Swapped In

by iibisori

Things feel pretty hopeless when your life feels like the plot of some anime. (Part of her is thankful that, at least it's a good story.) Mikumo Mori seems to just have the worst of luck, sucks that she was the one swapped in for a main character, huh? (Or is it Osamu's bad luck? Did she inherit it? The curse of the main character?)

19. No Title

A/N - MWA hA hahAHAHA I'M BACK WITH THAT BACK-TO-BACk UPDATE

This chapter can also be referred to as 'RIP hyuse's sanity you will not be missed'

Also, Mori, have some character-development. God, you've earned it after all the shit I put you through.

-0-

I think I worried nearly all of my friends with my completely blank face, but I was—at the time—too preoccupied with my thoughts to try and put enough effort in to keep up proper expressions. My mind was wandering like crazy, but unlike before, it wasn't really a bad thing this time.

"… And maybe you should start to take the battlefield more seriously if you even want to live. Much less live to improve enough, and make it onto the away-mission team."

Going over it now, it's not exactly bad advice. I just reacted in a negative way because I felt like he was an asshole, and therefore took all of his words to be insults. It doesn't need to be that way, I just need to look at it rationally.

There are a few different types of people that offer 'advice'.

There're people like Kitora… Or, how Kitora originally acted around me when we first met. This is the only type of person that I try not to pay attention to when they give out 'advice' to people. That's because, honestly? They're just not genuine. All they're doing is throwing around petty insults, rather than giving me honest criticism that they want me to use in getting batter.

Then, there are people like Kikuchihara, who are honest with their criticism, although blunt and relatively harsh about it. Pretty simple, all-around genuine, and I can usually handle these people if I just think about their words rationally when they speak.

Then there's… Really, everyone else. From people that are just friendly while giving advice, to everyone in between.

At first, I thought Ninomiya was like Kitora, especially after he started insulting his former teammate. So that's mostly why I automatically took his words to be flat-out insults. He seems to hold a specific disdain for that Hatohara-girl though, so I guess it was just a bit of a special case. Everything after that, I should've started to listen to his advice properly—

"I would suggest offering another position to the cannon girl. She's obviously not fit for combat, she'd be better off either being an operator… Or not enlisting at all."

Oh right. That's the other thing that made me angry.

But then again, I think that might've also been twisted by his own perspective since apparently, the oh-so-hated Hatohara couldn't shoot people either… So that must've shaped his perspective on how Chika could 'improve'.

AKA, in his perspective, she should just leave.

Now, I can't assume that I automatically know what Hatohara is like, because that's exactly what Ninomiya did with Chika. But, I'm nearly certain that she's at least a little different from Chika since I immediately got a different vibe from her than I do with Chika. Even if all I saw was a photo of her.

They just seem inherently different. So I'm going with my gut, that even if everyone in the world believes that Hatohara should've left Border before this whole incident happened, that doesn't mean that Chika should.

I'm sticking with that point until proven otherwise. So I'll ignore that little bit for now and write it off as spiteful.

(See, isn't this much more efficient? Going through my thought process like a rational human being, isn't it nice? I'm not even getting irrationally angry like usual, which means I'm doing something right.)

Next piece. Or, the last piece. The only bit of advice that actually mattered.

"…And maybe you should start to take the battlefield more seriously if you even want to live. Much less live to improve enough, and make it onto the away-mission team."

That.

That… Was I really…?

I didn't really register it until now, but maybe I had been… Being quite lax during the rank wars matches. I know the reason for it too, but I just didn't notice it in time to correct it.

It's because my mind won't recognize any danger.

That's why I was all high-strung and in a no-nonsense mood for the entire invasion, because I knew I was in danger. I could instinctively feel it. So my body took note of that and refused to let me calm down until it was all over… Which, unfortunately for me, was around 2 weeks later when I woke back up.

The rank wars, in comparison, seem unnaturally light-hearted. I'm not in mortal danger at every single moment, so I suppose it's only natural that my brain would react differently.

Not only that, but I don't really… Have something I'm aiming for. Not really.

Chika wants to see Rinji and her childhood friend again. All I want to is punch Rinji in the face and move on with my life.

Yuma wants to get Replica back, and yeah, I guess Replica's my friend too. But I haven't known him nearly as long as Yuma has and in the end, it… That time I spent really can't compare.

I don't have a goal. A drive, beyond helping my friends. And I've read enough books to know that having a conviction is one of the most important things for long-term fighting like this.

So, I have a few apparent problems. I don't take the rank wars seriously enough. I don't have any prominent goal that's driving me. And then the obvious issue… I keep thinking that improvising is perfectly acceptable during the matches.

… It's probably not.

And finally, the last, and possibly biggest problem.

"That's rich. You hardly even act like a proper Border agent, much less a captain."

I need to start acting like a captain. Admittedly, that's something I'm still currently working on, but it's been on the back burner for a while, hasn't it.

It's something I need to think about more. Immediately.

-0-

"Alright, quick run down." Rindou sighed, laying out everything on the table, and holding up Hyuse's wrist with a loose grip. Both Mori and Yuma could see the thick bracelet wrapped around his wrist, big enough to hold a Trigger within it.

It still looked relatively bulky despite only holding the basic mechanics to create a Trion body, having completely forgone any weapons that they'd usual fill a Trigger with.

'I guess it was just pulled out of the engineer's hand's…' Yuma sighed, glancing shortly at the vaguely irritated expression on Hyuse's face. 'Besides, they probably didn't bother trying to refine it any further, since it seemed so impractical in the first place.'

"So first piece of equipment, Hyuse's Trigger." Rindou gestured for him to turn it on, which Hyuse reluctantly complied to, though sending their boss a withering glance whilst doing so. "The only reason this is really here, is to hide his horns. The Trion body doesn't show them, so he can officially go to school without any issues. There's a tracker in there too, but that's not too important right now."

Rindou paused, before letting go of Hyuse's wrist. "Also, if he's out of range of both of you guys without any prior warning, it'll cause an alarm to go off, which will automatically alert HQ. I think Kinuta said the range was… 100 meters."

Yuma shot a quick glance at Mori in between, trying to gauge her reaction to any of this. He internally frowned when he took note of her ever-bland expression but turned back to Rindou without a word.

"Next, I also managed to get permission for you two to have Triggers too," He handed off the two Triggers without issue, expression growing serious. "Now, Kido was really against this, so there are a few rules on these Triggers. First, on a day-to-day basis, they're for communicators strictly. The Trion body automatically adjusts to match your physical body at the time, so you can use it anytime and your clothes won't change… Oh right. There are no weapon Triggers on either of them. That's mostly Kido's fault, but there's still a shield Trigger for protection."

