Disclaimer: I do not own Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End). I write this for your enjoyment only. This story is an alternate version of the Shibuya/Shinjuku arc with differences from the original. Please refer to the footnotes at the end. Once again, I would like to thank my beta reader, ResidentialPsycho, for her help in making this fic possible. Enjoy and please review!

Chapter 13: An Unexpected Encounter and Close Call

"Um, Kimizuki, are you sure it's safe to put those cords in your mouth like that?" Yuichiro asked in concern as she folded her arms and rested them on the window sill of the hummer Kimizuki was attempting to hot-wire from the driver's seat inside.

"It's ok, Yuu. I know what I'm doing so don't worry about me," the pink-haired boy assured her, his voice partly muffled by a cord he was holding carefully between his teeth.

Yuichiro frowned slightly as her brows furrowed in concern, but she said nothing. The squad had been walking almost non-stop for the past few hours after parting with Satoshi Hiwatari's squad. As much as they would have liked to travel together, both squads agreed that it was best to do so separately to avoid drawing the attention of the vampires. Not long after, Shinoa's squad discovered an old hummer on the side of the road.

Except for Kimizuki, nobody thought anything of the run-down vehicle since they assumed it didn't work anyway. But the pink-haired boy insisted that he could get it up and running again and convinced Shinoa to let him try.

And while Yuichiro tried her best to have faith in her comrades, she couldn't help but worry about the way Kimizuki was trying to repair the hummer. Though she was no expert on automobile repair, Yuichiro was pretty sure that what her friend was doing wasn't exactly safe. But if he was successful, it would save them much needed time and energy getting to Shinjuku than they would on foot.

"Have you ever done this before?" she asked instead.

"Actually, I have. My father taught me. He also taught me how to drive and read maps when I was much younger."

"Oh, you can drive too? That's amazing! My parents never taught me but that was because they died when I was very young. And the fact that they didn't want me to leave the house without their knowledge or consent."

Upon hearing the younger girl's confession, Kimizuki paused from his task for a brief moment and looked at her in surprise.

"What about your guardian? Didn't he ever teach you?"

Yuichiro shook her head. "Not really. Every time we trained away from home, Guren would always do the driving. I did ask him to teach me once, but he said I didn't need to know how to drive. Personally, I believe he didn't trust me not to crash his cars," she joked. *1*

"Or maybe he was just being very protective of you and didn't want to see you get hurt unnecessarily," Kimizuki suggested as he recalled his brief talk with the lieutenant colonel nearly two weeks before he, Yuichiro, and Yoichi took their demon aptitude tests.

And from the way Guren spoke of his ward, Kimizuki also surmised that he saw Yuichiro as more than a child under his care.

But the pink-haired boy thought it best to keep that opinion to himself.

Not knowing what else to say, Yuichiro sighed and nodded in agreement.

"I guess you're right. But I'm a big girl now and I think the more I know how to do, the better. Since we're here, would you please show me how to drive? It would mean a lot to me if you did, Kimizuki."

Kimizuki nearly dropped the cord in his mouth at Yuichiro's request and tried to avoid making eye contact with her so that she wouldn't see how much he was blushing.

What's wrong with me? He thought. It's so not like me to get all worked up over a girl….

"Kimizuki? Are you all right?"

"I-I'm fine!" the pink-haired boy stammered as he finally released the cord between his teeth as soon as he heard the hummer's engine start to run, indicating that his attempt to hot-wire it was successful.

"Did I make you uncomfortable with my request?" Yuichiro asked in concern as she tilted her head sideways and gave him a curious look.

Kimizuki shook his head. "No, it's not that. I'd love to show you how to drive, really. But I worry about how your guardian would react if you got hurt doing it."

Yuichiro giggled as she quickly caught on to her squad mate's implication.

"Oh, is that what you're afraid of? Don't worry about me. I'll be careful. And I take full responsibility for my own safety so if I did get hurt, I'd tell Guren it was my fault so that he wouldn't blame you."

Kimizuki thought over Yuichiro's request for a moment. What she said sounded reasonable. And he had to admit that it would be helpful to have at least one more member of their squad who could drive so that they would not be completely dependent on him in that department.

"Ok…if you insist, Yuu. Just give me a minute to clean up a little, and I'll show you the basics of driving. It's really not that hard once you get the hang of it."

"Oh, you will? Really? Thanks so much!" Yuichiro squealed as her green eyes glittered with excitement.

