As Fiore got held up by well-meaning but misinformed strangers, a voice called out behind them, deep, rumbling, and slightly echo-y. As they turned, they would be greeted with the sight of a 6’8 biotechnical humanoid-tiger with glowing red eyes and a permanently-ferocious expression carved upon its shining face. Six saber-lengthed claws extended from its gunmetal black paws, and it peered down at the group of people. “Heyo Fiore,” went the monster of the show, “If you don’t line up fast, you’ll be waiting for a while before you get Akira’s autograph, you know? Same to the rest of you. See you there!”

With that, the costumed villain scampered off again, skirting the edge of the line-up of kids, parents, and middle-aged guys to reach the stage again. Rather than a handshake event or anything like that, the event staff had arranged a photo op instead, where fans were allowed to pose for photos with the actors. In this case, it was largely just going to be Hoshi Akira though, being the only person in the two-man show with the star power to go without his costume, after all. From the backdrop, Tian-Gui did his own part as well, being sure to ham it up for the kids that kick him in the shin. Thank god for shin guards, huh? Other times, Tian-Gui and Akira flashed v-signs together with a fan inbetween, and still more times, Tian-Gui stayed out of the picture altogether, because of course people would prefer Psyman over Vel-Tor any day of the week.

But work was work, and it was nice to see familiar faces. Tasuke from the croquette shop, Rin from the daycare center, Kenji and his friends from cram school, and, unsurprisingly, Mavis.

“Yo ho,” Tian-Gui waved as his classmate approached, “Enjoyed the show, Mavis?”
@OliveYou@KoL

EDIT: Delete for double post

After leaving the shower, there was a sentiment of longing that befell the young man, staring blankly at his wrist pad. Reminding himself of the words of that message. "You'll hear this, you always do." Why did that bother him so much? A slight head peered on his corner and he shook the thought off, a slight sigh escaped him. Free time was a rarity around, and to be honest, not something he did quite often. Opening the door to his room, Hiro didn't seem to find any of his comrades around. The place was empty and the halls were silent, his hand makes its way towards the back of his head, attempting to figure out what to do with his time. Maybe spent it actually trying to do something instead of lazing around or... more studying. His eyes narrowed slightly, thinking of something to do to spend his time. A flick of his fingers reflected the thought which protruded on his mind, he ran towards his closet and changed immediately, began to dig through a small compartment, placing a couple of items in a bag. Making sure one, twice, three times that he had everything he wanted he headed out to the Taiyoujima Water Park...

Hiro was... different. Hell, perhaps odd could easily depict much of his mannerisms and actions in daily life. He didn't make friends easily, that was first but more so than that he like to keep to himself. So, witnessing a boy who's wearing those orange glasses, a sleeveless hoodie that hasn't been zipped up to it's peak exposing a small percentage of his chest, some old dirtied converse with no socks and shorts that barely scrapped the knees was enough to show that Hiro didn't seem to care much for his appearances. The only thing that seemed above average was his backpack. A teal colored surface with a patch on it's left that read "ELEMENT 1987", bright red accented patterns adorning its edges with a strong lace coiling in zigzag at the epicenter. He wasn't planning on meeting his skin with the water, neither was he there expecting to see or meet anyone in specific, but if anything he wanted to test drive this new machine he managed to buy at a special last week. A smile plastered itself on his mien as he placed his bag on the ground pulling a remote control and a plane from his bag, a few steps farther into the sand and he turned on the machine and started to pilot it with his remote control attempting to understand its movements.

You would think, Hiro as a Linker would've managed to understand the machinations of this contraption in a couple of seconds, but the furrow of his brow was now present, and visible on his features. The machine was a bit clunky and the reaction times were all over the place. Maybe a little bit of air, would suffice, maybe a little more turn...

"D'accord, that is it. I am going to take my sunglasses off, and if by the time my eyes adjust to the glare- which will be around seven seconds, give or take- if you are still here I am going to bury you up to your head in the sand"

"Why do I suddenly feel great animosity and murderous intent incoming?" Not even a second passed before some kids, ran and bumped into Hiro, causing him to lose the grip of his remote control and making the machine fall and crash near a couple of people. Hiro rushed towards it's direction, picking it up from where it now stood noting that its pieces broke and its wings was now severed. "C'mon... I just got this too..." Disappointment began to ran across his system, but that was quickly removed the moment he rose his sights and witnessed two girls standing right before him. You see, in battle, everyone was sort of the same person to him. It was all about survival and instinct, planning and execution. There wasn't a moments time where he needed to be aware of the trivialities of life. Right now... it wasn't one of those times.