"This is really inefficient," Mori muttered dryly. "What's stopping us from switching over to our usual Triggers?"

"Once you switch back to your normal Triggers, you need to abide by the usual B-rank Trigger rules. So you can only use them off-duty to fight Neighbours."

"Does Hyuse count as an enemy Neighbour?"

Rindou levelled a flat look at us. "It's Kido, what do you think."

"Right, stupid question."

Yuma would've laughed at Hyuse's completely-dead-inside expression any other time. But for now, he'll settle for just… watching.

"… Shouldn't we be off to school now?"

-0-

Sitting in his seat, Yuma watched the class bustle around, as usual, crowding around the room in their own little friend groups. Usually, Mori and himself would show up fashionably late, and make it inside right before the teacher.

But for today—and in the foreseeable future—They'd need to get here on time.

For now, he decided to check up on his partner. "How's it going over there, Mori?"

"… Fine. Some minor difficulties."

She didn't elaborate on that, and Yuma found himself sighing dramatically at his friend's recent behaviour.

Mori was currently trying to help Hyuse introduce himself to the teachers and stuff (also keeping an eye on him), while Yuma found himself in the classroom, virtually alone.

There was nothing to do at the moment since even the three idiots that sat behind them didn't go near Yuma anymore… Not since he beat them up, anyway. So the only thing to do now, was think.

Mori was acting weird.

He could tell the difference between moping and thinking, and what Mori is doing right now is undoubtedly thinking. About what? Yuma doesn't know. He doesn't particularly care, since the only reason he'd want to know is so that he himself can help out with it, but other than that? He doesn't really doubt that Mori can handle it.

Her demeanour is really bothering him though, and it's kind of distracting, so he hopes she works it out soon. He'll just have to do whatever he can to help.

"Class, everyone please sit down!" Mizunuma calls out, and wow, Yuma didn't even notice she came in. Apparently, homeroom is starting. "I'm aware you've all heard about how we're getting a new student—"

The class begins chattering again, and Yuma winces in sympathy for the teacher.

"Class," Moribayashi calls out sharply, quieting the classroom in an instant as Mori herself walks out from behind him. She walked around him blankly, making it back to her seat on autopilot as the teachers begin the introduction.

"Everything went smoothly?"

Mori sighed, although her lips didn't move as she sat down in her chair. "As smoothly as it could've gone."

Yuma laughs, just as the teachers called Hyuse to walk inside.

"… My name is Hyuse."

The teacher squinted dubiously at the brunette for a moment, before scribbling 'Mikumo Ellin Hyuse' on the blackboard behind him, once it was obvious the Neighbour had no intention of doing so.

There were a few loud whispers at the last name, which Hyuse pointedly ignored as Moribayashi directed him to his seat. Mori and Yuma, raised their eyebrows at the middle-name, but the brunette Neighbour was stubbornly keeping his eyes trained on the seat he was directed to.

Mori snickered slightly at Hyuse's vaguely uncomfortable expression, which in turn made Yuma chuckle.

'This is going to be a long, long year.'

-0-

(Day 1 - Monday)

The day started fine.

The class was only slightly rowdier than usual, with people whispering and gossiping about Hyuse since apparently, every transfer student in Mikado is a part of Border—which, once Hyuse heard about those rumours, in particular, he put a stop to them.

Violently.

Okay, it wasn't that violent. But damn if Kido didn't make a mistake letting I-grew-up-in-a-warzone-Yuma and I-just-don't-give-a-fuck-anymore-Mori, guard Hyuse.

Safe to say, Hyuse just cornered one of the students in the hall, and gave a few friendly suggestions (read: threats) to stop spreading rumours around about him being part of Border.

The rumours stopped quickly after that. Almost inhumanly so. Though, since Hyuse didn't actually even lay a finger on the kid, it wasn't classified as attacking someone, so…

Mori and Yuma just stood by and watched, to say the least. It was kind of awkward, but Mori reasons that the kid shouldn't have been spreading rumours in the first place. But Mori was also the person that decided to put on her headphones and pretend she didn't notice when Yuma tried beating people up.

She told Hyuse not to threaten people again, which he shot her a glare for, and then they continued.

(Yuma silently leaned over to Hyuse later on, whispering a quiet 'Don't do that again, she's too lost in thought to care right now, but next time she'll get mad.' Hyuse shot him another glare.)

Yeah, they're not getting along… Fantastically.

But they sat together at lunch, this time deciding to find a spot outside so that they can leave Chika and Natsume alone on the roof.

It's when they're walking across the courtyard, that Hyuse finally speaks once again. For the first time since he was forced to introduce himself by the teachers and his now-adopted sister.

"I'm sitting here."

Yuma pauses.

He wanted to voice out the fact that they don't really care all that much, before he realized that, yeah, they might care a little, because they need to sit in the same spot.

"… Sure, whatever." Mori sighed, before tumbling towards the ground, rolling over, and dropping her school bag on her face. "… I'll be right here."

Hyuse nods, before somehow still managing to look completely natural while climbing up the tree that Mori situated herself under.

Yuma glances around questioningly, staring at the two teenagers awkwardly.

…

Hyuse sits up in the tree while pulling out the small sandwich he had been given for lunch, still warily scanning the area as he bit into the snack.

"… Mind if I join you?"

Hyuse jolted at the sudden voice, head whipping around as Yuma pulled himself up onto the branch beside Hyuse.

-0-

"Psst, Mori," Yuma questions through the communicator. "What's the answer to 4-C?"

To Mori's credit, she didn't even flinch at the sudden noise, which she was getting better at. "… I'm surprised you got that far."

"I don't think I answered any of the previous questions correctly, but whatever."

She sighed outwardly, before tossing an eraser over to his desk. It bounced off of the surface wildly before he caught it single-handedly without breaking composure.

"The answer is 184. Besides, you can't just cheat answers off of me now that the teachers have no way of knowing that we're talking," Mori glanced back down at her paper, absentmindedly scribbling out the next answer. "… Maybe we should just keep the communicators off during the day unless it's an emergency."

"No, please don't cut me off…" Yuma leaned forward to set his chin on the desk already pouting childishly. "I'll get lonely because Hyuse doesn't talk, and you refuse to pass notes with me if there's nothing important to talk about…"

Mori sighed under her breath, digging the heel of her palm into her head.

Yuma spent most of the last period cracking jokes in between asking for answers—the latter only stopping after a few minutes of failed explanations without visuals.

It was hard, trying to guide someone else through a complicated math problem without being able to directly interact with them beyond speech.

