantling, it was extremely evident that he'd been well trained and practiced in crafting the glasses of an infiltrator. In the back of her mind, Ikaruga decided she'd like to meet the older man and even the older brother to discuss their perspectives on infiltrators being labeled terrorists. Then, just as she was about to ask something, Ikaruga spotted warmth settling onto Asuka's features. After taking a moment to think, she simply held her tongue and decided to let the scene play out.

"Well, regardless," Asuka started as she turned her eyes fell to the floor, "your grandfather taught you well…" before straightening her back and awkwardly yapping, "That is, from what I can see here! I don't know all the details on your guys' craft but it looks- eh, oh… organized and precise! That's it!"

The young man snorted as he nodded up at her and said with a soft smile, "It's appreciated… Thank you."

Since she wasn't used to being on the receiving end of his smiles in casual conversation, Asuka's face heated up a bit as she stumbled, "No-, it isn't, wasn't-, ah… it isn't a problem at all… You deserve a compliment or two after everything."

"What're you talking about?" asked the young man as he turned his eyes back to dismantling the phone, "I haven't done anything too noteworthy. I'm just doing what other people tell me to do. That's all there really is to it."

"You've fixed my distortion," Asuka said in a quiet voice, "That's noteworthy to me, even if no one else thinks so… Though I should say that other people do think so. You are noteworthy. To me, Ikaruga," she glanced up at the raven-haired girl and watched as a firm nod was her reply, "Homura, Yumi, and Miyabi too. And, even if some are still lacking some trust in you… everyone else still believes that you're good. So… don't say that you aren't noteworthy."

For Asuka to throw as many words together and make them as meaningful as she had, Ikaruga was both impressed and even a bit uplifted. But, when she turned to the young man, she saw his eyes falling down to the table without a hint of the focus that they had before. Once a moment of silence passed, he only replied, "Even still, I'm not entitled to any compliments so… don't worry about it."

The short brunette standing beside him seemed to pick up on his hint of gloominess. Without a second thought, she leaned over, wrapped her arms around his form, and gave a reassuring squeeze. The moment they made contact, the young man froze and stiffened his back as Asuka pressed herself into him. But, catching him even more off guard, Asuka went even further by craning her forehead into the side of his as she whispered, "I like you… so please accept my compliments."

Ikaruga's jaw would've dropped if she hadn't caught herself. The thought that Asuka, of all people, would confess her feelings just seemed so otherworldly. Certainly, the girl could be forward in her own way, aggressive in a fight, and even driven when in pursuit of some goal that was laid out before her. But, for some reason, Ikaruga just had so much trouble picturing Asuka as the one to confess first, considering the fact that Yumi and Miyabi were also potential contenders. After a moment of reflection and thought, the senior's eyes went to the expressionless young man to see how he would respond.

Then he dropped a nuke in a voice that was far more casual than it had the right to be, "I like you too. You're a good friend to me. You have been since that time in the infirmary. I'll… see if I can take your advice… Thanks again."

He had friend-zoned her. The young man had, quite visibly and deliberately, friend-zoned Asuka after she warmly professed her feelings to him. Part of Ikaruga felt like she should have been offended for the girl but, respecting whatever feelings the boy must've had on the matter, she checked her mouth and kept it shut as she turned to see Asuka. The girl, who had frozen once she had realized her confession was just blown off, seemed to physically stutter for a few moments before she, surprisingly, took on a look of relief.

Fortunately, just as the silence began to get a bit heavy, a thumping sound coming from somewhere on the floor above began to echo through the room. Feeling his eyes narrow and grimacing in response, the young man put down the phone that he was dismantling before heading for the door. As he passed Asuka and Ikaruga, he mumbled, "Let's go see what everyone else is getting into… I'll finish this another time."

Once he had passed through the workshop doors, Ikaruga turned her head over to Asuka and asked empathetically, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," the brunette sighed before taking on a smile, "It kind of hurt for a moment but, if I'm being honest, it's kind of relieving."

The senior unsurely bobbed her head up and down, "Really?"

In response, Asuka's face beamed a bit before she stated, "Yup. After all, it just means I need to say it another time."

After blinking her eyes once and twice, Ikaruga tilted her head, "What?"