The pink-haired boy felt a smile tug at his lips and couldn't help thinking how cute his squad mate looked when she got excited like that. Smiling was not something Shiho Kimizuki did often since the death of his parents and the beginning of his struggle to ensure Mirai's survival as well as his own.

Once he made sure the front seats of the hummer was cleared of any debris, Kimizuki made a gesture for Yuichiro to sit in the driver side before he began to explain the basics to her from his seat on the passenger side.

"Now before you can drive, it's important that you know how to start the car properly," he began. "Normally, it would require putting a key here in this spot on the lower-right side of the steering wheel but since the key to this hummer is not available, I had to improvise by putting these two cords together."

"I see…"

"Fortunately for us, this vehicle is an automatic which makes it easier for a beginner like you to learn how to drive. Stick shifts are a bit more complex to use and not as convenient, so the majority of people prefer to use automatics. Unless you're driving a sports car, that is."

"Ahh… interesting. Although not as convenient, stick shifts give you more control over the car which is ideal in the case of sports cars, especially if you like drifting and racing."

Kimizuki raised a brow in interest at Yuu's unexpected knowledge of cars.

"Yes, that's right. How did you know?"

"Well, my guardian's best friend is a huge fan of sports cars," Yuichiro confessed. "He used to tell me all about them. Shinya said it was a dream of his to own a Ferrari when he was a teenager. He was also very fond of motorcycles and would give me rides on his Harley Davidson after my shooting lessons. Of course, Shinya would also make me promise not to tell Guren since we both knew how overprotective he was of me."

"I didn't know you were on a first-name basis with your guardian and the major general. You must be quite close to them if they allow you to address them so informally, Yuu" Kimizuki said in astonishment.

Yuichiro shrugged her shoulders. "To be honest, I was raised and tutored by everyone in Guren's squad. I lived in the same house with him, Sayuri, and Shigure. But Shinya, Goshi, and Mito also chipped in and helped with my training by teaching me what they knew as well so that I would be a well-rounded fighter. You could say I was lucky to have the luxury of one-on-one training with each of them or I wouldn't have been able to keep up with everyone in the MDC since I missed so much schooling when I was a prisoner of the vamps."

"And from what I've seen so far, they did an excellent job. If you can do most of what your guardian's squad can do, driving should be easy for you."

"I hope so!" Yuichiro said cheerfully before becoming serious again. "But seriously, I think the more I can do the better."

"True," Kimizuki agreed. "In a normal world, I'd have to teach you how to read traffic signs and obey traffic rules before I can teach you how to drive. But fortunately, none of that is relevant anymore since the world is scarce of humans who can drive so running into traffic isn't going to be an issue. Neither is being caught driving without a license."

The ravenette couldn't help laughing as soon as she caught on to her squad mate's joke. Even though they both knew the state of the world was no laughing matter, Yuichiro and Kimizuki could agree that any reason to laugh and smile was a welcomed one.

"I had no idea you could crack a joke, Kimizuki. You're usually always so serious," Yuichiro said after the moment had passed.

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now let's get down to business, shall we?" the pink-haired boy reminded her but not before giving a more genuine smile. Although he wasn't a conceited person by any means, Kimizuki had to admit that Yuichiro's praise made him somewhat proud.

As for Shinoa, Mitsuba, and Yoichi, who were sitting at an outdoor table of an abandoned café not too far away, the trio watched Kimizuki and Yuichiro talking inside the hummer from a distance while snacking on some field rations that they packed earlier.

"I wonder what those two are talking about?" Yoichi asked curiously.

"Well, knowing her, Yuichiro probably bugged Kimizuki into teaching her how to drive," Shinoa answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Really? If so then do NOT allow Yuu to drive us to Shinjuku. You've already indulged her too much by allowing her to act independently twice during our last two missions, Shinoa", Mitsuba warned.

Shinoa sighed. "Yes, yes, I know. You don't want Miss Hyakuya to keep pushing her infamous luck. I did hear you the first time, Mi-chan. But you need not worry about that. I'll be driving us to Shinjuku myself."

Mitsuba was startled. "Wait, you're going to drive? I had no idea you even knew how!"

Shinoa laughed. "Well, Ni-san did give me a few lessons here and there. I haven't been practicing much, but I'm sure that won't be a problem. Driving is pretty easy once you get the hang of it."

Mitsuba didn't know why but for some reason, she didn't find her squad leader's words very assuring.