"L-L-Lucia..." Lucia was also accompanied by another girl too, one that similarly seemed to overtake his line of sight. He didn't know when it started, he didn't really know how to stop it. But right there it was, the toad on his throat begging to get out.

"This! Oh, uhh, it's for my little brother is all. Uhhh, I was just, uhh testing it! Yes, that's what it was..." He turns his sights to the sky, trying to avoid eye contact whilst hiding the toy behind his back.

It had been a day or two after their first, real, mission. A day or two that Rin spend mostly sleeping. Partly because of her wounds but also because of the natural tiredness coming with using her ability. Indeed, for as much as Yui could still be considered a stranger, the raven-haired girl used her powers quite extensively on her and others. In the end she hasn't even been able to see her teammates flashy finisher!

As usual, what followed after a long and good nap with just minimal nutritional intake was the feeling of having a black hole inside her stomach. Thus, it could be considered lucky, for Rin-Rin who was finally dismissed from the medical wing, that she caught Yui sleeping in their shared dormitory room.

"Hmpf." There were decisions to make, but ultimately, food was expensive. A lot of food was more expensive. Thus, the decision was easy enough for Rin-Rin to. "SUPER RIN-RIN TACKLE JUMP!" Jump onto the snoozing Yui! Good thing the Yui Gang's Linker was a light-weight!

But Yui was ready. Maybe it was being born into a spartan family or maybeit was just her uncanny ability to be absurdly effective. With an iconic, ear piercing sound that was palpable to even the most culturally unaware soul, Yui erupted from her slumber. Within a split second, her blanket flew into the air and she grabbed the airborne Rin-Rin by her arm and leg. In a simple spin, she redirected the miniature love missile back towards her own bed.

“Hnernrrrrrgggghhmmppphhh,” the barely conscious Yui sputtered out. Every single muscle in her body was sore. While she wasn’t wounded enough to receive medical treatment, her entire body was still reeling from unleashing 10% of her (self perceived) power. “Whasisat for?”

"Mmppff..." Luckily for Rin, she landed comfortable in a rather soft place, instead of the ground. "Mmmhh hnnnug" The raven-hair replied with muffled sounds, before raising up and looking at Yui with a beaming smile. "Good Morning, Sunshine! Feed Rin-Rin!"

Yui paused for a moment to process what was going on. Feed the small child? Wasn’t that a callback to last night when she demanded to be taken out in exchange for going to hard on her power? Didn’t she just pass out without even hearing if Yui actually would take her out or not? Well, it didn’t really matter. She wouldn’t be a good teammate if she didn’t keep the little goblin’s appetite sated.

“Nnnnngggg whatcha feel like?” She asked as she fell flat on her bed. “Korean, breakfast diner, American, continental, sushi, Chinese, Italian, French, English—wait, English sucks don’t choose it—Lithuanian or what?”

Decisions, decisions, and more decisions! There were a few things to consider here. Not too expensive, no home cuisine, something she could eat lots of without dying... too much. "Continental?" Rin-Rin repeated Yui's words to herself, what did it even mean?

Ultimately, though, her decision was rather easy. A single word was all needed. "Burgers." Duh. The first time she had eaten those was shortly after arriving in Neo Kyoto, and even now there were still new variations to discover.

“It’s like uh, bread, jam, coffee, and fruit. Continental Europe, or something.” She shrugged as she lazily rolled out of bed. Like a snail combined with an earthworm—a snearthwail—she lazily dragged on an outer layer of clothes: athletic shorts and a zip-up hoodie that had the zipper broken off at some point. “Get ready and we can pop off and get some grub.” With her iconic hat being placed atop her head and her small backpack, she was ready to go out.

“I know a good place.”

"Oh... right." Rin nodded before pretty much undressing her who-knows-how-many-days old clothes all over the place and changing into some denim skirts and a plain 'in pizza we crust' sweater. Just about right for eating burgers. It was nearly frightening how fast she was, in comparison to Yui anyway. "Your good place better be a new place!" With that, she was all ready to go.

---

Yui had brought the little food goblin to a small burger shop. Nestled between two department stores, the burger shop was barely wide enough to fit three people across, unless you walked on the tables against the wall. Save for a single person who sat alone at the farthest end and a chunky man at the grill, it was completely empty. The smell of beef, potatoes, and spices filled the small restaurant. Yui waltzed up to man at the grill and spoke for the two of them.

“Two number nines,” she ordered. With a silent nod, the man slammed two thick patties onto the grill. With expert precision, he applied spices perfectly. All the two of them had to do was sit at a table and wait.

'Two number nines', Yui said. For just a second, Rin felt something akin to dread, but quickly recovered by following up with. "One of each on the menu for me!" If Yui was okay with only two number nines, so be it.

