Tokyo, Japan, 2010.
A month had gone by after I passed my Rite of Passage and now Akira and I were currently heading to Yuki's home to keep an eye on the perimeter after Mina decided to have a sleepover with Yuki. Akira and I went up the stairs of the apartment complex and saw Kamil sitting next to Yuki's apartment door while reading.
"Hello there, Akira, Captain Temple," Kamil greeted while looking at us with his eyes closed.
"Hey, Kamil. You're reading in the dark? Wait, you can read?" Akira wondered.
"Of course. It's Braille," Kamil said and asked, "Are either of you curious about what they are doing?"
"Uh...n-no, not really," Akira muttered.
"Negative. It's not my job to question Yuki and the Princess' activities," I stated.
"Gossiping, telling stories, and other everyday things that girls will do. They sound like they are having fun," Kamil said.
"Kami...I just wish she'd given us a little warning before she'd decided to go to a sleepover. Whipping up a security detail on such short notice is a fucking pain," Akira grumbled in irritation.
"Certainly. We have served as her Majesty's swords for a very long time now, but this is the first time she has made such an impulsive demand. It is also the first time she has ever laughed and enjoyed herself so much," Kamil commented.
"Where's Hyunte?" I inquired while looking around.
"He's stationed in a spot where he can survey the entire area around this apartment complex," Kamil explained.
"Huh...so where's that?" Akira asked and Kamil chuckled.
"Someplace I don't think even you two will find," Kamil stated with a wolfish grin.
"Building across the way, parking garage, Northeast, and 163 degrees...also has us in his sights right now," I pointed out, Akira looking at me with amazement on his face.
"How can you tell?" Akira wondered.
"I have senses even sharper than a lesser wolf due to being a Supreme Alpha, and I'm trained to identify snipers," I explained while looking at the direction of where Hyunte is at.
"Heh...he says you look like an insect with that helmet and gas mask on, Captain Temple. And Akira, he just wanted you to know that your bed-head is even more frazzled than usual," Kamil remarked.
"Hey! I'll have you know that this is in style!" Akira exclaimed defensively while I checked my MP5.
"Akira, Captain Temple, we will notice anyone who will come too close to this location. The rest of our forces and Spectre are deployed at optimal points. There is nothing to be worried about, so you two can go get some rest," Kamil assured.
"Okay..." Akira trailed off while looking at the door.
"So, you are curious," Kamil teased and Akira whipped his head at him with a blush.
"A-am not! Later!" Akira sputtered as we left the area and went to the mobile command center, seeing Goto and Cinva approaching.
"Goto, Cinva," I greeted calmly with a single nod.
"Got eyes on any potential contact?" Goto inquired.
"Negative. The area's secure for now," I notified just as Cinva handed Akira and me two candy bars.
"Huh? For us? Thanks," Akira said while we took the candy bars, and I placed mine in a pouch on my tactical vest for safe keeping.
"Cinva's so excited that there's finally people on the team that is close to his age. He hasn't been able to keep quiet about you two," Goto remarked with a smirk.
"Everybody else is so old. No fun at all," Cinva stated as we approached the mobile command center.
"Old?" Akira wondered in confusion as I opened the side door to see Remus, Romulus, Heinrich, Leeroy, and Seiji inside.
"Yo," Seiji greeted with a single wave.
"Hey, guys. I heard that by the way. Who are you calling Old?" Leeroy asked in mock anger.
"Seiji? What are you doing here?" I inquired suspiciously.
"Just paying a friendly visit to the front lines, that's all. These guys did put in a damn good word for my release, y'know. So seeing as how I owe them one, I figure I'd stop by and help out," Seiji explained.
"It's okay that you're leaving the office empty?" Akira asked.
"Yeah, it'll be fine. I put up a sign and everything. Anyways, is the rumor true that there's an assassin running around here somewhere?" Seiji inquired.
"The Earth Clan's Senate has warned as much, yes. It is eminently possible that the heads of the Three Clans set some things in motion when they visited her Highness," Remus said thoughtfully.
"We're supposed to be getting a new member though, so Akira and David are going to get a partner to help guard her Highness," Romulus informed Seiji, who looked confused.
"Bet you guys ain't too happy about that, huh? No more keeping her Majesty to yourselves," Leeroy teased with a wolfish grin.
"Shut the hell up!" Akira retorted while blushing.
"I have no interest in "keeping her to myself"," I stated stoically, causing the others to look at me with deadpanned expressions.
"Shit...remind me not to take you to any parties...you Americans really have no sense of humor at all," Leeroy muttered under his breath while sweat-dropping.
"Quit messing with them! It's something that needed to be done, really. The eight of us are technically an emergency strike team. We can't stay and serve at her Majesty's side all the time," Heinrich chimed in.
"So, how's the perimeter looking out there?" Romulus inquired.
"Perimeter is secure for now, but it is very cold. I thought Japan was supposed to be warm," Cinva complained.
"Nah...Japan can get really cold in the winter," Akira stated while the other Beowulf soldiers shivered.
"Cinva, quit being such a pansy because this is nothing! Ya see, for our ritual ordeal, we got dumped into Alaska in the dead of winter! Now that was cold," Leeroy said with a scowl.
"Ugh, don't bring that up again please...just thinking about it makes me shiver," Heinrich grumbled.
"Ritual ordeal?" Seiji wondered in confusion.
"Consider it a Rite of Passage. Once a member of the Earth Clan reaches the age of fifteen, they're set loose somewhere in a winter tundra with nothing but their wits," Remus explained.
"Nothing? Like, nothing at all?!" Seiji exclaimed in shock.