Mori actually looked like she wanted to commit murder a few times, unfortunately catching Hyuse's questioning eye. Yuma only waved him off with a chuckle, and eventually, the bell rings.

Mori throws the bag over her shoulders, grabbing the edge of Hyuse's uniform sleeve and Yuma by the back of his collar, before dragging them through the halls forcefully.

They made it to their lockers and out of the school before they could notice the newly-formed hoard of girls attempting to follow them.

Or rather, trying to follow the new kid.

Once they were off school property, Mori let go of both males, which caused Hyuse's scowl to lessen, but not completely go away. Yuma idly wondered if he ever stopped scowling.

"Did you need to drag me?" He hissed, apparently now getting the idea that neither of the Border agents would punish him for saying anything that wasn't too out of turn, which Yuma was beginning to regret.

"I didn't want to stay there long," Mori only excused, pulling her phone from her pocket before beginning to walk down the sidewalk off towards Tamakoma. "The students are really annoying, and I have plans for this afternoon anyway."

"Wait. I didn't hear about this," Yuma mumbled, just loud enough for the three to hear. "Wait, are we part of these plans? Or are you ditching me with guard duty?"

Hyuse once again scowled—Buddy, your face is going to stay that way—at the words 'guard duty'. Being reminded of his captivity wasn't pleasant, apparently.

"I made arrangements for yesterday, but couldn't leave the building at the time that I needed to because of Jin." She shrugged, headphones around her neck bobbing at the motion. "We changed the plans for today 'cause of that, sorry."

"You didn't even warn me?" Yuma whined. "Should I just wait back at the branch? I thought we were going to practice for a little afterwards…"

"I did say that, so I'll make sure to be back by around… 7 or 8," Mori reasoned, although she knew that Yuma was mostly joking around. "I'll drop my bag off at the building, before leaving Hyuse with you and anyone at the branch. Don't die of boredom."

Yuma shot Mori a betrayed expression, while Hyuse gave his own dirty look.

What a fine trio they are. Perfection.

-0-

Four-eyed weirdo : im on my way

Four-eyed weirdo : which lobby are you in again

Cloud buddy : Lobby 1.

Cloud buddy : Just because.

Four-eyed weirdo : that's fair.

Four-eyed weirdo : ok but serious talk,, I left around 10 minutes ago, so if I start sprinting again ill be there soon

Cloud buddy : Wait you were running?

Cloud buddy : You ARE running? All the way to HQ? Dude, you're gonna die.

Four-eyed weirdo : you can't stOP ME

-0-

I tucked away my phone in my pocket again, preparing to sprint towards HQ once again.

Good thing I was in a Trion body or all this running would start to make my scars ache again. Not that Inukai knew about either, but whatever. I'll switch back to my flesh-and-blood body when I make it to the front doors.

But I'd thought about it all day. Primarily during lunch, when it was quiet and I could focus more (though I'd forgotten to eat in the process, so I'm feeling just a little hungry right now), so I decided that I should get some outside opinions before moving on to start improving myself.

First, I needed to talk to some people that had what most people would consider a 'good'—in a textbook sense—captain. That leaves a few different squads, like Kazama squad, Arashiyama squad, probably-Ninomiya squad, Azuma squad, Arafune squad, and Nasu squad… All units with captains that were decently level-headed, and smart in a tactical sense. I wanted to get some input from anyone in those squads specifically, which was good since I was currently meeting up with Inukai at this exact moment.

Next, I needed to talk to some captains—in general, this time I'm not going to discriminate. I could probably go to Tachikawa about this since I've already asked him about the subject before… Although I didn't really get a good answer at the time, the conversation was relatively insightful. After that, I'll just have to see who else is at HQ and double-check who I can approach without any conflict. Though I might need to do the rest of that tomorrow, since I don't really want to ditch Inukai when he was the one I originally made plans with.

I'll most likely end up doing all this after the matches with Inukai. But he's been a great help, and I still need to talk to him about the Hatohara/Rinji issue that he had asked about (especially since I didn't get around to telling Ninomiya anything I knew about it, before he stormed out), so I'm going to be quite busy.

Also, I need to finish all of this up before 7 at the latest, since I still have somethings I need to go over with Yuma when I get back. I want to try out the split-vision again since it really was something useful, no matter how nauseous it made me… Though I still need to bring Hyuse back home in time for dinner, cause I haven't been hanging out with mom very much lately. Then, for tomorrow, I'll borrow some of the logs from Shiori, since I really want to check out our next opponents—

"… And maybe you should start to take the battlefield more seriously if you even want to live. Much less live to improve enough, and make it onto the away-mission team."

—I need to start working harder. Much, much harder.

(I want to be useful. I refuse to let my team be left in the dust, especially not when it'd be my fault.)

I grinned while continuing to sprint down the sidewalk.

-0-

"Eh, she's off already?" Konami leaned through the doorway, still in her school uniform. "You three just got here though…"

"She said she had plans or something at HQ," Yuma explained, slipping off his shoes while nudging Hyuse to stop loitering grumpily around the front door. "On the other hand, Konami, could you help us study?"

Hyuse levelled a flat stare in his direction. "I don't need help."

"God, your face is going to stay like that one of those days. Besides, in case you forgot, I still need to stay in the same room as you for guard duty. Though I'd bet my Trigger that you actually need help with language class, since you weren't paying attention during that period."

Hyuse's stare intensified, already half-way to a venomous glare.

"You don't need to look at me like that, do you? Mori's the one that saw you doodling, so I can't completely take credit for catching you ignoring the teacher. Besides, neither of us snitched, you should be grateful."

Hyuse's hand twitched violently, as if he were tempted to reach for a sword at his side. The sight made Yuma laugh, loudly.

Konami glanced between the two of them, before sighing heavily. "Fine, fine, I'll help you two. Shiori only has a few minutes before she'll be back from school though, so she can help with tutoring too."

"Can we get some afternoon snacks while we work? Maybe I can bribe Hyuse with taiyaki so that he doesn't brutally murder me."

Hyuse was greatly tempted to attempt strangling his only remaining 'guard', but thankfully managed to refrain.

('It's only the first day', Hyuse repeats in his mind. 'It's only the first day of this, you can't be snapping already.')

-0-

"Ah, Miku-chan!" Inukai waved, already in his Trion body—which, wow, how can anyone run around in a suit—with a smile on his face. "You really did run all the way here, impressive."

"I said what I meant, and I meant what I said," I joked, a smile already forming. "Did you want to fight first, or talk?"

He grinned. "Isn't the answer to that, a little… Obvious?"