With a look of shock, Yui stared at Rin-Rin for a hot second. She truly was a gremlin. Shrugging it off, she sat down at the table. The chunky man obliged Rin-Rin’s whim, placing a baker’s dozen more patties on the grill. Despite the sudden addition, his grilling stride never changed. The man was truly a grill master.

With apparently no objections from Yui, Rin-Rin seated herself happily opposite of Yui. "So, your last move. Did you get that baddie good? I didn't get to see it. Something something stupid backlash!"

“Yep. Pretty safe to say that I absolutely dunked it,” Yui replied as she flexed her arm and instantly recoiled in pain. “Hit him up into the air and did a coolio aerial combo. But uh, how are you holding up?”

"Oh... I'm sure the military-people filmed it or something, right? Right! But of course not like we'd ever get to see it, hmpf. And don't worry about I, Rin-Rin! I'm as good as new, once that black hole inside me is filled." She gave Yui a thumbs up. "As I say, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger." It was at that moment that she realized something. Something vital for her monetary fortune.

"Is my drone still, uh, intact?"

“I think it is, not sure though. I was trying my best not to die at the end of it, to be honest. My body ain’t the most suitable vessel for a dragon install.”

As their conversation slowed a bit, the burger master walked out from behind the counter. In his hands was a tray that carried ten burgers for the gremlin, two for Yui, and an extraordinary large basket of fries to share between them. He placed it down on the table and dipped back into the sanctuary of his grill, leaving nothing but enough food for 12 people to be unevenly split between the two of them.

The smell was delectable. It was greater than any burger available in Neo Kyoto. It was like that episode of that kids show where a cartoon sponge fought against Neptune in a battle of the burgers, but there were 12 of that sponge’s burgers. Without any hesitation, Yui slammed a burger into her mouth, devouring it with utter glee.

"Ahem..." Rin cleared her throat, uncertain to the fate of her borrowed drone. "Enjoy your meal...?" But Yui had already started eating. "Hmpf." The raven-hair wouldn't fall behind so easily and started eating, too.

Just how much could fit into that small mouth of hers anyway? Taking her first, big, bite, Rin-Rin's eyes lighted up, quickly chewing before swallowing and coughing a bit. "Is this what happiness tastes like!?" She asked. "Hey, Yuyu, this isn't a cursed 'This burger place is so great I won't enjoy any other places anymore' place, is it?" Because if it was, Yui was cruel in her very own way.

“Sorry, tickets to Flavourtown are one way,” she managed to say without sputtering every ounce of food from out of her mouth. She continued to devour her two burgers, occasionally taking a fry from the large stack. In this moment, all her mind could think about was food. And Yui’s train of thought was pretty much derailed 24/7.

Rin nodded. "Alright." There were times food were simple means to socialize, and other times it was meant to be eaten. Right now, Rin was eaten for the sake of eating. Thus, instead of using that bubbly mouth of hers to keep Yui from eating, she simply indulged herself in a paradise of grease and yum, occasionally ordering something to drink as well. Maybe there was still hope, somewhere out there, for a place with better fries at least.

With Yui finishing her two burgers, she stretched and groaned. “I’m so full…” Still, she rose up and waltzed over to the burger master. He placed a debit terminal in front of Yui, clicking in a few numbers. Yui placed a shiny, platinum-coloured card inside and tapped in an absurdly long pin number.

“We should really dip out before lunch rush happens. This place becomes a hellscape,” she laughed at the memory before turning to the two bystanders, “and bye Shifu. Bye Grits.” Neither one of them responded with anything more than a grunt.

“So, anything you want to do now? Hunt down other teams and then make fun of their clothing? Go to the beach and get used as a boogie board?”

"Are you rich?" Rin asked after she finished everything, her hunger finally feeling sated, as a devilish grin formed on her face that was quickly replaced by something akin to a bit of annoyance. "Boogie board? I'll have you know I, Rin-Rin, am still growing." Before grinning once again. "Or you wanna try me?"

“Eh, kinda. As my parents would say,” her voice changed into a terrible impression of a generic strict adult, “supporting local business is the duty of a citizen and is necessary for a country’s economy!” She shrugged as she left the small burger joint. “And if it’s a fight you want...” Yui slammed her fist against her palm, creating both an echoing shockwave of sound and the resultant groan of pain from her body being more sore than a pro wrestler who visits spear city on the regular.

"Eh?" Was Yui always that blood-thirsty?... Of course. It didn't matter if she had misunderstood Rin-Rin or not, the raven-hair was always open for action. Besides, asking Yui to teach her how to fight had been somewhere on, or in, her mind anyway. Mimicking Yui's fist motion, Rin nodded with a smile. "Hah! At the end of the day, I'll be boogie... boarding?... You!" Despite the clear difference in strength, the little girl was at least fearless.

