Foreword: I want to give a huge shout-out to Kharn, whose idea was an inspiration for Echo's chapter. If you're reading this, I also like to apologize since I didn't exactly push through with the characters you suggested. :(

Masaru "Echo" Enatsu

…

Koin ya no gotoshi.'Time flies like an arrow'. That proverb would be a great answer as to why Hereford had gotten so very busy as of late, in a short span. It'd been days since that freak accident in the training room between Max and that funky-haired chick. Then in another exercise the day after, a brawl erupted among some of the guys, allegedly after one of the newbies said something stupid that the Old Man didn't like. The mood was still rather gloomy at the Ops Room as a result; what happened back then was still fresh in everyone's minds. But Masaru was not one of them, unsurprisingly. Or not, depending on anyone's perspective.

Meghan Castellano wanted to move on, which was partly the reason why she called the Team for a meeting today. There she stood by the projected screen, in front of a small mass of seated people, doing her best not to look too crossed.

"…Some of us aren't here today, so I hope someone will give them a heads-up when they return tomorrow…", she lectured. "…I suppose we can still do that, yeah? Get along for five frigging minutes?!"

"…"

"Thought so… Alright, let's get started. First order of business will be…"

Where was Masa-san when it all went down? At the workshop tinkering with his toys of course. His ignorance was his own fault, but he didn't mind. In fact, he was glad he missed out on all the drama. Distractions, the lot of them. Even now, he'd rather be back on the workbench than spending his waking hours at the Op Room's briefing area. Here, in this jam-packed chamber, was basically everyone who wore a black shirt and combat fatigues. So many faces and voices, many of those with names that he himself couldn't remember. The meeting went underway, with the resident intel officer doing the talking. Naturally, Masaru doodled in his notebook, pretending to be jotting down important points. Sitting at the back of the room also had its benefits.

"Oi!", Yumiko whispered and bumped his foot with hers. "Nani yattenda (What the heck are you doing)!?"

It was a rough sketch of Yokai Mk.2. An autonomous robot, rather than remotely-controlled. It was boredom at its finest, as the hundreds of other drawings in the small, spiral-bound blue book could attest.

"Shhh! Shizukani (Be quiet)."

For most people, he was being childish. To that, he would say most people didn't fully understand the value of a little something called 'time management': the one thing that made clever laziness more science than horseplay. The minutes he spent listening to some speech were better off spent conceptualizing the prototype of Rainbow's newest gadget. Or at least a mockup of it.

But Yumiko continued to pester him. She bumped her foot into him a second time, enough to rudely get his attention. She then motioned to the screen near the podium, where Meghan was giving a rundown on new assignments and timetables. Flashed in front for all the Operators to see was a map of some unknown, mountainous location, with words written in French. Or at least that's what he thought; Masa couldn't always tell, he never paid attention to the minutiae. He had already missed a good chunk of what the blonde woman was talking about but, again, he didn't care.

"…at Kasbah Sehkra Mania, 0800 sharp.", Meghan continued to speak. "We've been told that the Royal Gendarmerie is shorthanded thanks to, umm, current events. So until their Op concludes, the duty roster's gonna be in-house once we get there…"

She then brought out a clipboard from her desk, then started to sift through the papers that were attached to it.

"…First off: Specialist Mallory. He's agreed to play rangemaster for the whole 30 days… let's just hope he doesn't break his damn legs again…"

A few of people in the room laughed.

"…Specialists Chandar and Brunsmeier will be on the intelligence staff, rotation from E-Day plus 1 to 15… Then it'll be myself and Ela for the rest our stay… Specialist Pichon will cover logistics and inventory from 1 to 15, then it will be Streicher's turn... Let's see, who else is on the list…"

More management-hogwash; the woman was talking nonsense as far as Masaru was concerned. He went back doing his thing, letting the words go to one ear and out the other. Yumiko was not all happy to see him like this. But at this point, she'd given up on getting him to toe the line. 'Stubborn, insufferable fool', though the self-professed robo genius would gladly wear that insult with pride. While the briefing continued, he continued working at his leisure, right under everyone's noses.