I sighed, already walking towards one of the solo rank wars booths. "Alright, just don't expect too much outta me." I ended up switching from my flesh-and-blood body to my battle Trion body halfway across the hall, just so that I didn't need to later.

I stepped into the booth, absentmindedly noticing the nearest open room being a few doors down. Without another second, I shut the door behind me.

"… Actually, I've only ever used these once before." I laughed lightly at the thought, stepping up to the panel. "Do I even still know how it works?"

I tapped the screen twice, watching it light up with a nearly endless list of points and weapons.

I scanned the lists for a few minutes, before laughing dryly as I unconsciously leaned backwards into the chair.

"… Goddamnit Inukai, you didn't tell me which one you were."

Thankfully, I didn't need to ask or guess. A small pop-up formed in the corner of the screen, before expanding and moving to take over a small section in the middle.

'You have been challenged.'

A raised eyebrow. "… That's not ominous in the slightest."

Correctly assuming that the 'challenger' was my blonde friend, I clicked the 'accept' button, as the computers synced up and connected our communicators.

"Do you have a specific battleground you want to lose on, Mikumo-chan?" Inukai's joking, yet smug voice rang out, and for once… I thought twice about saying something self-deprecating.

"… You know," I began instead, a small grin forming. "Maybe... I'll make you eat those words instead… Inukai-kun."

I didn't end up seeing the sudden beam on his face. I couldn't, being in separate rooms. But somehow, I could practically hear the excited grin on his face, even though that wasn't how physics worked.

-0-

"… That kind of sucked." I laughed, taking a quick look at the match scores. "Man, I really suck."

"You seemed like you were kind of pumped up, Mikumo-chan," Inukai's voice rang out as I rocked back in forth in my chair, the two of us taking a quick breather from our previous non-stop matches. "I think that 13 - 7 is still pretty good, even if you lost. Don't you know that I used to be A-rank?"

After 10 rounds and during a break, I did end up telling him mostly everything I knew about the Rinji-issue so that he could pass on the information to Ninomiya another time—as well as a watered-down version of what happened yesterday with Ninomiya.

"Wait, so Amatori Rinji actually told you about this? Like, he told you pretty much everything he was planning."

"Yeah, pretty much. It was kind of a dumb plan, he's such a moron for going through with it…"

"… Wow, other than naming everyone else that was involved, and the day that they'd leave, he basically told you everything!"

"I guess Ninomiya has one of his culprits, huh?"

"Well, there's not much else we can do about it, since the guy's already gone… But, I guess it's nice to know who's responsible. I'll pass this on to Ninomiya-san, if that's okay with you…?"

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead."

He could tell that the first issue was somewhat emotionally-taxing, and so he made up for it by sharing a few of his own problems with Hatohara herself… Which somehow ended up in us sharing funny stories about the two absentees. It was easier to talk about this stuff if you made light of it, although not too much. Just enough to make you feel like everything's alright.

We went back in for 10 more rounds after that, and here we are.

"I did hear something about that… A-rank, huh?" I murmured. "What rank were you, anyway? I heard Kageura squad used to be No. 6, which is pretty cool in hindsight."

"Take a guess," He sang, and I laughed lightly at that. "But honestly, you did good. Want some feedback?"

(I've been laughing a lot today. Something's obviously changed with me, and I'll pray that it doesn't change back.)

"If you don't offer the advice in a petty and passive-aggressive way, then sure, I'll listen," I joked, and thankfully, he took the slight against his captain in stride.

"Well, first of all, you don't really have a set fighting style," He began conversationally, and I made sure to take note of everything he was saying. "I guess it's not relatively important since there are tons of people in Border that make their way up the ladder, just by being flexible in different scenarios. But when I'm fighting against you, it's kind of clear to see… You don't really know how to make use of your status as a shooter."

He paused, and I raised an eyebrow before he continued. "… You are a shooter, right? I can't quite remember your Trigger sets."

"I used to have a Scorpion, but I took it out last round." I hummed, resting my chin on my hand. "On one set, I have Asteroid, Meteora, Shield, and Spider… And on the other side, I have Hound, Viper, Asteroid, and the Bagworm."

"So, a pretty well-rounded shooter set, nice. I did notice you use the Spider during your last match, even if it wasn't very much." He hummed, and I heard his chair creak as if he were rocking back and forth. "But I see you have two Asteroid, one on each side? I don't think you could make composite bullets, so any particular reason for that?"

"Just so that I could use it while also using a shield or a Bagworm," I commented. "But what were you saying earlier…?"

"Right, that." I could hear the smile in his voice while he spoke, and for a moment I wondered how he could smile nearly all the time. "You like to get close-range most of the time, which isn't really what shooters are supposed to do. It kind of looks like you used to be an attacker… But that's weird since you only joined Border a short while ago, didn't you?"

"Yeah, around a month or two ago." I grinned at the memory, still slightly fond of the first time I stood up to Kitora. "But I did practice swordsmanship for a little before that, since joining Border had been a goal of mine for a while… So I have some minor skills in that department."

"Oh, that… Actually, that kind of makes more sense," He laughed. "Anyway, you like to go close-range like an attacker, but in the end… Shooters aren't really supposed to do that. The only thing you can block any attacks with is the shield. Which isn't all that versatile compared to… Let's just say, a Kogetsu, which you can use to both attack and defend, and be held in your hand. You could probably do the same with a Scorpion, but they're fragile, so not too often."

"It's hard to find out strategies for a shooter with my specific style though, since I'm usually as mobile as possible," I commented. "There's not very many shooters in Border in the first place, finding someone that overlaps with my own style, in particular, is difficult."

"Isn't Nasu really mobile during her matches?" Inukai asked questioningly. "You could check out some of the logs from her matches, you might be able to learn some strategies from her in particular. Most other shooters aren't as quick to move around… Though I'm not sure about Mizukami from Ikoma squad, maybe him too…?"

"I feel like if I try looking at other people's styles," I grumbled although I was more frustrated at the situation than the person I was speaking to. "… Then I might end up unconsciously copying them, and that's the last thing I want to do…"

"Ah, you're probably right." Inukai agreed sympathetically. "I guess the only option is to just keep at it, and develop your own little strategies in that regard…"

Though, over the course of the entire analysis and following conversation, I couldn't help the slight shock that made its way into my eyes as I stared blankly at the monitor.

"… You're surprisingly good at analyzing, Inukai-kun."

"Ah, you're sticking with the '-kun'…? I guess I was asking for it, but still, I'm 3 years older than you…"

I laughed, again.

-0-

"… I don't get it."

Konami groaned, before slamming her face against the desk.

Shiori's eye violently twitched underneath her glasses, and Hyuse—the prisoner—actually took enough pity on them to get them some water.