"Well," Asuka said while closing her eyes and clasping her hands together, "since he misunderstood today, I'll just need to say it more clearly the next time I build up my courage."

The scene had become too unbelievable to be true. Yet it had still happened before Ikaruga's eyes. The young man had friend-zoned Asuka and, in turn, the girl genuinely thought that he had mistaken her words. As she proceeded to plot and think out her next means of confessing, Ikaruga rested a hand on Asuka's shoulder before asking sadly, "You said before that he called you a naif?"

"Huh?" Asuka blinked before rubbing the side of her head, "Well… yeah, back in the infirmary. I still don't know what it means exactly but he said it after-"

"Listen to my words, girl, and listen well…"

Shivering a bit from Ikaruga's stern voice, the brunette straightened up and curtly replied, "I'm listening."

The raven-haired girl shook her head before gripping Asuka's shoulder firmly, "You are a naif. Don't question it and don't argue against it."

"What? Huh- no, wait! Where are you going? What does that mean!?"

Ikaruga had already begun to walk away as Asuka tried to figure out what had just happened to her. But, after taking a bit more time than she intended and hurting her head amidst her pondering, the poor girl simply shrugged her shoulders with a groan before tailing after Ikaruga.

Meanwhile, the young man was just approaching his apartment door as he tried to suppress Asuka's confession from coming to mind. He couldn't focus on her, Miyabi, or Yumi's feelings. He knew there would be a massive problem if he dared to indulge himself in starting a relationship with any of them. So, without any other visible options, the young man just had to continue forward. His goals and objectives demanded that he forget what had happened and that he just move on with life…

But it certainly felt nice for him to be hugged… it felt really, really nice and comforting. Part of the young man wanted to ask for another… but, as he dutifully reminded himself, he couldn't do that. At that moment, that kind of thing just couldn't be for him. It was an absolute necessity that he had to abide by.

Thus, when he heard either Ikaruga or Asuka's footsteps clambering up the stairs, the young man dropped all of his thoughts and opened the door to his apartment. Then, as the sound of accordions and clapping hands filled the air, his eyes drooped a bit before he let a small laugh out of his mouth, "What…?" Quickly catching up to him, Asuka and Ikaruga saw the humored look on his face before peering inside. Immediately, the two girls needed to cover their mouths to keep themselves from laughing.

Dancing and clapping along to a Russian folk song, Yagyū and Hibari had hooked their arms together and danced in a circle while Katsuragi was bouncing her legs up and down with great enthusiasm. The three of them spun around, dosey doed, held hands, and just jumped around as bongos and flutes gave them a rhythm to dance to. And then, just as Yagyū dipped over Hibari with an ecstatic grin on her face, her one eye bulged after spotting the three people in the doorway. The white-haired girl froze in place just as Hibari and Katsuragi looked over and offered a couple of friendly waves.

Under his breath, the young man mumbled with a smile, "Five minutes and they're already in Red Square…"

"You!" called the blonde third-year as she pounced toward the young man and took hold of his hands, "I have questions! So many questions!"

As Asuka and Ikaruga looked on in a mix of surprise and confusion to what was happening, the young man replied simply, "I might be able to answer some of those questions."

"First question: what is this song?" cried Katsuragi as she turned back around and darted for the young man's phone to reset the tune, "It was the first one we found and it's typed in Russian or something and it is too damn fun!"

Once the song started over, the young man scratched his chin in thought for a moment before unsurely answering, "It sounds like Red Man Country House Polka but… I'm not sure… Is it like forty-five seconds long?"

"Yes," Katsuragi cried as she began to do a jig, "I've had to reset it four times now."

"Then it's that one."

"Second question!" came the blonde's bark as she gestured for Asuka and Ikaruga to join in, to which they politely shook their heads, "Why is it so short?"

"I'd tell you to ask the songwriters but they're suffering from a severe case of death… so, I can only say that I don't really know."

"Third question-"

"You don't need to shout," grumbled Ikaruga.

"What's with all of the songs?"

"Elaborate."

"Here," Katsuragi mumbled before she quit dancing and moved to the phone. After letting the catchy tune finish, she brought it over to the young man and the two girls beside him, "You've got all of these songs on here! So many that your phone is just showing three dots when we try to check the total."