Without any hesitation and ignoring the pain, Yui stepped forth. She harmlessly grabbed Rin-Rin by the arms and legs and quickly lifted her into the air. In multiple swift motions, she finagled Rin-Rin so they were back to back, Rin-Rin being stuck in the air. Rin-Rin’s arms were locked behind her with her legs practically glued to Yui’s hips. It wasn’t painful, but Rin-Rin couldn’t move at all. It was the legendary Gory special.

“Now where’s the nearest trash-can so I can put this nerd where she belongs...”

Over Kuni's shoulder, Mila kept a watchful eye over what would be deleted and what she'd have to keep. She did her best to try and translate the information into data she could store for later usage. In a very Mila way, she held off answering Kuni's question until their little exercise was over, after which Mila straighten herself up and spoke up - or she would have if Mavis had not interrupted them. Ever in a hurry, she left before any could answer.

"Actually, Kuni. I have collected information about possible locations to go to in order to strengthen the bonds between two human beings." after saying this, some images displayed on the computer's holographic screen; Spas, Beach, Fairs and much more. Mila's finger then pointed at the beach. "The Mall did appear in the search's result, therefore it is not appropriate for socialization. I had concluded that the beach was the optimal location for 'socialization and relaxation'. What say you, Roommate?"

The manner in which Mavis came, gave her offer to the two and then quickly left, broke Kuni's concentration on Mila's details. Before she could even ask regarding the proposal that was just given to them, Mila answered the question Kuni asked before. Looking at the screen, she simply blinked as the different photos came onto the screen, popping on there with an impressive speed. This only made Kuni wonder further just how much poking around they did in Mila's head.

She thought about it for a moment. Did she really want to go out now? Kuni did feel quite comfotable just staying in doors, but getting offered to go to the beach certainly nice. Turning to look at Mila, Kuni nodded "We could go to the beach, sure. I suppose we'll need to change into our swimsuits then." She said, moving away from the computer screen and turning to the wardrobe that contained her clothing.

"This was my conclusion as well." Mila said, going towards her own part of the room. Despite having few possessions, after a few seconds she proudly turned to her friend, displaying a bikini. "This is why I bought this. It said that this was a crucial part of the process." Mila did not know the feeling of shyness, but she once did. She let Kuni her privacy, and changed into her own outfit after. For someone like Mila, it wouldn't be far fetched to have imagined she'd have bought quite the plain looking swim gear, but this wasn't the case; she had a two piece bikini complete with frillies and all that suited her very well. A clear sign that the shop clerk had more to say in this than Mila herself.

Ready and all, Mila opened the door and proclaimed "Time to go to the Beach." while pointing onward...still only wearing her swimsuit.

Briefly taking a look at Mila as her roommate presented her own swimsuit, she offered a nod of approval, thinking the swimsuit looked cute, before turning to change into her own swimsuit. After also putting a pair of shorts and a closed jacket, she turned to look at Mila, and then just stopped upon seeing the sight. Her roommate was ready to just go and step right outside, with nothing but her swimsuit on. Kuni made a quick step and shut the door "Oh no. You need some more clothes on, at least until we get to the beach." She quickly told her roommate.

Once Mila had some proper clothes for the way to the beach, Kuni gave her another glance, before opening the door. And with that, the two set off towards the beach. Kuni did feel a bit weird about this, having someone that actually wanted to go to the beach with her and wasn't a part of her family. Even if the person was very close to being an AI with a human's body.

During their travelling time, Mila was surprisingly silent. IN this modern city with as many means of transportation as there was, the time to get over there was bound to not be too long, and despite that Mila still found a way to be silent while staring outside their Train's window. Some things Mavis had told her were contradictory to her directives, but she also had conflicting data on her designation that originated from her past life - before she became Mila. None of it showed on her face, and before long they had both feet on the sand, changed and ready to go.

It wasn't long for Mila to spot familiar faces, actually. "Oh, Look." she pointed "Those persons. Hiro Valentines and Lucia Juste-Enfant." Her french accent was impeccable - if it could be described as an accent. "Lucia is a part of team Novae. This is an opportunity to strengthen your team bonding, Kuni. An imperative objective." Taking Kuni by the arm, she forced her more reserved friend to follow her closer to the group. Coming straight from behind Hiro, Mila snatched the toy from behind his back and gave it a good look. "This is not so badly damaged. I am positive that with Kuni's capacities, this damage is repairable." she said without feeling like any of this - barging in and taking the toy from Hiro's hands - was unappropriate and perfectly normal. "Hello. I am Mila Engel, from team Arizona. We have come to socialize and build up team bonds." She stated while extending her hand to Hiro and Lucia.