"How does Mori have the patience for this?!" Konami shrieked, holding her head in her hands.

From the doorway, from Hyuse's perspective, he sullenly admits that the room looks like a scene right out of one of the dramas that Yotaro tried showing him. With Shiori sitting with perfect posture, book and pencil in both hands, eye twitching violently underneath her glasses. Konami, switching between screaming in frustration and slamming her already red forehead against the coffee table they were all spread out around. Yuma, sitting across from them, duckface perfectly in place, holding a textbook loosely in his hand, the only sign of effort being the slightly creased forehead. Textbooks, pencils, erasers, notepads and stray worksheets completely spread across the table, some even slipping off the surface and falling to the floor.

Hyuse distantly recalls Karasuma arriving back at the branch after school and passing by the room to check what the commotion was. Hyuse remembers him standing in the doorway with horror buried deep in his eyes for a few brief moments, before he closed the door and abandoned them to their fate.

Upsettingly enough, the usually irritated Neighbour can't even blame him. He only wishes that he could have left too.

And Hyuse sets down a few glasses (which he had to ask Jin to grab, infuriatingly enough, because he couldn't leave the room without supervision) on the very few empty spaces on the table, which Shiori takes with a grateful nod when there's no space around her area.

He settled down on the couch with his own glass, already having finished his own homework, watching on with pity in his eyes as the two girls try to hammer some academic theory into Yuma's thick skull.

Hyuse sighed.

('It's only the first day', Hyuse repeats in his mind, again. 'It's only the first day of school, you can't be snapping already.')

But it's weaker this time, because Hyuse is slowly starting to crack with all of the chaos. He's not shut inside the basement anymore, but he's starting to wonder if that would've been the kinder alternative.

-0-

Somehow, when the two of us had stepped out of the booths to regroup, grab some drinks, and get a larger breather this time, we stumbled across another familiar face.

"You guys were fighting?" Kikuchihara raises an eyebrow, still leaning against the wall lazily. "What's the score so far?"

"… 20 - 10?" I muttered questioningly, turning to Inukai.

"19 - 11," He corrected with a grin. "You were trying to switch your fighting style around a little at the end there, but you pulled off a win for the last round."

"Impressive enough," Kikuchihara interrupted, glancing around quickly before shooting a small and seemingly-reluctant thumbs up to me. "Having fun?"

"I sure am," I replied at the same time that Inukai ended up saying, "Got a reputation to keep, Huh, Kikuchihara?"

Kikuchihara was too lazy to do anything more than shoot Inukai a dirty look. Inukai laughed it off easily though, so the former eventually looked away with a huff.

"So, how's your day going, Kikuchihara-senpai?" I asked conversationally, watching the back and forth interaction between the two completely different characters from a nearby couch against the wall.

"Why does he get called 'senpai', and I don't?" Inukai complained under his breath. "He's 16, so I'm obviously older…"

"Defence duty was kind of a mess since Kazama and Mikami were absent, but we managed," Kikuchihara continued, unperturbed. "… How're you?"

"I'm good, though today's been kind of a blur." I laughed (again). "Yuma and I had to show around a new student in our class, but other than that, nothing's really happened today."

Kikuchihara picked up on the hidden meaning, eyes gleaming before he nonchalantly nodded.

Inukai, who had preoccupied himself with buying some drinks while we were talking, turned back around and handed me an orange soda. "… You do like this brand, right? I remember, this is the one you gave me around a week ago."

"Oh, thanks." I nodded towards him, gratefully accepting the can… before briefly giving it a slightly suspicious look. "You didn't shake this to get back at me, did you?"

"Mikumo-chan!" He reared back, clutching his chest with a hand dramatically. "I would never!"

I gave him one last suspicious glance, before taking his word for it and pulling the tab. It didn't explode in my face thankfully enough, and I breathed a small sigh of relief that both teens probably heard within the mostly empty hall.

Kikichihara snorted, and Inukai gave a mock-offended expression.

(… Yeah, they definitely heard.)

"… Wait, I almost forgot." I lifted my head up, having to tilt my head up to meet their eyes due to me being the only one to sit down. "Can I ask you guys a few questions about some random stuff?"

Inukai gave an encouraging smile and Kikuchihara raised an eyebrow, signalling for me to go on. Which I took as a good sign.

"… You guys both are… Happy with your squads, right? Can you describe what exactly you think makes your captain a 'good' captain?"

It seemed like a loaded question.

I didn't realize how heavy their responses might be when I was tossing the words around in my head, but now that I had voiced it out loud… I felt like I might have been asking a lot of them, depending on their circumstances.

"Only if you're comfortable," I added quickly, trying to make it clear that I wasn't in dire need of answers any time soon. Not at someone else's expense, anyway. "I just kind of… Wanted to know. I've been thinking a lot about it lately."

And the two of them stared at me for a few more minutes, before the brunette sighed heavily and glanced at the blonde agent.

"… Did you want to go first, or should I?" Kikuchihara muttered questioningly, taking a few steps around to sit beside me on the bench.

Inukai shrugged, his easy-going grin sliding back into place as he leaned back and landed comfortably in the spot between the brunette and the edge of the bench. "You can go first, I'll just listen… For now."

I couldn't help the slight lift of my head.

-0-

"Hey, I heard your side effect is enhanced hearing."

"… Who are you? Your kind of full of yourself, for a shrimp…"

"I'm Kazama Soya, 19 years old. A pleasure to meet you."

"Nine… Nineteen years old?!"

"You're Kikuchihara, right? When you're a full-time agent, I want you to join my team."

"… My side effect is lame and boring. It won't help you, so you might as well just go find someone else more interesting."

"I'll be the judge of that. We need you."

-0-

"Kazama-san is someone I can recognize as a captain…" Kikuchihara began, leaning back onto the couches back-cushions. "… Well, there's a lot of reasons, but I think that the first thing I noticed, was..."

Kikuchihara paused, eyes sliding up to the ceiling as he thought.

"He always had an idea of what would happen next."

I blinked at the… Well, mostly the wording of it. But I knew better than to interrupt, not when even someone like Kikuchihara was struggling—even just a little bit—to think of the proper words to say.

Kikichihara sat up again, sucking on the straw of his drink before he continued. "Kazama-san, when he first approached me because of my side effect… He told me exactly what would happen. I remember his words very clearly… 'we'll share your audio information via transmission, you'll be the ears of the squad. Other squads rely on sight for 80-percent of their perception. We'll have an incredible advantage over them'… And then he invited me to join his team." The teen took a small breath. "And that's exactly what happened. Although at first, it was really disorienting, we knew that the shared audio would give us a large advantage over other squads. So Kazama-san pushed us and never thought once that we'd let him down."

