It was Shino who told Yoichi that he was allowed to partake in the lessons for the training for the Demon army. He didn't really explain why this was so. Yoichi was confused but still, even if the reason for his acceptance was vague, the most important thing was he got accepted into the special elite force, so he accepted it and was very happy that he could finally be part of the training. He is now one step to achieving his dreams.

Mika was very happy for him. Yoichi and Shino accompanied Mika in the infirmary. It seemed that because of his fall, Mika had to be treated right away, or else he wouldn't be well to participate in the lessons. They were told that the lessons were suspended, and would start the next day because of the problem with the vampire.

Shino excused himself early, so Yoichi stayed behind to accompany Mika at the infirmary. Mika and Yoichi talked a lot. Yoichi told him about a lot of things about his sister, what he experienced when the apocalypse happened, and how happy he was being friends with Mika.

Mika was lying down on the infirmary bed, his head wrapped up with a bandage. He was closing his eyes, nodding to assure Yoichi he was listening.

"I'm sorry I wasn't that much of a help earlier, Mika-kun."

Mika opened his eyes, and smiled at Yoichi.

"It's fine. I'm..." Mika trailed off. He continued, rather shy,

"I'm glad you came for me."

"Mika-kun, I'm always here for you!" Yoichi sobbed, wiping off his tears using the back of his hand like a kid.

"I'm always here for you! hic... You're my very first friend too, and I'm so honored to be one. hic.. Please don't ever think you're fighting alone hic... We are all here for you. I noticed how sad your gaze is all the time, hic... and I often wondered why. But I truly understand you."

Mika quirked his eyebrows, and patted Yoichi.

"Thank you Yoichi-kun."

Yoichi raised his eyes and gazed at Mika. He wiped his eyes and tried to reciprocate Mika's smile.

"Like you, I also hate the vampires. Because of them, my family died. I saw them get killed right before my very eyes. After that experience, almost every night, I have had nightmares. Sometimes, waking up in the morning is very hard for me. But I try to do what I can to live.

"I am reckless, not at all like how Shino describes me. I am not perfect. I just try to do the best I can."

"Mika-kun!" Yoichi grabbed Mika's hand and looked very serious.

"Let's.. let's try our best together tomorrow!"

"Yes."

--000--

It was the first day of their lessons for the Demon Army. Mika was waiting for Yoichi under the bower of the cherry blossom tree, reading a book. They both agreed to wait for the other before they went to their classroom.

"Mika-kun!" Yoichi called as he ran towards Mika, all sweaty.

"Are you ready?"

"You bet I am! I actually very excited for the first day of our lessons. I never would have thought I would be able to be accepted." Yoichi raised his eyes to Mika and stopped walking. He bowed deeply.

"I owe this to you Mika-kun. You're my lucky charm! Thank you very much."

"Raise your head, I didn't do anything, silly. You achieved this all by yourself for being so brave."

Yoichi chuckled. "Thanks Mika-kun. I'm glad you think that way."

"Hey boys!"

Yoichi and Mika turned to where the direction of the voice came from and saw Shino. Upon seeing him, Mika's smile immediately disappeared. He was conditioned that whenever Shino appeared, there was always trouble.

"Aren't you both excited for your first day!" Shino flashed a teasing smile at Mika. He clapped his hands together.

"I'm so happy for you especially Mika-kun, you can finally train!"

Mika didn't reply, he just looked away and started walking.

"Oho~ you're the same as ever Mika-kun. I'll go with you to your classroom. It will be fun this way."

"Thank you Shino-kun." Yoichi bowed meekly.

Shino smiled playfully, he leaned in and whispered something in Yoichi's ear which made the other boy fluster.

Mika didn't mind what they were doing, he was thinking what their lessons would be. He already reviewed his Latin. He was sure that they were going to be tested on it. Because the orphanage he came from was under the supervisory of the church, he was taught latin at an early age. By now, he had mastered the language. He was confident that he would ace the test, if there was one.

He couldn't help but wonder about what other areas they were going to be tested. Of course, it was possible that their combat skills would be tested as well. Since they were going to be in a squad, Mika thought that maybe, this would be done in groups of two. He frowned. But he had Yoichi now. It wouldn't be trouble if he was going to be paired with Yoichi, considering that he was now comfortable with the boy after opening up to each other.

He looked over his shoulder and stared at Shino.

But since he's here, I wonder if something's going to happen.

"Mika-kun!" Shino waved at him, all smiles.

"Wait for us, let's go to the classroom together."