He surely went all out with his scribbles. Ideas bombarded his brain: some were technically sound and practical, while others were deemed infeasible thanks to current-day tech. By making concessions to chassis size and storage space, Yokai Mk.2 could have additional batteries and extend its operational life by 50%. Replacing its four rotors with more efficient engines would do wonders in prolonged flights, especially for an autonomous flying drone. The added power draw for those gizmos might be problematic, though. In such case, perhaps the custom sonic emitter might have to be replaced with something that needed a little less juice. He could try to fit in that volumetric projector that the spunky French girl had been working on recently...

What the…?

He didn't notice another pair of eyes were locked into him, just a row away to his left. All throughout, he had been grinning to himself like a complete loon, stared on by a pair of black orbs. Beautiful ones, like those he'd seen a few years back. Back when romance mattered to him, rather than turning from it like the plague.

Mei Lin. She heard the frantic scribbles coming from his side. Not the first time she played the observer, while he worked with a narrow instrument tipped with ink. And she glared at him with the same eyes of disappointment, just like back in the day. He felt threatened by her gaze, prompting him to return the same courtesy. A seemingly ancient rift had reappeared between them, accentuated by the physical distance, only mirroring their last meeting outside of Rainbow. Thankfully, today's staring match lasted only briefly, as the cop from Hong Kong was the first to call it quits. She turned away, shaking her head in displeasure. Her former paramour claimed the victory. Funny how things didn't change, despite the passage of time.

"That's about it, guys.", Meghan ended the meeting. "Any questions?"

"…"

"Okay. Expect final marching orders to come later today, at 1500 sharp. Business as usual in the meantime..."

Nods were exchanged.

"…And for crying out loud, can we put what happened last week behind us? That'll be awesome, thanks."

The American's last words again referenced the recent scuffles, judging by the groans and scoffs from her audience. With that, the room was filled with the sound of mumbling mouths, creaking chairs and tables, as everyone got up and left. Discussions and chitchats went the rounds, as expected, quickly becoming uncomfortable to the Japanese man. So much noise. So much stimuli. He gathered his things and made his way out of the door as fast as he could, not even bothering with Yumiko's request to have a word with him. He left her where she sat, dumbfounded and frowning by his sudden, rude haste.

Being the first one out of the door, Masaru was also the first one free from the brewing banters behind him. He took a deep breath to himself, having learned literally learned nothing from today's briefing. Luckily, his partner was there to cover for him. This meant he had more time and more reason to resume his train of thought about his beloved Yokai version two, still dominating his brain. A quick look at the wristwatch told him that he had already wasted almost two of hours his day. It was best to pick up the pace and make his way back to his favorite hole.

"Yo, Echo!"

The female voice came from behind. It was not as soft as Mei Lin's, nor as overbearing as Yumiko's. Rather, it was a bit playful and energetic.

"Grace!"

Skunk-haired pigtails and thick glasses caught his eyes right from the start. She wasn't wearing her beanie today, but then again, the grim-looking uniform never did match her demeanor.

"You headed back already?", she asked.

"Yeah."

"Cool! Let me come with you. I wanna see your prototype firsthand."

"Do not get your hopes up. I'm still working on it.", he pointed at his folder. "I suppose you can't write an auto-flight algorithm for a 32-bit CPU?"

"*laughs* Challenge accepted! Your drone only runs on an x86 I bet. That's sooooo last century!"

Her accent was still as obvious as ever. Suddenly, she tapped him hard on the shoulder. If any other person did that, Masaru would come up to their face and give them an earful at best. Not this woman. She was practically on the same wavelength as he was. Nothing came closer to the truth when she went ahead of him by a few paces, leading the way to the workshop. Naturally, he had to catch up. Such had been their dynamic, since the little goblin came to Hereford all those months ago. His moments with her could be grating at times, but at least they also made him smile more often. It was definitely more than what could be said with his experience with one Officer Siu long ago. Those months still seemed like yesterday. Koin ya no gotoshi.

Yes, this was more like it, he reassured himself. He never expected to find someone who could keep up with his quirks and way of thinking. Grace defied the norm like he did, and shared the same passion for machinery. A rival and a friend, which was more that could be said to almost everyone else in the Team. Together, she and Masaru walked back to the workshop at the far side of Building C, near the Firing Range and Kill House. The small, windowless cube of concrete and reinforced steel was the nexus for Rainbow's Defense R&D Initiative. The two 'geniuses' couldn't wait to get back, so they discussed amongst themselves along the way, brainstorming ideas and trading the odd jab or two.