While the travel to the beach had been anything but eventful, Kuni would quickly begin to wonder if perhaps this was a bad idea. Mila had quickly spotted two people who she knew from the academy, Hiro and Lucia. While this was a nice idea while it was just the two of them, getting dragged by Mila towards the two made Kuni start to blush. Upon arriving next to the two, she was released from Mila's grasp, who moved to take something from Hiro's hands without asking for it.

"Sorry about the way she acts. She can sometime completely miss what is acceptable and what isn't." Kuni quietly told Hiro, before taking a step back "Oh, right. I'm Kuni. I think you already know we go to the academy together." She told him, before offering a wave of her hand to Lucia, who she hoped wouldn't be annoyed with this sudden interruption.

@Sync@Saltwater Thief

Lucia looked over at the sound of someone else speaking. It was a young woman, more less in Lucia's own age range, lounging on a chair in a monochromatic swimsuit that accentuated her scarlet eyes as much as it did her curves.

“Oh, it was nothing," Lucia said dismissively, "Boys only see the rose, sometimes you just have to remind them of the thorns under it. Oh, but where are my manners. I’m Lucia Juste-Enfant, and you…?”

The girl met Lucia’s eyes, placing her glass at a nearby table before saying, “It’s still impressive nonetheless. Not everyone has this kind of resolve. Anyway, I guess I’m being the rude one, saying these thing without even introducing myself. Elysia Greyhardt, but you can call me Ely if you wish.” She finished with a small smile gracing her lips as she brushed some of her hair that had fallen over her face.

Lucia returned the smile. “Very well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ely." Greyhardt? Where had she heard that name before? It sounded German, but Lucia could've sworn she'd noticed the surname before. "As for my resolve, I suppose it’s just how I was raised. Although… having to deal with blockheaded classmates on a daily basis will also improve such things,” Lucia chuckled. Not that she thought poorly of her comrades, but some of them DID tend to act first and think through it later.

“I suppose so. You really do look like kind of person who was raised to be a knight, or some other kind of hero."

Well, Lucia thought, she supposed that wasn't entirely inaccurate. Even if she didn't feel much like either one lately.

"I-- I’m not trying to judge you by appearance. It’s just that you look so athletic and beautiful, and even your body language is pretty refined and trained,” Elysia said as a deeper shade of red took over her cheeks. “I’m probably bothering you with my rambling, am I not?” she asked in a sheepish way before picking up her juice and taking a sip of it.

Lucia blushed visibly at the compliments. She wasn't exactly accustomed to direct praise, but more than that she'd never had anybody say things like THAT to her. “Oh no, not at all,” she said as she strolled a little closer, “It’s actually quite nice to socialize with somebody as charming as yourself, I so rarely get to meet other people. Or get time to myself for that matter, usually it’s spent- look out!”

Out of the corner of her eye Lucia saw a small metal object falling out of the air straight toward them. She used a little bit of basic psychic reinforcement on her hand and whipped her arm out to knock the thing away, breaking some piece of it in the process and causing it to kick up several chunks of sand.

“Ahh!” Elysia exclaimed in surprise as something came crashing down close to them, spreading sand all over the place, followed shortly by a boy asking if they were alright while apologizing for the crashed drone.

"Oh, Hiro," Lucia said as the Linker came trotting up, "We're fine. I think your toy's seen better days though..." She decided not to chew him out for carelessness; accidents happened, after all. Not far behind him were Kuni and Mila came over, Mila decidedly taking the lead... in very awkward fashion.

"Ah, oui," Lucia said, returning handshakes and nods, "Introductions! Ely, these are some of my classmates. Hiro, Mila, and Kuni." She said pointing to each in turn, "This is Ely. She and I were just having a conversation. So, what brings you three here? Aside from remote control flying devices gone rogue, anyway."

@Sync@SimpleWriter@Mr Nim

Laughter was the anodyne for any trouble, that much was coursing through his thoughts attempting to hide his machine behind his back without much success, just keep a smile on and ward any type of animosity off. Slowly taking a couple of steps away, Hiro attempted to recompile some type of excuse as to why he had to leave, but his machine was intercepted, nay swiped off his hands. Grasping at air, a voice tuned into his ears to steal his gaze into witnessing his drone in the hands of the Gunner from team Arizona. Whilst the linker from Team Novae apologized for the forwardness of her friend. Before long, Hiro was boxed by not two but four girls of only three he sort of knew. They proceeded to introduced themselves, Mila extended her hand one which Lucia greeted accordingly. Around this time Kuni seemed to have shortened the gap between the two and whispered for him to excuse her friend. Her features were the first thing that seemed to have popped onto his vision, for a second he was caught in the glistening of her iris, the clearness of her eyes gave away the density of their hue an outer pigment resembling of emerald the inner ring spread into a sapphire hue. Noting his staring, Hiro averted his gaze and attempted to stimulate a genuine smile. "Oh right, Uhm it's not a problem I guess. Yeah, you're a linker also. Hiro Valentine... That's my name." Thumb caressing cheek before realizing his voice was only directing itself towards Kuni herself.