Kikuchihara gave me a long pause to process the information. I almost forgot that Inukai was there, to tell the truth. He was being so quiet.

"… After that, it was clear that Kazama-san had a lot of faith in our abilities, and once we started climbing the ranks… Well, it was just like he said before. So, when Kazama-san said we'd improve that time, and he made good on his word… I've really never doubted him again after that. It's things like that, that make you feel like the captain is someone you can count on, without a doubt."

… I found it really difficult to speak after that.

"Oh, now that's horrible. Fuck, maybe we should just give up. This was a stupid idea."

… He didn't give up on the idea. He kept pushing forward with it, because he had faith in their abilities, because he had faith in his own abilities… He made sure he cemented himself as someone who was self-assured, who knew what they were doing. Someone they could count on.

… Hm.

"That was a good speech, Kikuchihara-kun!" Inukai clapped. And although it seemed mocking at first, I could tell without a doubt that it was genuine.

I could tell that Kikuchihara noticed it too, but scowled at him anyway to keep up appearances.

"Should I go next…?" Inukai asked. "I think I've had long enough to think about it, but I don't really know what to talk about… Other than the fact that Ninomiya comes off as a really self-assured person! It's hard arguing with someone like that."

I sighed heavily at his words, although there was a small grin dancing on my lips.

Inukai could only laugh at my expression. Kikuchihara might've snickered a little too, but I couldn't tell in the end.

-0-

(Day 2 - Tuesday)

Mori and Hyuse had to wake up earlier this time, since they still had time to go over to Tamakoma and pick Yuma up (who, despite apparently having a house that he had paid for, still liked to stay at the branch building), but once the three were together, they were off.

"It's too early," Yuma yawned jokingly, and Mori snickered at him even though she too felt like crap due to sleepiness.

Hyuse swayed on his feet uncertainly, although he stubbornly kept his hands in his pockets and his eyes forward despite the early hour.

"… I packed some cheesecake that I made the other day," Mori muttered, reaching into her bag at the same time, before pulling out two plastic wrapped triangle slices. "I brought one for you, so you can have it for breakfast."

"Is this even remotely healthy?"

Mori laughed, unwrapping her piece and shoving it in her mouth. "No, not really."

Hyuse rolled his eyes.

But he did end up eating his own piece after a few minutes of watching the two other teens enjoy the sweets.

The morning, other than that, was relatively quiet. Setting aside the unhealthy breakfast, the three were mostly quiet while walking. Taking up their usual positions of the two guards on either side of Hyuse, while the brunette teen was just trying to pretend for a few minutes that he wasn't really a prisoner at this exact moment.

Mori's noticed that Hyuse—despite how much he protests that he hates being here and acts like an angsty teen—hasn't really made a move to escape. Not in the slightest. She's noticed him glancing around warily as if he's expecting to be attacked or killed at any moment, but there's nothing indicating that he's looking for an escape route.

She decides that she's unsure of how to feel about that, as she walks into the classroom first, already bolting towards her spot around the middle—but also further back in the classroom. The two boys accompanying her came in as well, although at a much slower, casual pace.

And for a while, watching on with boredom as the class slowly fills up, Mori realizes that something feels off.

Mori shuffled in her seat, feeling like something was oh-so-terribly wrong as she finally started to gain awareness of her surroundings.

'This is what I get for waking up so early and staying up so late, huh?' Mori inwardly sighed, sitting up straight in her chair. 'Being so sleepy that I can't even be semi-aware of my surroundings. Lovely.'

She tapped her desk impatiently a few times, before consciously turning her communicator on as she turned her head towards the side uncertainly. "Yuma, is it just me, or is someone watching us?"

"Oh, now you're the one using the communicator for no reason."

"Yuma," Mori looked around again, and this time Hyuse took notice too. "I'm serious, I feel like someone's watching us. Or one of us, it's entirely possible that someone is still holding a grudge against you for beating them up… At some point."

Hyuse tilted his head at them, brow furrowing as he saw them completely silent, yet somehow conversing.

'Must be those communicators that the 'boss' mentioned during the equipment rundown,' Hyuse reasoned mentally, before turning back to face the front again with a blank stare.

Mori glanced back at Hyuse. "Maybe someone's just staring at Hyuse since he's a new kid… Actually, speaking of which, can we somehow get Hyuse a communicator too?"

"Whaaaat…?" Yuma stretched out over the side of his desk lazily, not completely unlike a feline. "Is Mori—not only condoning talking during class time—but also wants Hyuse to be a part of the group?"

"… You know what, sure, let's go with that. I like to live like on the edge."

"I'm such a good influence on you."

"Those are not the words I would be using in this particular instance."

-0-

Turns out, Mori didn't need to go looking for the person that was staring at them nearly all morning. She didn't even get a chance to leave the classroom at the start of the lunch period.

Because they came to them.

(… Well, it started with a love letter.)

Turns out Hyuse is really popular with the ladies in their school, which is kind of hilarious considering the slightly constipated look on his face when the girl confessed to him in front of the whole class.

It didn't really help him much that his two 'guards' ended up backing up to watch the spectacle from the back of the class with matching grins, although Yuma's was slightly eviler. Mori just seemed amused, which Hyuse found absolutely infuriating as his eyes slid back and forth through the classroom, trying to find an escape. He obviously didn't end up finding it, judging by the subtly horrified expression on his face.

Mori actually took pity on him after seeing that expression and promptly walked through the crowd, grabbed his wrist, turned back around to grab Yuma, and tore through the school as if the devil was chasing her.

Which, with the sudden hoard of fangirls that started chasing them was any sign, wasn't too far off.

This time, when Mori dragged Hyuse along, he didn't scowl or struggle, because god don't leave me here with these goddamn insane people—

-0-

"So, you guys skipped school."

Mori nodded, phone held against her ear as she sipped on some soda. "… Yeah, I guess we did."

"… Well, I… I guess it's too late to go back now…?"

"Probably," She agreed, looking around to glance at the two people with her. Both Hyuse and Yuma were sitting on nearby benches, lunches and drinks from a nearby vending machine on their laps, with Hyuse looking slightly sullen due to the prior events. Yuma had gotten bored of teasing him about it around half an hour ago but hadn't quite completely given up on the idea of annoying the older Neighbour.

Hyuse was just trying to pretend that the white-haired teen didn't exist.

"Should I come to pick you guys up, or can you guys walk back?"