"Oh," went the boy as he took the phone and, once Asuka began to pull on his arm, allowed the other two new arrivals to see, "Yeah, I've got a lot on here."

"How many?" Katsuragi asked.

"A lot."

After blowing a laugh through her teeth, the blonde demanded, "Quit being a jerk and give us a hint, at the very least. How many digits? Three, four… five?"

While Asuka and Ikaruga were scrolling through the phone in the young man's hands and, eventually, took it from him so that they could browse through all of the music for themselves, the boy replied, "Go a bit higher…"

Upon hearing what he had to say, Hibari stormed past Katsuragi and loudly asked, "How much storage do you have on your phone!? I managed to fit a good amount of songs onto mine, roughly a thousand, but I can't even come close to how much you can fit on there! Even if I deleted everything else!"

In response to her question, the young man turned his eyes from side to side before waving his finger for Hibari to come a bit closer. She tiptoed forward until her breasts nearly came into contact with the young man's chest and then tilted her ear toward him. Careful to not make contact with her and risk earning her and Yagyū's eternal distrust and ire, the young man leaned his head forward and whispered, "A lot."

Immediately, Hibari made a sputtery sound of surprise before yapping a bit of gibberish at him. The noises she made were cute. So cute, in fact, that Yagyū was extremely tempted to try and record the girl's voice somehow. But, instead, she'd silently thank the young man for creating such a wonderful display.

Then, just when Hibari was about to retaliate verbally, loud and boisterous music started to come over the speaker. Once everyone else turned to Asuka and Ikaruga, the two of them cheekily sucked in their lips while showing that they had found a particular playlist on the young man's phone called 'Gaelic Delights' and couldn't resist the temptation. Before he could make a snarky remark, Katsuragi let out an approving howl before beginning to jump around in circles with the song's clickity drumbeats. Forgetting her previous frustration, Hibari also went back towards the empty apartment's center with Yagyū right behind her as a violin and bagpipe joined the melody.

Genuinely enjoying the scene taking place before him, while also ignoring the bouncing busts of all the girls, the young man turned to Asuka and Ikaruga to ask, "Do either of you two speak English?"

"Well," the former bit her teeth together while waving a flattened hand back and forth, "Some…?"

At the same time, Ikaruga nodded her head with a bit of pride and said, "My father taught me when I was young. If you don't mind me asking, why?"

After giving a showy smirk to the two, the young man turned to head for the room's center as he said to the senior, "I expect you to join along then. Don't let me down."

Then, just as the music quieted its violins and bagpipes, the young man jumped and landed as the sound of loud stomps echoed and supplanted the original drumbeat. With a click of his heels and a few claps, he stood off from Katsuragi and sang along to the song's entry vocals, "Caugh' me a town, called devil lad, rosining bow, rowing hi' boat. Found he a two, fooly young loves, brough' them a lust, bringin' a show! But, 'las devil, they' be tranquil, calm an' in love, to banish 'ell."

As the young man squared off against Katsuragi, who had begun to clap along with him with a challenging smile on her face, Asuka and Ikaruga exchanged perplexed looks. Quietly, the brunette asked, "Did you catch any of that?"

"Nope," replied the third-year, "he's got a really Scottish accent, probably taught to him by his grandfather… and it's a bit too… out there for me to understand."

"He saw a lady, she saw one-a guy!" the young man raised his hand into the air and clapped it against Katsuragi's as they moved their feet with the rapidly accelerating beat, "An' they pledge under 'he sky: Ne'er will 'ey say goodbye! Lo'e, ne'er fare thee well!"

Ikaruga took the young man's phone into her hands from her underclasswoman and did a bit of scrolling around before grumbling, "There isn't a section with translated lyrics…"

After giving a resigned shrug, Asuka looked up and said, "Well… I don't think we need to understand to know that this is supposed to be fun," before she also jumped into the fray.

At first, Ikaruga raised her hand and said, "Wait, what if this song is cussing all over the place and is talking about things like shooting and killing? We shouldn't… ah…" but her friend had already jumped and hooked one of her arms into the young man for them to spiral around one another. Unable to deny herself any of the fun, Ikaruga simply shrugged and took in a lighthearted breath before awkwardly stepping forward to join in.