But the reality was that, uhh... He was starting to get nervous. He could feel a cold sweat begin to form on his temple. But not only was he in the middle of these two groups of people, he was also unable to feasibly think straight. "Oh right, Mila, yeah yeah! Uhh, I didn't know that you guys were capable of fixing it, but that's fine! Uhh That's fine, I can do it myself... probably." She was attempting to bond? Strengthen their relationship? Not that Hiro had any problem with the sort, but he felt like a mouse in a tigers den. Surely these girls were nice, but he couldn't help feel awkward around them, especially when there's a stranger too. "Right, right. Yeah... Hiro Valentine, Linker for Sqaud... Oh, I just realized we don't even have a name yet. Uhm, right I'm a comrade, I suppose, maybe... yeah we're comrades. Nice to meet you, Ely. As for why I'm here? Uhm, I don't know I was bored at the school and I bought this and decided to test it out."

He began to rub the back of his head, attempting to recall the event getting slightly embarrassed throughout the process. "But I suddenly heard something along the lines of an attempt of murder and some kids ran towards me, and my hands slipped along with my control over that... Can I have it back please?" He extends his hand to Mila, whom he avoids any visual contact with as well. "Soooo... What are you guys doing here? E-enjoying your free time too, I suppose right?"

Falk Fukuzawa

After their mission, Falk had just been relieved he hadn't been yelled at for blowing up one of their objectives. After a hot shower to clean off, he'd immediately gone to the beach. He was lounging on an inflatable recliner, in a pair of swim trunks and wearing a pair of black sunglasses. He was too fair-skinned to tan: He just liked to float. It was an excellent way to decompress after a hard morning blowing up aliens.

As he lounged, he became aware of something flitting about in his peripheral vision. He lazily rolled over, turning to watch as it spun out of control, and right into Lucia's fist. He saw the poor guy rushing over to salvage it, and he thought he recognized...Was that Hiro? It was hard to tell with the hoodie, but it looked like one of his classmates. Of course, the other two approaching hem were easy to recognize. He stood up on the float, balancing effortlessly, and held out his hands. A tether shot out, hooking onto one of the concession stands. Soon, Falk was surfing over to the others, his float making wakes in the water. He severed the tie and kicked the float into his hand, catching it under his arm as he landed gracefully in front of the others.

"Hey~" Falk said, lowering his sunglasses and revealing his bright blue eyes. He was wearing a pair of acid green swim trunks. He was tall and had a slender build, but know that he was out of his gear, it was obvious he was also in excellent shape: Beads of water were trailing down his lean, athletic frame. An arm wrapped around Hiro. He didn't know him super well, but he seemed nervous, and he was always there to help a bro out.

"He didn't mean to. He was just distracted by Mila's swimsuit~" He said to Lucia, smiling. On missions he was professional and to the point. Outside of missions...he was kind of a goofball and liked to tease people. "Nice swimsuit, by the way." He said to the cyborg girl. He glanced at Kuni, who he had just watched Mila drag over. "Did you kidnap Kuni?" He asked Mila.

@Sync@Saltwater Thief@SimpleWriter@Mr Nim

When Hiro looked at her, after she apologized for Mila's actions, Kuni felt her face becoming warm, a clear indication for herself that she was blushing. When he averted his gaze, Kuni did the same, although she had no idea why she even did so "Y-yeah. Linker as well." she responded softly, before turning her attention to her teammate.

Looking at Lucia, who returned the nod before moving to introduce all of those present to the other girl, who apparently went by 'Ely', Kuni offered a small nod of her head to her as well "I can't say we came here due to the drone crashing. Mila spotted you and Hiro, and decided that, well, you heard her." She said, not wanting to repeat it as she felt it was a bit embarrassing "And Mila, if Hiro will want our help, he can ask for it. I don't go and just start to fix up others weapons or tools, as much as I'd like to." She told her roommate, hoping that would Mila to let go of the small, busted up drone. Though she would be lying if she said she didn't want to get a crack at fixing it up. Small, flying objects like that were always something she enjoyed tinkering with.