"You know what, Shinoa? I'd feel better if someone more experienced does the driving like Kimizuki. In fact, I'm going to insist that he does until you and Yuichiro have a little more experience," the blonde girl said matter-of-factually as she got up and walked over to where Kimizuki and Yuichiro were.

After Mitsuba had left, Yoichi turned to Shinoa with a look of concern on his face.

"Do you think we should try to convince her that Yuu should be able to drive just fine? I mean, she does so well at everything else."

Shinoa shook her head. "It's ok, Yoichi. Mi-chan may be a bit critical of Yuichiro but she'll eventually come around."

Before the brunet boy could answer, both of them nearly jolted from their seats when they heard a female scream in the distance and turned their heads just in time to see Mitsuba scrambling to get away from the hummer that Kimizuki had just repaired when it suddenly backed up and nearly hit her. *2*

After witnessing the scene, Shinoa groaned and face-palmed.

"Spoke too soon…" she muttered.

"Shit, what was that?!" Yuichiro cried when she suddenly heard someone screaming from behind the hummer as soon as she attempted to back up like Kimizuki had instructed.

The pink-haired boy turned his head and looked over his shoulder just in time to see Mitsuba jumping out of the way and barely managed to avoid getting run over. Under normal circumstances, Kimizuki would have taught Yuichiro to check the rear-view mirror or look over her shoulder to ensure nothing was behind the vehicle before attempting to back up but neglected to do so since he was sure the area behind them was clear. Their blonde squad mate appeared to have just come out of nowhere.

"Sorry, Yuu, this is my fault. I should have reminded you to look to make sure nothing was behind us. It looks like Mitsuba wanted to check up on us but she was so quiet, I didn't hear her coming."

"Neither did I" Yuu confessed. "Well, I better get out and make sure she's ok."

As soon as she set the hummer on park, Yuichiro stepped outside to find Mitsuba sitting on her rump under a broken street light with one of her palms flat on the ground behind her while her other hand was clutching the front of her uniform as she attempted to catch her breath.

"Hey, are you ok, Mitsu? What happened there?" Yuichiro asked in concern.

The blonde glared at her. "What happened?! You almost killed me!" she shouted.

Yuichiro returned her glare. "Is it my fault you decided to stand right behind the hummer when I was trying to back it up? You should know better than that, Mitsu!"

"And is it my fault you didn't even bother to check to see if there was anything behind you before you tried to back up?" Mitsuba shot back.

Before the other girl could reply, they both heard Kimizuki clearing his throat and turned in his direction. Like Yuichiro, he also stepped outside of the vehicle to check on Mitsuba.

"I'm sorry, Mitsuba, but it was my fault. I was teaching Yuu how to drive and forgot to remind her to look behind before backing up. Are you ok?" *3*

Hearing Kimizuki's apology as well as expression of concern finally managed to calm the two girls down before one of them started a fight.

"I think I scraped my knee a bit, but I'll live," Mitsuba answered as she pulled her knees to her chest and looped her arms over them.

"Here, let me see," Kimizuki said gently as he bent over to examine the blonde girl's injury. Thanks to her demon's contract, it healed within seconds but the mental shock of nearly being run over was still apparent on Mitsuba's face.

"It looks like you had a close call, Miss Sangu" Kimizuki said. "Just be careful next time and try to refrain from standing behind a vehicle if you think someone is in it, ok?"

The blonde girl blushed but not knowing what else to say, Mitsuba merely nodded in silence to let Kimizuki know she understood. Shinoa and Yoichi, who had witnessed the entire scene, left their seats at the café table to join their squad mates.

"Hey, are you ok, Mitsuba? We heard you screaming back there and thought something terrible had happened," Yoichi exclaimed as he dropped to one knee next to his squad mate, his brows furrowing in concern.

"I'm fine," Mitsuba answered. "Like Kimizuki said, it was just a misunderstanding."

Though she was loathed to admit it, Mitsuba knew that she was just as much at fault as Yuichiro for her near accident but was grateful that Kimizuki was willing to shoulder the blame to spare both of them embarrassment.

Shinoa, who figured as much, remained silent and turn towards Yuichiro who was also secretly grateful for Kimizuki's intervention.

Once she had finally managed to calm down enough to talk again, Mitsuba finally asked what she had been meaning to before Yuichiro almost accidentally backed into her.

"I don't mean to be rude but since Yuichiro needs a bit more practice with her driving, can you drive us to Shinjuku instead, Kimizuki?"