"Ah, I think…" Mori paused. "… Actually, this might be perfect. I need to go grab something and then I need to go back to the branch office before Chika returns from school. Though I don't want to completely ditch Yuma with guard duty, so I figured they could come with me… I'll get them to carry the bags."

"Alright," Rindou's voice rang out from the phone. "Have fun."

"Thank you," Mori said, before hanging up.

'... After all, it's Chika birthday. I might've already gotten her a present, but I might as well help Yuma pick out one too, before it's too late.'

Mori paused for a moment, before taking pity, and sending a quick text to Kizaki to warn him about his apprentice's birth date. She got a quick reply of 'Jin already told me, but thank you,' before she was finishing up her lunch with a smile.

-0-

Chika's birthday didn't raise too much of a fuss, although there were many indignant yells at the beginning of 'why didn't you tell us ahead of time' as everyone returned back from school with bags of streamers, party hats and more.

Jin ended up taking multiple pictures of people walking in, to colourful birthday banners and decorations, as well as Chika's slightly embarrassed, but nonetheless grateful expression. Mori had been in the kitchen at that point with Kizaki, and he figured that those two in particular would appreciate the photos in the future.

Somewhere in the corner of every photo, was Hyuse completely bland-faced, with a party hat shoddily tied around his head (presumably by Mori and the little white-haired gremlin who shall not be named), with a party popper in hand while he looked absolutely done with life.

There was another photo of him shoving Yuma's head into one of the cakes—apparently at the end of his wits when some of Yuma's antics had gotten to be too much to bear. That photo in particular, Mori ended up making her lock screen with a loud wheeze.

(There was a not-so-subtle, but also incredibly smug high-five exchanged between Mori and Jin after he took that photo, and everyone was left wondering if maybe they should've left the two to keep avoiding each other.)

Chika couldn't stop laughing. It was a fun evening, where she received many small stuffed animals from both Yuma, Mori, Jin and Kizaki—the only ones to actually know about the occasion in time to bring presents.

She was surrounded by people she loved and cared for, and even if Rinji was not yet present among them… She was undeniably happy.

-0-

(Day 3 - Wednesday)

That day was worse than the last. It seems now that one fangirl has shown herself, any other fangirls that were previously hidden, now seemed to suddenly be willing to throw themselves at Hyuse.

But Mori wasn't really ignored. Not really.

(She really shouldn't have laughed at Hyuse before. Mori's sorry now, it really wasn't that funny in hindsight.)

"Where is Hyuse-kun from?!"

Mori found herself backed against a wall, not really cornered or threatened by the girls, but rather just completely dumfounded at the sheer number of ladies that were walking up to her to ask about her adopted brother. (It would have been funny if it was someone else, but she wasn't taking that much amusement in it at the moment.)

"Uh…" Mori stuttered, before blurting out a slightly confused "—Canada?!"

('Can confirm, all Neighbours are Canadians. God, our cover story is getting more and more ridiculous.')

A few girls squealed.

"He's foreign, oh my god, I knew it!" Someone shrieked form the back of the group, blushing lightly with a small unnaturally sweet smile on their face.

'Holy shit, girls!' Mori shuffled down the wall awkwardly, trying to get away from the small herd. 'We're still in middle school, can you calm! The fuck! Down?!'

"Mikumo!" The girl in the front called out again, getting on the tips of her toes to meet Mori eye-to-eye, which the four-eyed teen couldn't help but look up to the ceiling awkwardly. "Is Hyuse-kun your older brother, or younger?!"

"Older?!" Mori blurted out once again, somehow sounding even more confused than the last answer she gave. Despite being more certain of this one.

(He'd needed to give up his age to Kasumi when he first 'moved in' to their house, but still hadn't shared his birthday quite yet… Possibly due to a difference in months and dates in the Neighbourhood? Though he was 16, so there wan't much doubt that he was definitely older…)

"He's her older brother!" Someone repeated excitedly, and Mori took no chances as she sprinted away from the fangirls.

(Somehow, this was worse than bullying. This was absolutely fucking ridiculous.)

Later on, while walking in the halls, paying far more attention to their surroundings than Hyuse could ever bring himself to do in this environment, Yuma caught a few hushed whispers and quiet giggles. It was somewhat strange, being able to make out a few comments that sounded suspiciously like 'cool' and 'mysterious' as he noticed people glancing over 'subtly' at the Aftokratorian Neighbour beside him. During that day's lunch period, Yuma decided to report his findings to his two… 'friends'.

Hyuse looked mildly disgusted and somewhat fearful, while Mori could only wheeze. Because really? Cool, Mysterious?

Hyuse acted like an angsty teen.

When Mori voiced that out, Hyuse promptly attempted to strangle her, although it was lacking any heated aggression. Nevertheless, Yuma had an obligation to save his dumbass-moron friend, and so he stopped the Neighbour prisoner from strangling her to death. Mori wouldn't stop wheezing though, which really wasn't helping her case at all.

Although reluctantly, they made their way back to class after that. It was disturbing to have even just a few of the girls in their class giggling at Hyuse's every word (who somehow looked both completely blank and at the same time, extremely uncomfortable), but Yuma and Mori managed to herd away most of the fangirls.

Despite still being a prisoner, and also holding up a front of hating anyone that came within 50 meters of him, Hyuse somehow managed to look vaguely grateful.

Once the last bell rang, they once again made a bolt to their lockers, before running right out of the school gates. Hyuse somehow managed to have a few love-letters shoved in his face while they were running—which Mori ended up ripping the papers out of his hands and tossing them into a trashcan on the way back to the branch office.

Hyuse was still somewhat grateful. He doesn't know what he did in his past life to deserve the fangirls, but he also doesn't know what he did in this life to deserve Mori and Yuma. Both of which who were being simultaneously understanding… Yet somehow also the bane of his existence and endlessly infuriating… All at the same time.

"It's like…" Mori scribbled out a few more lines of math-jargon, before turning the paper around to show Yuma. "… That. Does that make much sense?"

"Oh!" He grinned, before writing down a quick answer in the blank. "So, like… That?"

"No, not quite," She took the paper back, circling one of the blocks of calculations and text. "You missed the part there, where you're supposed to switch it from positive to negative."

Hyuse leaned over from the side, his own math worksheets done as he moved on to language—which was a more difficult subject for the Neighbour, who only really excelled at math, art, and phys-ed. "… Stupid."

Yuma made a strangled, offended noise, before throwing a pencil at Hyuse. The brunette Neighbour only nonchalantly dodged with a slightly smug curl to his lips that wouldn't have been present a few days ago.

Mori sighed, leaning over to look at Hyuse's work. "… You missed the conjugation on the fourth word."