A moment later, yet another familiar face arrived at the scene. She wasn't certain of his name, but she knew he was one of the classmates as well. As he went and placed his arm around Hiro's shoulders, Kuni rose her eyebrows "Her swimsuit? She still hadn't taken off-" She started to mutter, only to realize that at some point, her roommate had taken off her clothes. Blinking twice, she resumed talking, trying to ignore her own lack of attention "I wasn't kidnapped. Both Mila and I decided it would be nice to go to the beach. Though she did decide it would be nice to come and bond with everyone else on her own accord." She glanced at Mila. This was starting to become more crowded than Kuni felt comfortable with.

Moving her gaze over everyone, though stopping over Hiro a short while longer, Kuni turned away "I'm gonna go and just relax over there." She said, before beginning to walk away. After a couple of minutes of walking, she glanced behind her, making sure there was a bit of distance between her and everyone else. Even if it was meant to serve as a bonding session, she still preferred small groups rather than slowly increasing ones. Taking off her jacket, which revealed a green bikini top that matched her eye colour, she placed her jacket on the sand, before moving to take out a bottle of sunscreen. If she was already there, she might as well still try and enjoy it a bit.

Mila looked at Hiro's extended arms for a little while, then at Hiro in general before finally handing the linker his toy back. Her eyes laid on Kuni when she gave her a sermont, but whatever the purple haired Gunner felt out of it was hidden behind a mask of lack of readable emotions. That being said: "I am sorry if I acted in an awkward fashion." she said ceremoniously, maybe a bit too much so, while bowing politely. "We are here to build bonds. I have been told to act normal and befriend individuals from within the Academy, not just members from my team. Research online said that a trip to the beach was optimal for creating stronger bonds between friends; this is why we came." After this Mila turned to Kuni and followed with "Do you feel stronger bonds of friendship?" in an awfully serious, yet clueless manner.

Reactions were cut short when Falk approached - yet another man from another team in the academy. To his comment, Mila looked down at herself as if to say 'what's wrong with my swimsuit?'. "Thank you. I was told to 'take this one and leave, please', so I did." Mila's eyes landed on Falk and her pupils locked onto his eyes, hair, then down his body completely as if she was scanning him - which she actually was, in a way.

During the small exchange from Kuni to Falk, Mila simply watched on. Kuni took some distance, and after a few seconds Mila spoke up "Strange. It seems like Kuni is feeling some sort of discomfort from the increasing size of this group. It is akin to the discomfort Hiro seemed to have when there was only females members to the group." Mila noted as if it was nothing, even if it might be wrong.

"At any rate, I am pleased to meet you, Ely. Lucia, also. I saw you fight the other day; your combat performances were impressive." Again, her eyes locked on Lucia as she scanned her from head to feet. A keen observer would notice something particular about Mila: Everyone would be accustomed to the feeling of being lost in one's thought and, when snapping out of it, having to find what's the appropriate thing to say or react to someone while having missed the last few seconds. On almost every facial expression from Mila or emotional reaction, there would be the same feeling to it. Although, when she spoke of 'combat performances' or things that she observed or noted, there would not be.

Mila's stare was somewhat unnerving, her eyes were like shutters focusing on his very details, for a moments she scanned his hands, monitoring his intentions before finally handing back his remote-controlled plane. A sigh escaped him, a smile followed with a nod. Perhaps he should say something now as to alleviate the situation yet the words seem to draw themselves into a halt. Fortunately, Mila finally spoke, attempting to ward away any misunderstandings. "Oh! No! It's nothing, really I understand, I understand! I uhh... Yeah, I'm sorry if it was weird or anything." He could feel himself sink with every passing word, it was going fine to be honest. Nothing out of the ordinary, he just needed to calm down. Take a deep breath and sustain his nerves, closing his eyes as to focus on such, before long a very dramatic entrance had shook him out of his trance, a hand coiled across one shoulder to the next, Falk had made his entry... Hiro dumbfound, just stared at him now escalating the group another member. This was rather uncomfortable already and Falk didn't seem to make it anymore easier for the silver haired Linker, it wasn't until he opened his mouth that Hiro's cheeks, in fact the entire semblance of his mien had shifted entirely, grid itself into embarrassment and spoke out: "Wait! What!? I swear, I wasn't staring! I mean I did see it, but certainly wasn't trying to stare!"

