Chapter 3: What is Strength

Hinoe, Saotome, Koda, and Kyousuke hid in their assigned posts. Hinoe took his position by the entrance gate of the school. Saotome crouched on top of the outdoor corridor that connected the school building to the gymnasium in which the badminton players had been practicing in. As a shooter, Saotome would be able to spot and aim at the ghouls from from a long-distance range. Koda was also a shooter, so he took cover in the branches of a tree in the middle of the school grounds, which was conveniently surrounded by multiple other trees. Camouflaging and attacking from this spot was difficult as it would be easy to give away his position if he made a wrong move. However, being a more advanced shooter than Saotome and the leader of his unit, he decided to take this spot. As for Kyousuke, because he had never encountered Ghouls or Shadows before in battle, Koda ordered Kyousuke to take the position farthest from the entrance. Kyousuke remained by the entrance of the gymnasium where he had been conversing with Koda before.

"Bye, good job today!" cooed Hinoe at the badminton members passing by him and making their way out of school.

It was 7:00pm, an hour past the time students were finally dismissed from their activities. The lights inside the school remained on, but Koda Unit had been informed that according to school policy, lights were required to be left running so cameras could easily catch and record any suspicious activity that occurs during non-school hours. None of the team members knew about this policy because they never remained after school for any activities; they were too busy training at Border. Kyousuke was an exception-he never attended a public school.

By the time Koda's watch read "9:20pm," he called off the watch for the night. The school night guard was to arrive within the next 10 minutes and any student that stayed behind would receive punishment for remaining on school property.

"Meet here tomorrow at the same time. Don't be late," Koda ordered.

Without fail, the Koda Unit met at 4:30pm the next day. Hinoe and Saotome continued their antics, spying on the badminton club members. When practices and after-school club activities were adjourned, the four members took their positions and waited until nightfall. When 9:20pm came by again, Koda called off the watch and reminded everyone to meet at the same time the following day.

They team continued to diligently scout the school grounds for the rest of the week. Hinoe and Saotome eventually managed to get the numbers of some of the high school girls. They also managed to piss off their boyfriends by doing so and had their asses beat. Kyousuke and Koda on the other hand stayed away from the women.

"I'd be arrested if I accidentally went after a 16 year old girl," explained Kyousuke to the two boys that had inquired if he was a homosexual. Koda was simply disinterested. He had spent the hour and a half between their time of arrival and start of their surveillance at the school each day speaking to Kyousuke, trying to get to know him better as a leader. Originally Kyousuke was annoyed by the kid's presence; after all, he tended to ramble on and brag about nonexistent qualities. However, after a week of bonding, he began to grow a soft spot for the kid. Besides Jin, he was the only other person who tried getting to know him better. Hinoe and Saotome were too self-absorbed and indifferent towards Kyousuke's unsocial tendencies to put in any effort to bond with their teammate. Despite Kyousuke's original impression of Koda being a spoiled, immature, cocky individual-an impression that he still believed to hold true-he also realized that Koda had the potential to become a reliable leader. Kyousuke slowly came to acknowledge Border's decisions in granting Koda the head position of this unit. However, he was still baffled as to why he was stuck with such young, irritating little twerps to begin with.

"Uhm, so Kyousuke. About that question I never got around to asking you…"

"What about it? What did you want to ask me?"

"Er...hm. Well, maybe another time."

"Spit it out. You've been spitting out senseless crap all week, another senseless question won't change anything."

"Oi! You can't speak to your sensei like that! … Alright, fine," Koda scuffled his feet. The two were leaning their backs against the gymnasium wall, taking shelter in the provided by the ledge of the ceiling away from the evening sunset. The time was 6:40pm. The team decided that waiting a bit longer before hiding in their spots would be fine since most students didn't finish cleaning and gathering their belongings before 7:00

"I was just curious, y'know. With you being half-Ghoul and all. Uh... hey, does that transform too?"

Kyousuke gave Koda an incredulous look and an awkward silence took place.

"Ah! I'm just joking!"

This idiot, Kyousuke sighed aloud and face-palmed himself.