There wasn't any need to overthink it.

Show Mama the Llama

Thus everyone, minus Ikaruga who was awkwardly fumbling her legs with the song's energetic beat, was hopping around and enjoying themselves. Occasionally either Katsuragi or the young man would try to do something to try and one-up one another with a particular move. In the latter's case, he utilized his English-speaking advantage well. Once the song reached its main verse, he clicked his heels and spun around thrice before bending one leg and sweeping the other along the ground. Sitting on his knee, the young man clicked his tongue and pointed his fingers at the blonde as he sung, "Show Mama 'he llama from our mainland Shamballa!" and rocketed himself to his feet.

In response, Katsuragi blew a breath of air through her nose before haughtily declaring, "Bold and impressive of you to try… but it'll all be for nothing…" and proceeded to free-style by dropping down to her fours. After a moment, she swung her legs into the air before whirling them around and about. At first, the young man thought it was just her trying to play on a strength that wasn't part of the traditional folk music they were listening to. Then he quickly realized that, while keeping at least one arm on the ground at all times, Katsuragi was not only clicking her heels to the beat while they hung in the air but was also flinching the joints of her limbs in sync with the off-beat of the song. As she practically made a knot of herself while performing moves that would certainly guarantee severe backpain in later life, the young man could only stop dancing and watch in amazement.

Once the rhythm calmed down and Katsuragi landed onto her feet, she gave him a smug grin before stating, "I think I won that round."

The boy stared at her before stating, "I reject your reality and replace it with my own. I win."

Though the blonde quirked a brow and argued a bit with the young man, everyone else silently agreed that she was the rightful winner. As the two went back and forth, the night went on and all of their troubles outside the room were forgotten.

Rocky Road to London

"Whack follol de-rah!" cried the young man at the end of another verse. As everyone continued to do a jig with a guitar and violin raving in the background, Ikaruga shuffled over to his side. It took a few moments and a few good pokes for him to turn around and offer, "Sorry, go ahead."

"I'm pretty sure that last bit wasn't English," said the taller girl as she refrained from scratching her head.

The young man snorted before answering her, "Some Irish and Scottish singers will say something that sounds like gibberish. Usually, it's just a botched pronunciation of an older phrase but, like you, I have no idea what that last one meant," before shrugging and saying, "But, hey, it's catchy."

Ikaruga narrowed her eyes, "But, what if it means something…" and then looked both ways before whispering, "…indecent."

While still shuffling and rocking his head back and forth with the beat, the young man took a moment to think before saying, "Well, this one's an Irish-based folk song that tells a tale about the guy's journey into London… And considering the historical relations between the English and Irish…" After taking a few more seconds to consider his answer, he gave a firm nod, "Yeah, it's probably something indecent."

Ikaruga's eyes nearly rolled white before she almost fainted on the spot.

Eliza's Opera

Everyone was sitting around, bored out of their minds, while the young man tried to find a new song for them all to jump to. Playing from the speaker was a slow and high-pitched opera that was completely unbefitting of the fun that they were having a moment before. At one point, Hibari quietly whined, "Have you found something yet~?"

"Just choose the next song already," ordered Yagyū while patting her friend's back.

"If we're going to get back into a party beat, we're doing it right," declared the young man as he frustratedly continued to scroll for one song in particular, paying the price for having such a large playlist.

"Why do you even have this song?" grumbled Katsuragi as she tried to lean herself into Asuka's shoulders to try and 'accidentally' fall face first into the girl's breasts. Once Ikaruga grabbed the blonde by the collar and prevented her from executing her plan, she yelled, "This song sucks!"

Hibari let out a noise of surprise from the sudden rise in volume and Yagyū placed her hands over the girl's ears while passing a scornful expression to Katsuragi. The young man was about to say something but, out of consideration, ordered the white-haired girl, "Keep those hands over her ears." Once sure that Hibari wouldn't be able to hear him, the boy immediately pointed a finger at the blonde to growl, "Fuck you, it's pretty."

After that, a gear in Ikaruga's head flew out of place and sent her down to the ground. Using her newly gained freedom to her advantage, Katsuragi proceeded to attack Asuka with her hands, "I've got you!"