Hyuse threw a charcoal-tinged eraser at Mori, who also swiftly avoided the projectile.

"Wait, but that doesn't make sense," Yuma interrupted, causing the two taller teens to pause. "If that's the case, then the number is positive. How do you take a positive away from something that's already negative?"

Mori leaned over, Hyuse following not soon after. "Well, it's just like normal. But since the negative is technically backwards, if you take more away from a negative, it becomes a larger negative number."

Yuma shot her a quizzical glance. "How the fuck does that work?!"

"Language, for god's sake!"

Hyuse tilted his head before his expression settled on a completely blank look. "… Fuck."

"God, look what you've done!" Mori shrieked, gesturing at Hyuse. "You've corrupted the child!"

Hyuse took minor offence to the 'child' comment, but eventually decided that he was too amused to bother glaring at either of them… For the moment.

-0-

Chat : TAMAKOMA-2

Four-eyed weirdo : hey, Chika

Four-eyed weirdo : im so sorry Yuma and I haven't been hanging out with you

White gremlin : im really sorry chika

Chika : It's no worries, guys

Chika : I know you guys are really busy

Four-eyed weirdo : hhhhh but now I feel REALLY guilty

Four-eyed weirdo : But I don't really want to know what Hyuse might do if we let our guard down until I get to know him a little better

Four-eyed weirdo : so I can predict how he'll react

White gremlin : & I rlly don't want him near you tbh

Chika : Thank you for looking out for me :)

Four-eyed weirdo : Yuma is your knight in shining white hair

White gremlin : i thought that her knight was that ema guy though

Four-eyed weirdo : asfgfkefuisjdfkthatstruebutdontsayit

Chika : Yuma!

Chika : Ema and I are just friends

White gremlin : … fine, ill let it slide

White gremlin : but but but but

White gremlin : on thursday, tomorrow

White gremlin : we should all hang out

Chika : ? Won't you guys still be on guard duty then?

Four-eyed weirdo : We've made the executive decision that we know Hyuse ENOUGH to tell if he'll try anything funny

Four-eyed weirdo : besides, if anything were to happen, Jin would most likely tell us

White gremlin : jins trustworthy, even if hyuse isnt

Chika : Ok… Did you guys have anything in particular planned? :)

Four-eyed weirdo : … not really

White gremlin : we'll figure it out

-0-

(Day 4 - Thursday)

"We've escaped the fangirls again," Mori gasped, leaning against the doorway dramatically. "We live, yet another day."

Melodramatic as it was, Hyuse's expression gave everyone the sense that he somewhat agreed.

'Fangirls are terrifying.'

Yuma just looked amused. Which, honestly, was fair, if albeit mean.

"Are you guys gonna be ok, going back there… Every day?" Konami asked, slightly worried. "You look dead tired…"

"I will persevere," Mori declared gravely. "Though Yuma and I were going to head to the practice room for a while until Chika gets back, so could we trouble you to watch Hyuse for a while?"

"Chika?" Konami tilted her head. "Where is she, anyway? She goes to the same school as you guys, she should've been let out at the same time… Also, Shiori's waiting for you guys in the training room."

"She and Natsume went to go out and meet Ema, who goes to a different school, apparently." Mori and Yuma kicked her shoes off, and after a few days of this routine, Hyuse finally felt casual enough to do the same. "The blonde kid from Kageura squad. The one that has a crush on Chika."

Yuma shot her a suspicious glance. "I'm still surprised you haven't attempted to murder him yet."

"C'mon Yuma, he's a nice kid," Mori waved off, before turning to Konami. "Also, for Hyuse, just leave him with his bag, a snack, and a comfortable spot on the couch and he'll mind his own business. We'll probably end up picking him up later, so I think… You'll only need to watch him for a few hours."

Yuma snickered under his breath, hastily covering his mouth to muffle the noise. "God Mori, you're acting as if you adopted him."

Hyuse has given up on resisting by now. If he glared at the two teens every time they acted like this, his face really would stay that way. At this point, he can only pray that Mori won't act like this forever.

"Also, for snacks, Hyuse likes taiyaki—" Mori paused halfway down the hall. "… Actually, where's Yotaro? I'm pretty sure Yotaro is part of the list of 'people that Hyuse can tolerate'."

Konami raised an eyebrow. "And who exactly… Is on that list?"

Mori grinned. "I don't exactly know quite yet. All I know is that the list is puny."

Hyuse scoffed, already heading towards the living room opposite to the training rooms. "It grows increasingly smaller every hour I spend here."

Yuma furrowed his eyebrows but didn't get a chance to properly comment before Mori closed the door behind them.

(… Because that was a lie… Wasn't it?)

"Shiori, thanks—in advance—for all of your help." Mori waved, already deactivating the spare Trigger and switching over to her normal, battle one. "So, we're trying out the shared vision again?"

"I mean, only if you want to, Miku-chan," Shiori waved, already seated at the desk and changed out of her school uniform. "You seemed… Kind of against it last time, so I just—"

"Don't worry about it, Shiori," Mori grinned before quickly patting Yuma on the shoulders. "C'mon Yuma, are you zoning out already?"

Yuma blinked, before grinning and switching Triggers. "Nah, just thinking about something. I think I'm the one that should be asking though, are you ready for this?"

Mori unclipped her glasses, tucking them into her shirt before slipping on the black frames, and looking through the dark-blue tinted glasses.

"I'm more ready than you are, that's for sure."

-0-

I ended up tossing around the question in my head for a few days after that.

It kept me awake at night, where I'd roll around in my bed before giving up on sleep, and sitting in the dimly lit kitchen while I organized pros and cons in my mind. I just kept… thinking about it. It was a single question, that began as a small idea on Wednesday—the day Hyuse finally began to accept Mori and Yuma's presence, as well as the day that Mori noticed something quite important.

Hyuse has never even entertained the idea of escaping since Monday. Given, I've only known him for a short while, but while he's in my presence, I've never once seen him think about the idea of escaping. Of running back to Aftokrator.

So I've been wondering for a while…

What does Hyuse want?

I don't know what I want. That much is clear. I don't know what I want quite yet… Or at least, what I want to strive towards. What I want to do.

But what does Hyuse want? It's chance that brought the question to mind, and it's a mix of curiosity and some concern that's keeping it there.

Does he want to go home? Does he have someone he wants to see?

(Does he want to survive? Or live?)

So I've been thinking, about giving him something to do… For now. To let him have something to do until he figures it out. To let him be in a position to chase after a goal, once he figures out what it'll be.

So I've been wondering…

(… Does Hyuse even… Want to go home?)

… Should I ask Hyuse to join… Tamakoma-2?