Mika's face darkened. He may have thought Shino can be calming at times, but the other boy was still a handful no matter how much he thought about it.

When they arrived at their classroom, Yoichi and Mika decided to sit next to each other. There were already students there that were early like them. At the far corner of the room, Mika caught sight of a person with pink hair. He thought that the other's hair was ridiculous. He didn't pay much attention to it. When they entered the classroom, there were murmurs from the other students. Mika heard his name being whispered by two girls, and he frowned. Shino whispered in his ear,

"As popular as ever I see."

Mika just sighed and walked to his seat and didn't bother giving a reply to Shino. Yoichi was looking around trying to figure things out, testing whether or not there were people whom he could talk to apart from Mika. He saw the pink haired dude too, closing his eyes as if he was asleep. Yoichi flustered a little. He thought that the guy could be a friend, he just felt it. Compared to the others he seemed to be a distant and mysterious person.

After waiting for a while, the teacher finally arrived. She introduced herself as Sayuri Hanayori. She was a petite woman, boxum, and easily flustered. Mika studied her. He knew her of course, she was on Guren's squad. Noticing his stare, Sayuri-sensei smiled at him, and told the class that's she's going to give them a comprehensive test in latin. There were a lot of sighs in the classroom after that.

After checking, Yoichi looked over Mika's shoulder to see his score.

"Wow Mika-kun, you got full points!" Yoichi said flustered and in awe at Mika.

"Heh, as expected!" Shino hummed.

At the far off corner, the pink haired dude frowned. For some reason Mika pissed him off. He didn't understand why this was so. They've never talked. It's the first time they were both at close proximity with each other, but gossip spreads fast, and he had always heard a lot about Mika from others.

He stared at his score. He also got a full points. It was expected too; he studied hard for this test. Like the others he had his reasons why he wanted to join the Demon Army. In his case, it was for his sister who was hospitalized. He hopes he can enter into the squad so that he could pay his sister's bills.

--000--

Lecture went unexpectedly smooth. Sayuri-sensei divided them into groups of two. Shino grabbed Yoichi and dragged him to a side. It was premeditated. He wanted Mika to interact with the others. The other students already had their pairs, leaving Mika and the pink haired guy, whom Mika came to know as Kimizuki the only ones without a partner. Mika had no choice. He stood beside Kimizuki.

Sayuri-sensei asked if they already had their respective pairs. In unison, the class responded, "Hai!".

Their task was to fight the monsters while bound to their partner. Sayuri-sensei said it was an exercise to improve their ability to work in teams. Kimizuki and Mika were both not used to a group setting. That was a problem. In this kind of exercise, communication was imperative, if not apt to succeed. But it was difficult for Kimizuki and Mika to open up to each other. Mika calculated in his mind how to go about finishing their task without saying a word to the guy. But it was hard. Even if it was hard, he forced himself to work.

"We have to do this together if we want to succeed in this task."

Mika's tone was calm and calculating. Rather than focus on his tone of voice, he was focused more on the task. The other guy, misinterpreted it as arrogance. But Kimizuki had already prejudged Mika as arrogant, just by looking at him. He would have wanted to counter saying something like he'd rather have it his way, but looking at how focused Mika is on the task, how serious he was in trying to compromise with him, pressured him to act with reason and not let his emotions get the better of him.

The giants loomed over them. As those creatures walked, the earth trembled. Kimizuki looked at Mika. He saw that the other was not fazed in the least. He just stared at those monsters emptily.

"Well?" Mika turned to him.

Kimizuki identified the weak points of the monster and devised a plan how to defeat them. He knew Mika already knew this just by looking at how Mika behaved. It pissed him off but he let it slide. He was still pressured at Mika's calm demeanor. Working with someone like him made it difficult to behave. It was stifling to be with someone so distant.

However, they still had difficulty in synchronizing with each other. Mika was exasperated. He clucked his tongue which made Kimizuki angry.

"This is useless!" Kimizuki bellowed. Leaving Mika, he charged at one of the monsters.

"Fool!" Mika shouted.

In the end they weren't able to finish the task because Kimizuki had to excuse himself because his sister's condition turned dire.

--000--

They were surprised when instead of Sayuri-sensei, it was Guren Ichinose who appeared in class. He was a person who wasn't particular with details. All of a sudden he released his sword. He said that those students who can stand would be accepted into the next level of the training. The people that remained standing were Kimizuki, Mika, Yoichi, and Shino. Kimizuki and Mika were surprised Yoichi wasn't bothered in the least by the miasma emitted by Guren's sword, while they were only barely standing.

Mika wondered why.