As she was groped all over, the poor brunette tried to pry herself free while both whimpering and screaming, "Katsu-, stop! NO, NO! I mean it! Stop-, AH! Not now! Get her- Katsuragi!"

Before she could enjoy herself any longer, the blonde was immediately thwapped over the head by Hibari. As everyone conscious looked at her in alarm, a dark look came over the girl as memories of Haruka, Yagyū's squid, and Yagyū, herself, glazed over her pink eyes. In a low voice, she asked, "Asuka, are you alright?"

Between her attack and the unnaturally scary first-year, the brunette could only mumble, "Ye-, yeah… definitely…"

"Good," uttered Hibari. She turned to the young man and demanded, "Music. Now."

At that point, the frightened boy gave up on the original tune that he was going for and just found the closest song that could be deemed fun.

Silver-Lined Pub of Night-Long Friendship

Lined up and kicking their legs into the air to the song's rhythm, everyone was laughing and having a good time. Even though Ikaruga was only semi-conscious and recovering from having heard the F-bomb being dropped in front of her, she was still letting out a quiet 'Ha' from time to time. Meanwhile, Asuka and Katsuragi were merrily leaning onto the young man, who was both enjoying the song while silently trying to bask in the girls' warmth. The line kicked their left feet up, threw them down, kicked their right feet up, and threw those down too.

From afar, Oda watched the scene with a pair of binoculars aimed through the young man's window. The view was extremely difficult to achieve, considering the buildings and obstacles in his way. But, after jumping around a bit and comparing a few views, Oda simply decided to settle for a random location. It wasn't the best view but there was no point in trying to improve for the moment. After all, at that point in time, the young man was only dancing to some music.

Part of Oda was angry. There was the infiltrator placating the young shinobi and appeasing them by making himself out to be as human as the rest of them. Then another part of Oda had to resound something he'd almost forgotten in the heat of the pursuit: the young man was human. Even if he was from a group as terrible as the infiltrators, he was still human.

It softened the older man for a bit. He looked at the boy and all of the girls. Oda watched as the young man twirled Hibari around and swung his hands together with Yagyū. Oda watched as the boy competed with Katsuragi in another three dance competitions, to which he lost each time. Oda watched as Ikaruga got too dizzy and was escorted to the side by the young man. Most importantly, Oda saw the loving look in Asuka's eyes when that boy did all those things and when they danced together. He didn't know how the young man apparently didn't see it… but that girl truly loved him. She didn't like him like a teenage crush. But, in the few days that he'd gotten to know her, that boy had somehow absolutely won the heart of that girl.

Questions rang through Oda's head: What did the young man say and do? Did he tamper with her mental state? Was it blackmail? The old man was smart enough to chalk those questions up as mere paranoia. Whether he liked it or not, Oda knew that the young man had somehow gained the hearts of no less than three shinobi.

Settling for what he'd seen that day, the large fellow climbed down to the streets and began to walk home to his family. He wasn't going to stop pursuing the infiltrator. In fact, once he obtained solid photographic and physical evidence of the young man's activities, he'd be the first to rough the boy up for what his oldest brother had done… But he was glad to have seen what he did that day.

Oda knew that, with everyone person he had hunted and been forced to kill, they were all human. They had lives different than the ones they were leading beneath the public eye. Everyone had needs, likes, wants, and dreams. Once he sighed and did a bit of soul-searching, Oda had realized that he was on the verge of forgetting that.

"I won't forget that again…" he mumbled under his breath before turning back to the apartment where the young man lived. Oda stopped and paused to take it in before continuing, "I'm going to confront you soon… If you resist, I'm probably going to be the one to kill you… But I'll be sure to thank you… for reminding me of what Hanzō told me once."

As he strolled off into the dark, Oda repeated what he'd heard nearly forty years before:

"We are all human. Whether we're good or evil, charitable or monstrous… we're all human. That's why, when you meet the one whom you say is a villain, I want you to remind yourself that your target is a human. If you can act with a clear mind after that… then anyone else can tell that you, yourself, believe what you preach… But if you declare even the most horrible person alive to be a mere monster, you not only deny that they're human… you also deny that we are just as capable of their evil…"