"What I really wanted to know was...well, as a half-Ghoul, how do you feel about hunting down other Ghouls? Like, it'd be the same as me murdering another human, right? Except, our society views Ghouls and Shadows of the sort to be dangerous to society and are sought out to be eliminated. So basically, none of us agents really feel anything when we pull a trigger to a Ghoul's face. As for Shadows...I'm not really sure. To be honest, I've only ever hunted down two ghouls in my entire Border agent career. My unit is ranked at the very bottom out of all the teams. You were probably placed with us 'cos you're a rookie, but you'll probably surpass us sooner or later. But yeah, back to the topic. Since Shadows look like humans, I'm not really sure how agents feel when hunting them down. But you-I mean, you're basically being forced to hunt your own kind down! Doesn't that...upset you in any way? Aren't you...scared?"

At first Kyousuke wasn't really paying attention to what Koda was saying. But compared to the other times, Koda was speaking in a more serious tone and this had caught Kyousuke's attention.

Kyousuke opened his mouth, paused before letting his voice out, reorganized his thoughts, and replied, "that is… a good question. I've never actually put any thought into it."

Koda looked to his side at Kyousuke and smiled, slightly amused at Kyousuke who was lost in thought. Remembering where they were and for what reason, he looked down at his watch

"Oh shit, it's 7:34pm. Heyyy, Hinoe! Saotome! Get into your positions!" called out Koda. No one responded to his order. He nervously looked around and spotted Hinoe at the entrance saying his goodbyes to a pair of girls. Kyousuke swatted Koda on the back.

"Quit being so tense. Hinoe was too preoccupied to hear you. If Hinoe is already in position that means Saotome is too. Besides, we have ear pieces remember? Just call in to Saotome through them before you start imagining weird things," reassured Kyousuke.

"R-right. Thanks, maid-I mean. Kyousuke."

"Tch, twerp."

Kyousuke watched Koda walk past him as he headed toward the trees to begin his lookout.

Scared, huh...?

By 7:45pm, everyone was in their positions. Today, the girls volleyball team had a home game that would last up until 8:00-9:00pm depending on how quickly one of the teams would finish off the other. Mikado Academy was well-known for having sport teams that ranked high in the nation and volleyball was no exception. However, they were versing Shizuka Academy's girls volleyball team which was also highly ranked. Kyousuke peered into the gymnasium where his post was assigned to be at. He observed the talented women dive for the balls and spike them over the tall nets in awe.

Huh? The left wing spiker on the Mikado Academy girls volleyball team...why does she seem so familiar?

"-suke-Kyo-osu-OI. MAID. CAN YOU HEAR ME?" yelled Koda through the ear transmitting device.

"Oh, sorry. What's up?"

"You fucking idiot, pay attention will you?! We're on a mission, remember? Saotome said he just saw a Ghoul infiltrate the school grounds underneath the gates. I guess they avoided the entrance 'cos Hinoe is too fucking obvious and doesn't understand the meaning of 'hiding spots.' Well anyways, keep an eye out. We don't want any of the Ghouls entering the gymnasium since that's the only place where humans are gathered right now. Saotome is currently following where the Ghoul is headed. Hinoe is going to go and meet up with him. I want you to remain where you are, you understand? Whether or not you wanna evacuate everyone is up to you. I just don't want you to cause any sort of hysteria in there and making our job harder. And remember, even if you're not doing the hunting right now, you're still a part of this mission and doing your job of guarding everyone in that gym."

"I understand," replied Kyousuke. A nervous sweat trickled down from his temple. He didn't expect to feel so alarmed once the hunt officially began. He gripped tightly onto the weapon in his hands, shut his eyes, and let out a shaky breath.

Bam.

Kyousuke's eyes immediately snapped back open.

"The fuck was that?" he mumbled to himself.

"Nice point!"

"Nice hit!"

"You're definitely our ace, Kirie! We're almost at set point thanks to you!"

Good grief. It was just the volleyball match…

Kyousuke looked ahead, past the corridor where Saotome originally was, and into the school building. The lights were on as usual. Except for one room.