"Nope! We don't even get a single pair of boxers, let alone a survival kit. They just toss us out there buck naked," Leeroy stated with a frown.
"The trial is to survive until they come back to pick us up a month later," Heinrich said.
"Daaamn...you werewolves have it rough!" Seiji stated in disbelief.
"It's not as harsh as it sounds, actually. The kids are always sent out in groups of four to six, so it's not difficult to get by when everybody works together," Remus assured.
"It's the best way to hone their hunting instincts and pound some teamwork into them. Oh, and in case you were curious, Remus and I were sent to the Black Forest," Romulus informed Seiji.
"I don't ever want to go back to Iceland again...it changes you," Cinva muttered.
"Winter in the Taklamakan desert isn't something to be sniffed at either," Goto remarked.
"What about you David? Where did you go for your Ritual Ordeal?" Leeroy inquired as the others looked at me.
"Ural Mountains...Russia. Me and six other American Beowulf recruits were dropped into the coldest part of the region," I explained calmly.
"Wow...I hear it's cold there," Goto muttered in disbelief.
"So, where did they send you, Akira?" Seiji inquired, and he noticed the air became tense when the Elite Eight looked grim.
"Uh...did I ask something I shouldn't have?" Seiji wondered in confusion.
"Nah...they put me in Siberia. It was cold...really cold," Akira mumbled, and I caught a look of pain for a second.
Ever since the night Seiji and the other assassins tried to kill us, Akira fully recovered his memories and he kept most of his past to himself. I knew that something traumatic had happened on Akira's Rite of Passage, but I knew enough that he didn't want to talk about it.
"Damn, I'm getting hungry. Do we have anything to eat before our relief comes?" Leeroy inquired while standing up to stretch.
"There are some MREs," Heinrich notified helpfully and Leeroy shot him a look of disgust.
"Ugh, God no! That stuff tastes worse than canned dog food," Leeroy refused.
"You know what canned dog food taste like? Anyway...does this thing have a kitchen? I can whip something up," Seiji offered.
"Sadly no...Beowulf units don't have anything like that," Leeroy stated.
"He can cook?" Remus wondered.
"He can, and he makes pretty good meat and potatoes," I informed him just as I caught the scent of good food and Yuki approaching the Mobile Command Center.
As Cinva pointed it out, Yuki entered the truck and put down a basket full of sandwiches and thermoses.
"I thought you boys might be getting hungry by now, so brought you all something to eat and drink," Yuki explained.
"Thank you Yuki...that was very considerate of you," I said as I took off my helmet and mask.
"Don't worry about it. You're going through all of this because of the two of us, after all. And Hime-sama is having a blast. This couldn't have happened without all of you, so thanks," Yuki said gratefully and she bowed as she said, "Well, I'll let you get back to work now."
"Will do. Take care of yourself," I said as we nodded to each other, then Yuki left and shut the door.
"She's a sweet girl...you certainly picked a kind mate, David," Romulus told me and I shrugged.
"I guess I have..." I trailed off as I thought about Yuki.
"So, did you mate with her yet?" Leeroy asked rather bluntly.
"For your information, I haven't. We're taking things slow right now until we are ready. One more thing, you don't ask someone something so personal," I lectured with a glare.
"Whoa! I was just curious so you don't need to look at me like that," Leeroy defended with his hands held up in surrender.
Suddenly, Yuki opened the door to inform us that Mina made several sandwiches for Akira and shut the door again, causing a feeding frenzy to break out while everyone scrambled to get something to eat. Later on, everyone, as well as myself, were groaning and wincing at the strong flavor of pepper that burned our sharp senses.
I whipped my head at the door just when I heard the sound of gunshots and Kamil informed us that someone was inside the perimeter, prompting me to put my mask and helmet back on.
"You heard him! Move out and locate the target! Spectre, we have possible Tango inside the perimeter so form up and keep your heads on a swivel!" I ordered on my radio as we all left the truck.
"Fuck! How the hell did they get in?!" Akira exclaimed urgently while he and I were about to leave.
"Akira, David, wait!" Remus stopped us and spoke to Kamil and Hyunte.
The plan was for the unknown Tango to approach the apartment and Akira and I would be waiting inside when he opens the door. Akira and I hid as the target unlocked the door and he opened it to see a Glock and an MP5 aimed right at his face. I saw that the unknown Tango was wearing a trench coat and a hat that was concealing his face.
"Freeze! Keep your hands where we can see them! Now, use your right hand to take that hat off slowly," I instructed sternly.
"Her Majesty's elite Beowulf is just as good as I heard. My childhood trick didn't fool either of you at all," the man remarked.
"Last warning! Hat off or you will be fired upon!" Akira warned.
"As you wish, Akira," the man relented and slowly took off his hat, showing a feminine man with dark skin and silver hair.
"Wha...Angie?" Akira stuttered in disbelief.
"Hello, Akira," Angie greeted as he went to take a step forward.
"Don't move! I will shoot!" I threatened just as Akira placed a hand on my gun.
"It's okay David. You can stand down...I know him," Akira reasoned.
I hesitated for a while and reluctantly lowered my gun, turning to Akira and saying, "You have a lot of explaining to do."
Akira nodded and went over to Angie as he holstered his Glock, embracing Angie while they smiled.
"I've missed you so much," Angie declared as they reunited.
A/N Well, who is Angie and how does Akira know her? If you all read the manga, then I shouldn't have to explain. So, I've been planning to put in the spin-off mangas Dive and Memories of Sledgehammer, but the problem is when Dive takes place in the manga. If you have any ideas or even theories about when Dive takes place, let me know.