Yuichiro smirked. "Is that what you wanted to ask from the beginning, Mitsu?"

Mitsuba ignored the other girl's baiting and kept her gaze on Kimizuki. Taking the hint, the pink-haired boy sighed.

"Yes, Miss Sangu. That's exactly what I intended to do from the start. It's not like I would allow Yuichiro or anyone else in the squad to drive us that far until I'm sure they're competent drivers. There, does that make you feel better?" Kimizuki asked as he offered Mitsuba a hand to help her up.

The blonde sighed but took the hand her squad mate offered.

"Yes, it does. Can we get going now? I think we can all agree that the sooner we get on the road, the better."

"Yes, you're right," Shinoa agreed before turning to Yuichiro and Kimizuki. "Why don't you sit in the front with Kimizuki while the rest of us sit in the back, Yuu?" she suggested.

Yuichiro sighed but nodded. She knew Shinoa was trying to keep her and Mitsuba away from each other until tensions over their latest argument cooled down.

"Yes, Shinoa. That sounds like a good idea."

SSSSSS

"Hey, are we almost there yet, Kimizuki?" Yuichiro asked from her seat on the passenger side.

After the awkward situation with Mitsuba, the squad passed most of the trip in silence which Yuichiro wouldn't have minded if she had something to read. But since she couldn't even find an old newspaper or magazine in the hummer, the ravenette was forced to pass the time with nothing but her thoughts.

Even Shinoa, who was normally a chatter bug, did not speak much for the last two hours.

"Well, according to the GPS, we should be arriving in Shinjuku shortly," Kimizuki answered patiently.

Even though he was perfectly capable of reading old-school paper maps, Kimizuki was grateful the hummer he hot-wired had a built in GPS device. Which made navigation to their destination much more convenient.

Yuichiro was about to ask Kimizuki how a GPS navigation device worked when they suddenly heard loud noises outside the hummer.

"What's that?" Yoichi asked as he clutched his bow nervously. "Could it be another Horseman of John coming after us?"

"Could be…" Yuichiro surmised as she tightened her grip on Asuramaru's handle. Turning around to face Shinoa, she asked: "Should we get rid of it then? I'm sure I can get the job done without too much trouble."

Mitsuba shook her head. "Don't bother, Yuu. There's no end to these creatures no matter how many we kill so it's best to just avoid them and head straight to Shinjuku."

"Wait a minute…" Shinoa began after making a quick gesture with her hand for her squad mates to be silent. "Do you hear that? The noises aren't coming from behind us but ahead. In fact, it's coming from Shinjuku!"

"You're right," Kimizuki admitted. "That's why I'm turning here; we should be able to see the defensive wall of Shinjuku behind the corner."

"Good, do that, Kimizuki," Shinoa ordered. "The rest of you, have your weapons ready. We can't be sure of what we'll run into or what might happen!"

"Everyone, look out! Something's here!" Yuichiro exclaimed as soon as Kimizuki made the turn.

Looking ahead, the squad saw what appeared to be a humanoid figure in the distance. But they were sure that the creature was definitely not human by the attire he wore.

"That uniform… it's a vampire! And not an ordinary one, he's a noble!" Yuichiro exclaimed when she noticed that the man before them stood his ground and made no attempt to move.

Unlike most vampires Yuichiro had seen before, this particular one looked quite tall and muscular with broad shoulders and the build of a stocky football player.

"What should I do, turn around?" Kimizuki asked.

"Don't bother," Yuichiro answered. "If he's a noble, you won't be able to turn around fast enough to get us away from him. Keep going and run him down!"

The pink-haired boy hesitated for a moment until he felt his squad leader's hand on his shoulder from behind the driver's seat.

"I agree with Yuichiro," Shinoa said calmly. "Do it, Kimizuki! We'll all jump out before the car hits him!"

Kimizuki nodded. Although disappointed that he was going to have to give up the vehicle he took such great pains to get working again, the pink-haired boy also knew their lives might depend on it and slammed on the gas pedal.

As the hummer gained momentum, the squad braced themselves to "abandon ship" as westerners call it, and as soon as they were close enough, everyone opened the doors and jumped out of the vehicle.

Instead of being intimidated at the now-empty two-ton vehicle speeding towards him, the vampire merely smirked and drew back a fist before sending it flying straight towards the hummer, easily shattering it to pieces without so much as getting a speck of dirt on his pristine white garb.