No… it wasn't just the volleyball match. The school couldn't have changed its policy in one day.

Another room went dark, and this time flashes of green and yellow were visible, as well as red.

Red? Our Trion isn't red!

Kyousuke hastily left his spot, returning in a split second and entering the gym for the first time.

"Hey, everyone! Listen up! The school has a gas leak. The fire department is gonna be here soon, so we'd like if you'd quickly leave the gym in case a fire occurs and spreads here," loudly announced Kyousuke.

"And who exactly are you?" inquired an elderly looking man, perhaps one of the coaches.

"I'm a student teacher here at Mikado Academy. Now if you may please and hurry…"

Kyousuke, after evacuating everyone from the gym which took about 10-20 minutes, quickly sprinted to the school building. More rooms were pitch black than before. No one had been answering his calls over the communication device.

Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, please don't be-

"-dead! Kyousuke, he's dead…!" Koda held Saotome in his arms, covered in blood. The Ghoul had decided to feast on him rather than just simply infect him. Kyousuke discovered the two sitting on the grounds of one of the brightened classrooms. The desks were arranged messily as they were shoved aside as Koda dragged Saotome's body away from the Ghoul that had attacked him and into a room where they hadn't been attacked in yet. The trail of blood from Saotome's body led to the room where Hinoe was last seen fighting off the Ghoul, according to Koda.

Reluctant to tell Koda to let go of the deceased teammate out of pity, Kyousuke quickly departed to assist Hinoe.

"B-back off!" Hinoe yelled, weakly thrashing his Trigger sword at the enemy. He bared a few wounds from the clawing of the Ghoul before him.

"Hinoe!" Kyousuke yelled. Upon entering the dark room, Kyousuke's heart dropped. Before him was Hinoe. Before Hinoe was a Ghoul. And beside that Ghoul were five more Ghouls.

"Only two were reported to us, but beware...there may be more in hiding. They do like to prey in groups after all," Kyousuke recalled Kinuta warning him.

"Kyo-ousuke, that's-s you right?" Hinoe turned around slowly, his eyes meeting that of Kyousuke's. "I'm sorry, protect Ko-oda-!"

With those last few words, Hinoe fell onto the ground. From his spot, Kyousuke saw that Hinoe suffered from a large gash on his upper thigh and bled profusely from there. Before he witnessed the Ghouls preying on Hinoe, Kyousuke quickly exited the room. He could hear the Ghouls crunch into Hinoe's body. Quickly covering his nose from the bloody scent and trying to shut out the noises and scenery, Kyousuke tried to bite back the fangs that began to protrude from his mouth. The only stimuli that he was aware of that would make him morph partially into a Ghoul was witnessing a feeding or attacking scene. Holding his conscience in place, he opened his eyes to a wide-eyed, trembling Koda.

"You…. traitor! You shut Hi-Hinoe in all by-by himself?!" Koda yelled aloud.

Kyousuke immediately brought his trembling hands to Koda's mouth.

"Shut up! They'll be able to hear you from inside!"

"No! Let go! I trusted you! I thought you didn't see Ghouls as your ally! And here you are giving them a free meal, you sick bastard!"

"Koda, listen to me! Hinoe was killed as soon as I got in there. And you don't want me transforming and joining them in their hunt, do you?"

"Whatever! Get out of the way!"

Koda shoved Kyousuke to the side. Grasping onto the handles, he prepared to slide open the door. However, a chill ran down his spine. The room quieted down on the inside, and an eerie silence passed through the halls.

"Hey...Kyousuke? You're still there right?"

"Obviously. Koda, do not open that door. Hinoe's already dead. We should scram. I've already evacuated everyone so don't worry. There's no way we can take on these Ghouls. There's six total in there!"

"Kyousuke...Kyousuke, you remember what you said to me before, right?"

"What are you talking about now?! Let's go Koda. Now."