They arrived at their haunt not long after. Flicking the light switch again, they saw it in the same state that they left it a few hours ago. A brightly-lit room with partitioned tables, with some toolboxes, laptops, and spare parts lying around. Masaru and her friend tossed their things to their respective spots, but then they noticed something peculiar in the corner. One table had a circuit tester and a soldering kit resting on it, where Marius Streicher should be working. The German wasn't around, as his duties were elsewhere at this hour. But he did leave behind his tools for the two would-be engineers. And a note, to boot:

…

"I need them back today. Take good care of them. Or else."

…

Always cheeky as ever.

"Yosh. Let's get to work."

The Japanese man wasted no time and tossed the note away, much to his friend's surprise. He grabbed the tools on the table, then went straight to his station without a care. A spare drone awaited his perusal, which he immediately took apart to pick up where he left off; there was so much work to do. The propulsion system was already done; he could start with field tests by the time Grace had finished with her end of the deal. Hopefully, her algorithm wouldn't make his machine as braindead as a bird flying into a glass window. The power management unit would have to be redesigned, as per his notes, but it might be better if he finished fabricating the chassis first. Instinctively, he grabbed the circuit tester and started a quick runtime check on his robot's little CPU, to see if everything was right as rain…

And just like that, he was back to his own little world; the laziness that gripped him during the briefing today had vanished into thin air. The only Korean in the room was left slack-jawed on the spot, seeing one of the most insufferable and indolent members of the Team work his magic. But amazement turned into a mocking grin not long after, which Masaru could feel without turning his eyes on her.

"You're really so into that, aren't you?", Grace opened.

"Eh?"

"Don't you have any other hobby or something? …Buuuut, I suppose it's natural for boys to play with their toys."

"Shut up. You don't know me.", he rebutted with a harsh tone.

The girl was clearly not fazed by his reply and simply laughed at his face. She went to her station and opened her laptop, claiming the victory, much to the other person's chagrin.

What a jerk…

To the sound of keyboard strokes, he made a mental note to give the damn goblin a piece of his mind once they're done. But for now he blocked out all other distractions. The only thing that mattered at the moment were his tools and his pride and joy. The kinship he shared with the hacker had taken a backseat; they were back to being strangers for the moment.

Funny how quickly things went down. Just like back then, with Mei Lin. He could've grown up a bit, give another girl yet another chance. In this case, it was Grace. She and Mei Lin were quite similar in many respects. Both were understanding, even if they had limits. Both had been patient with him, at least within reason. The new girl was pulling more weight this time around, even though the latter stayed longer. Such praises were more than could be said to a lot of people that Masa-san had met over the years. Could've been a rising star at the Police Academy or the next poster boy of the Police Service, if only his attitude didn't bring him down.

But he couldn't help it. Robots mattered more than relationships. So devoted he was at his trade that he didn't even bother with the particulars of... well, anything else. Perhaps he could've done something more. The image of a girl of short stature, beaming smiles, and a doting voice would quickly remind him of that.

"Well, I know you're too smart to be in the military.", Grace broke the silence. "If you've been with the White Tigers, they'll kick you out just like they did to me."

"..."

"Are you listening? I just gave you a compliment."

"Not good enough, Goblin. Try again."

The vitriol continued, as expected, then quickly subsided as they both continued with their work. Then, the stillness in the air was disturbed yet again when the door to the workshop creaked open. Sunshine briefly added to the white light basking the small room. The two tinkerers turned around, only to see another figure standing at the threshold. She wore the same black uniform as they did. She had the same dark orbs in her eyes, much as theirs. Masaru nearly called out a name. 'Mei Lin' was the first in his head.

It wasn't her. Thankfully so.

…

"Of course I'd find you two here...", Yumiko spoke unenthused.

"Oh, hey there Little Miss Perfect! What's up?", Grace greeted her with a jab.

"...We need you two at Hangar C right now. Help us with the inventory check."

"Aww... we're just getting started here!"

The other woman crossed her arms, frowning.

"We have 15,000 tech components to catalog before the flight.", she lectured. "Our friends in Morocco also want know how much of our stuff are we gonna bring."