Yoichi, who saw what he believed to be an opening, quickly drew back his bowstring and released three arrows he willed into existence, hoping one of them would hit the noble while he was distracted with destroying the hummer.

The noble, who easily saw it coming, merely turned his head with its braided maroon hair in the brunet boy's direction and gave what Yoichi thought was a playful grin before murmuring something under his breath.

"Sword, drink my blood."

Although the noble's words were inaudible to Yoichi with his human hearing, the brunet boy saw what appeared to be three long spikes bursting through the handle of the European-style broadsword in his hand, piercing through the man's palm to the back of his hand before the blade turned blood-red.

And with a single swipe of his sword, he easily deflected all three of Yoichi's arrows.

"No way, I don't believe it!" Yoichi gasped while he attempted to stand as soon as he landed on the ground hard on his right hip but winced at the pain that slowed down his reaction time.

Not giving Yoichi time to recover and move away, the powerful vampire swung his sword again, this time sending a deadly gust of wind that would have cut Yoichi in half if Shinoa and Mitsuba had not jumped in between them and deflected his attack.

"Everyone, stay on guard!" Shinoa ordered. "This is a noble with a first-class weapon! Don't act alone, he's not like the others we've fought before-"

Before the purple-haired girl could say another word, the vampire suddenly vanished from Shinoa's sight before reappearing behind her and raising his sword, intending to cleave her in two.

Yuichiro and Kimizuki, who were the first ones to catch sight of the noble, moved quickly and the ravenette charged towards him with her sword drawn before bringing it down with all her strength, slicing the vampire's arm off at the shoulder while Kimizuki jumped in front of their squad leader with his twin swords crossed to protect her.

Now that their enemy was unarmed, Shinoa was about to give the order for her squad to close in on him to make the kill but before she could, they saw two more vampires, females, who appeared to just fall out of the sky, land on both sides of the noble Yuichiro had just disarmed.

"Crap, this is bad!" Shinoa cursed.

Like the vampire who had just destroyed their only method of transportation to Shinjuku and nearly killed Shinoa and Yoichi, the two new vampires who joined the fray appeared to be nobles as well. One was a busty and voluptuous blonde woman with huge corkscrew curls that cascaded down her shoulders clad in a white and frilly Victorian-style dress while the other was a petite, purple-haired girl who wore her wavy tresses in a shoulder-length bob. Like her blonde companion, she too, sported a vintage dress but her attire looked slightly more modern.

"So what now, oh great leader? Should we retreat?" Mitsuba asked Shinoa sarcastically while tightening her grip on the handle of her battle-axe. If Guren had chosen to give the purple-haired brat the position of squad leader over her, she sure as hell better live up to the job or they're all going to die here.

Thinking quickly, the leader in question calmly answered.

"No, retreating is not an option here. These are nobles with first-class weapons. We stay and fight. It may not be enough but I need everyone to yield to their demons but do your best not to let them possess you completely!"

No one in the squad, especially Yuichiro, needed to be told twice and prepared to attack with the full power of their demons.

"Understood… But know that no matter what the odds, I won't let anyone in the squad die if I can help it," the ravenette said before lowering her voice and prepared to summon Asuramaru.

But while everyone in Shinoa's squad braced themselves for an all-out attack, the three nobles made no attempt to make the first move. Instead, the blonde vampire turned to her male companion and said:

"My lord, must you waste your time here playing around with these useless humans? Lord Ferid requires your presence at the front lines."

"That's right!" the petite purple-haired vampire agreed as she placed her hands on her hips. "You can play with humans anytime, but Lord Ferid might be annoyed if you don't come, Lord Crowley."

The vampire named Crowley closed his eyes for a brief moment and sighed.

"Drat, Ferid is calling me? He always does this when I'm about to have fun," he pouted before walking over to his severed arm, which just happened to land only a few yards from Yuichiro, and picked it up along with his sword.

With his two female retainers present, nobody in Shinoa's squad, even Yuichiro, dared to stop Crowley from reattaching his sword arm. As they turned to leave, the noble turned to Yuichiro and gave her an amused smile.

"You fight well for a human, I'll give you that, my lady. And it's not every day I praise livestock for anything. I'll let you and your little friends go for now. But be warned, next time I'll be wanting a taste of your blood; just the scent of it intoxicates me! Try to stay alive until then, ok? Later!"