"About being strong enough… Oh well. It doesn't matter if you remember or not, ahaha. Well, in the end, I don't think the Koda Unit was very strong at all. But you, Kyousuke, you protected all those people in the gym just now! It's been awhile since the Koda Unit was formed at Border, and we haven't improved much at all. But you have the potential to grow into something more."

"We don't have time for your fucking rambling Koda. Any time besides now would be acceptable."

"I'm sorry I called you a traitor."

"Koda."

"I'm fine with this. I'm their leader, and as a leader it's my duty to avenge my team," Koda stated, his voice no longer shaking. He slid open the door. The entire middle ground was flooded with Hinoe's blood and hand and footprints were scattered all over the place. The desks were destroyed, and well as Hinoe's body, which lay listless on the ground. The windows were opened unlike before when Kyousuke was in there moments ago. No Ghouls were in sight.

"Hey, Kyousuke...do you think I've become strong enough?"

Kyousuke held back his hand that had been inching toward Koda to pull him away from the door.

"...mm!" Kyousuke acknowledged, nodding his head and keeping his teary eyes lowered. "You've become strong."

Koda slid the door shut, and Kyousuke could hear him lock it from the inside. He flung himself towards the door and began banging on it, begging Koda to come out or at least to let him inside. Within a few moments, loud screeches could be heard from the room and blood was splattered across the window of the sliding door, skewing Kyousuke's vision of what was occurring inside.

"You idiot!" Kyousuke cursed at Koda and at himself. "Aren't I your teammate too? Your entire team hadn't perished yet, so why….why leave me behind to be alone again…"

Looking back up, the blood had dripped down, giving a clearer view of the feeding scene inside. Only three Ghouls remained behind to devour Koda.

Kyousuke began to lose control of his conscience. His eyes darkened from their regular golden hue to a scarlet red color. His teeth elongated and sharpened, and well as his nails. His arms began to take on an irregular shape, similar to the lengthened, lankier arms of the Ghouls inside the room.

No. I don't want to lose control. Please. I don't want to join their feeding. Someone-

Kyousuke was pulled and dragged by his left arm. The unknown figure led him to the outside of the school grounds and into a telephone booth. Battling his Ghoul conscience with his human conscience, he didn't have the energy to spare to resist the pulling on his arm.

He was shoved down into a sitting position, his legs bent in front of him, his arms holding him up on both sides with his back against the wall of the telephone booth for support. On top of him was a woman. She straddled his legs and leaned over him while grasping his hands firmly to the ground so he wouldn't lash out on her by impulse. She was wearing tight, spandex, volleyball apparel.

Gh. What's going on?

Kyousuke's vision became to become slightly clearer and his headache was less violent.

This...There's a girl? Such long hair… Strawberry blonde...Hm? Wasn't she that team's ace? The one that looks familiar. The one that looks...like..the girl..in my dreams..?

…..

Huh?

She brought her face closer to his. Her breath smelled like fresh strawberries and intoxicated Kyousuke. As her lips met his, he slowly allowed himself to melt underneath the warm, spring sun that was painted in his mind. Her tongue felt like butter as it slipped across his, and they gently caressed his fangs that slowly morphed back into his regular teeth shape. Her arms loosened on his as they, too, also slowly transformed back into their original human proportions. He shook off her hold and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, deepening the sweet, addicting kiss. Her strawberry blonde hair sprawled around the two of them messily. Her fingers found their way to Kyousuke's raven-black hair and entangled them into his roots.

Kyousuke had transformed completely back to normal. When the woman broke off the kiss, she locked her crystal-clear, sky blue eyes with his golden ones for a brief second before kissing his eyes shut.

"Good night," she breathed, enveloping Kyousuke in the strawberry, spring scent once more.

Her name….I remember it being said...It was-

"K-Kirie…"

After that, in a split second, Kyousuke lost his consciousness.

I told you I was impatient LOL. Yayyyyyy she's here and yayyyyy things got steamy fast. RIP Koda Unit. They're annoying in the anime but I actually kinda grew fond of them the more I wrote about them in my story :( wah. I'll see you guys next time! Please leave comments, reviews, and follow my story if you like it! Kbye.