Catalog? Flight? Moroccan? Those words sent shockwaves to Masaru's head, catching him off guard. Standing up from his seat, he spoke to the person he hastily left behind a few minutes ago. Naturally, she looked at him rather crossed. Not exactly a good starting point on his part.

"Morocco? Did you say Morocco?"

He clearly missed something important in the meeting, something he didn't realize would directly affect him. The other woman grinned. She evidently wanted to relish this rare moment where he was completely helpless. Unlike him, she had just enough restraint to speak to him in a courteous manner.

"30-day training exercise this weekend, Atlas Mountain Fortress.", she stated plainly. "Half the Team is going… you and Mei Lin will be there too."

...

And that was enough to send him into a bit of a panic. That was like three days away.

"No... I-I can't go! I still have work to do!"

"Hmph. You should've said something to Meghan then…"

"Shimata!" ("Dammit!")

The dawning realization came that his plans would have to be delayed. Or worse. 30 days? It was a heck of a long time to spend in one place, not to mention somewhere that was not his favorite place in all of Hereford. A training exercise would mean a strict schedule and even stricter rules, basically no room for leisure. No time for Masaru to work on the things he preferred to do. And that was not even considering the sheer stress and fatigue that would grip everyone at the end of each day. As such, he wanted to know who approved this arrangement, and why. He suddenly regretted not paying enough attention to Meghan's briefing earlier; he could've missed a few other things as well.

All kinds of thoughts started to racing in his head. Regret, anger, confusion. Most importantly, though, was Yokai Mk.2. His pet project was still in the drawing board, so perhaps there was something about it that he could still accomplish. Something he could still do over the next few days, before the inevitable departure to Morocco. Masaru went back to his bag and sifted through his belongings, trying to find the blue notebook he had been doodling on. If his wristwatch was still right about the time, he could design the drone's chassis by the end of the day, after that business in the hangar was taken care of. Assuming that no more surprises would come...

…

...His heart skipped a beat. His notebook wasn't there.

"Kore o sagashiteimasu ka?" ("Are you looking for this?"), Yumiko blurted out again.

This time she had something on her hand, instantly getting his partner's attention. A small, blue book with a spiral-binding, with reams of pages containing all of his notes. Such an innocuous thing to be happy about, but Masaru nonetheless smiled when he took it from the woman's grasp. The weight in his chest immediately disappeared, as quickly as it came.

"Where did you...?"

"You left it behind on your desk. You're welcome, by the way…"

Yumiko returned the favor to the owner, who was still speechless. Unfortunately for him, her smile was short-lived.

"…Hangar C. Inventory check. I'll be seeing you there."

With that, she turned around to leave the two 'geniuses' at the workshop. Grace pouted her lips, annoyed that her free-time was effectively rescinded in her face. Her colleague felt the same way, though he preferred a more subdued response. That wasn't in his mind though. Due to his haste, he almost lost a huge chunk of the work he'd done this past few days. His colleague, once again, was there to cover for him. He fell quiet as she went straight for the door, as silence befell the room yet again. Grace was confused by their exchange, opening her mouth to ask Masaru what just happened. But he simply went past her as he returned to his workbench, denying her a reasonable answer. As his hand hovered his tools, he started to hesitate.

…

He had to change. Just this once. He probably wouldn't have another chance.

"Imagawa-san. Arigato."

She turned around to look at him, one last time. She had the smuggest smile strewn across her lips. Knowing her, that was never a good sign.

"Kansha shinaide (Don't thank me)...", she said. "Mei Lin found it."

"Huh?"

As it turned out, she had one more shocker in store for him.

"You heard me. Did you know she'll be your training partner in Morocco?"

Grace immediately burst into laughter when she heard that. There was no denying the truth at this point- the drone would have to wait, not that his world had just gotten busier. 'Time flies like an arrow', the proverb went. And it seemed like it was only yesterday since his cheeks turned into a warm shade of red.

...

Author's Comments/Notes: My buddies often joke that Echo is the biggest (wannabe) playboy in Team Rainbow, due to his J-Pop looks and his relationships with Ying, Dokkaebi, and Hibana. I personally find this ironic since, looking into his backstory and quotes, he's actually one of the biggest jerks in the roster so far. Like I said in the foreword, this chapter was inspired by an idea from one of my readers, with changes in character choice.

Up next will be our favorite vape boy: Smoke!