Furious that the arrogant bastard would dare to speak to her that way, Yuichiro was about to position her sword and try running him through with it from behind when she suddenly felt someone's hand clapping her on the shoulder as if in warning. Turning around, Yuichiro saw Shinoa looking at her with a grave expression that was normally uncharacteristic of her.

"Let them go, Yuu..." she warned. "I know what he said was insulting to you but coming from a noble like him, it was probably a compliment."

Yuichiro glared at her squad leader and it was apparent to Shinoa that she was not impressed with Crowley's "praise".

"So what, am I supposed to be flattered? Ferid also praised my bravery right before he slaughtered my brothers and sisters in front of me!"

Shinoa sighed. She knew her squad mate was in one of her moods but chose to heed Mitsuba's warning not to indulge Yuichiro any more than she already had if she didn't want the other girl to get herself killed. While Yuichiro was indeed a skilled fighter worthy of the confidence she often displayed, Shinoa knew that even she (and Guren) could not take on a noble of the caliber they had just faced, alone.

"I never said that, Yuu," she answered patiently. "All I'm saying is that you need to be realistic and understand the difference between your power and his. You are an exceptional swordmaiden, Yuichiro, I won't deny that, but there is still much you need to learn about wielding your demon weapon. And not only that, you also need to learn how to better control your emotions on the battlefield and not fall for the enemy's baiting or taunting if you want to survive, protect your comrades, and be victorious. I'm sure Guren has already told you this."

Yuichiro gritted her teeth and tightened her hold on Asuramaru but she knew Shinoa was right. While she may have found the other girl's chiding of her behavior annoying at times, Yuichiro still understood that Shinoa only had her best interests and well-being at heart.

"Fine, I understand."

Shinoa breathed a quiet sigh of relief upon securing Yuichiro's compliance, something they both knew did not come easily.

"I'm glad you do. I also want to thank you and Kimizuki for protecting me from that noble. It looks like your guardian was right about you—you do care about your friends."

Yuichiro felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks but quickly turned her head in another direction, so that Shinoa wouldn't see how embarrassed she was.

"Never mind that," she said without looking back at her squad leader. "We better head onto to Shinjuku. I don't want to hear any more lectures from Guren on punctuality."

Yoichi laughed nervously as he scratched his head.

"To be honest, I'd rather go back to Shibuya," he confessed.

Kimizuki, who was also getting cold feet at the prospect of their first major battle even though he was better at hiding it, shook his head.

"I'd like nothing better but you know we can't do that, Yoichi. If Shinjuku falls, Shibuya will undoubtedly be next."

"True," Mitsuba agreed. "Even though we lost it, we're lucky that hummer we found already took us this far and that we didn't have to walk all the way from Shibuya. Shinjuku should be just around the corner, so walking the rest of the way shouldn't be too much trouble."

"That's right, Mi-chan. We should also consider ourselves blessed that we got out of that encounter with those nobles without sustaining any casualties as well," Shinoa added.

Yuichiro, who knew better than to count her chickens before they were hatched, merely snorted. To be honest, she did find Shinoa's words somewhat comforting but was damned if she was going to admit it. Instead, she turned in the direction of their destination and said:

"Let's go. I hope we can liberate Shinjuku from the vamps for good this time and be home in time for dinner."

And without another word, the ravenette started to calmly walk towards what she expected to be just another battlefield while her companions quietly followed suit. Even Shinoa said nothing more and allowed Yuichiro to lead the way as if she were the squad leader instead of her.

But unknown to Yuichiro Hyakuya, Shinjuku was to be a battlefield where her destiny would be changed yet again…

Footnotes:

1. All of Guren's squad mates knew how to hot-wire and drive cars, fly helicopters, and operate multiple things before they even entered high school but for some unmentioned reason, Guren never taught any of these skills to male!Yuu in canon. I assume that he simply did not trust male!Yuu knowing how impulsive he was. In my AU, Guren refrained from teaching fem!Yuu how to drive because he didn't want to risk her getting hurt unnecessarily.

2. Male!Yuu almost runs over Kimizuki by accident. Since Mitsuba is supposed to take over Kimizuki's original role, I had fem!Yuu nearly back into her instead to give them another reason to bicker and highlight their rivalry.

3. Kimizuki is the kind of person who does not like to admit his mistakes easily in canon, usually blaming the other party whenever he gets involved in conflicts with others. In my AU, he is more willing to accept responsibility for his mistake in not telling fem!Yuu to look over her shoulder or into the rear-view mirror before backing up because he did not want to see her and Mitsuba fight.