Did he just agree with Falk? No, that's not what he meant! "I mean, yeah you know, it's like, I'm trying to look at you in the eyes when we talk, but that's also kind of tasking for me too so I try to pick somewhere else too look, and... I mean not that-- I mean, your eyes are just sooo-- I'm just trying to that say I can't really talk well with... I MEAN-- Uuhhh---" Suddenly, pulling away from his arm Hiro sensed himself digging up a whole deeper than he could fathom. Once again, attempting to calm down but sadly whatever voice of reason wanted to reach him fell short across a face full of beat red embarrassment. Kuni seemed to have been bothered, and felt uncomfortable herself and darted off into the distance herself, following her trail visually, a final look was handed towards his direction. Catching such, Hiro rose his hand to his lips, gently obscuring the slow, precise movements of his lips which gestured the words "I'm sorry." towards her general direction. A wave followed suit, and now Mila added to her commentary of the situation.

"W-w-wait a minute, it's not that I--" Mila directed her conversation now towards, Ely and Lucia respectively. Hand, reaching forward almost as a means to gesture a halt to the misunderstanding, lost it's strength before the sense of powerlessness, staring at its open palm like a empty canvas, depositing thoughts upon its surface. A sigh, a tightened grip, he should really get home and attempt to fix this toy of his. Hiro didn't make much of a statement, he just seized the opportunity in where most were too busy talking to the other silver haired youth, and quickly made his exit quietly. Today was probably not the best of days, but it wasn't too dull at least.

"It's a memory at least, don't have much of those."

---

Ely shifted her position, sitting upright as she eyed the group that had suddenly gathered around her in a curious manner. She wiped away some of the sand that hit her, especially in the chest and tighs, before putting away her now dirty — juice. Her eyes betrayed the fact that she took a particular interest in Mila's unique mannerism as well as the awkward behavior of Kuni and Hiro, the latter of which has slipped away "unseen" despite being responsible for at least part of this commotion.

"Oh! I get it now, you all are Cadets at Yamato, aren't you? That's really impressive, especially to someone like me. It's not every day that you can get to meet real-life heroes like you," she said as to the Cadets. "Oh, please, forgive me for my lack of manners," Ely's face blushed from embarrassment after remembering that she hadn't introduced herself properly, "I'm Elysia Greyhardt, but you can feel to call me Ely, just like Lucia."

"Well, since all of you are in a military academy, I suppose you must be on leave, right? If that's the case, I can always give you some space. You'd probably feel better hanging out between friends than with a stranger, is it not?" Ely said in an awkward voice as she suddenly felt like she was in a place she didn't belong to.


Mavis was practically bouncing in place as the line in front of her grew smaller with every passing minute. Sure, she was excited to take a picture with Psyman, possibly too excited for someone wearing a "cast" because of cracked bone, but like hell, she would she miss something as cool as Vel-Tor. After all, Mavis knew that it was only a matter of time until the former rivals became allies, united to fight an even bigger threat. It had to be like this, she was sure of it.

And, after waiting all that time, imagine Mavis' when she not only got a few good photos with Psyman but also found that Vel-Tor knew her. "Oh yeah, you bet I did! I'll be waiting for the next one, maybe... will you finally join Psyman by then? I'm sure the two of you would be so cool as allies," She said in a joyful tone, seemingly completely clueless about the identity of the person behind the mask.

"Anyway, can I, erm... ask you something? Could you, take me on your shoulder for a picture?" Mavis said in an uncharacteristically shy voice. "If that's not going to be a bother, I mean," she added hesitantly.

---

---

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not a child, Mavis.” A stern and stoic voice brushed past the overeager shielder’s shoulder, belonging to a boy just around her height. If not slightly taller. His expression was neither displeased or amused but housed the resting face of apathy incarnate. Or it should have. It was difficult to face him seriously when noticing his luggage.

The boy carried with him far too many bags that each stenched of the high-fat, greasily carbonated treats of fast-food delicacy. In both hands he carried at least five each, if not more. It was a miracle none of them dropped from his grip with how greasy the ends were but if he was bothered by such a task, he didn’t show it. Instead, the boy continued looking down at Mavis. He was taller than her after all, albeit slightly.

He stood just outside the line she was standing in, though with how little said line had become anyone might have just jumped in for a photo. The boy casually moved back when people did try to get in line behind Mavis. It seemed there were still more customers for this get-up than expected but such as the life of the Tokusatsu genre.

“Furthermore, I can’t imagine how you don’t even recognize another student from the Academy. Costumes can only do so much, but voices never change.” He of course referred to the massive, hulking form of Vel-Tor. The boy gave Tian-Gui a swift nod, knowing it had to be the other student under the costume. Who else could it be? Either way, he moved his fast-food prizes away from Mavis, knowing damn well the other girl might try to peek.

“Not for you. Not unless you want an arm bitten off from Red and Grumpy. Though the point remains of your childish endearment,” said the boy. He waited for whatever rebuttal the overzealous girl might give him. Better than facing a certain other redhead, one much hungrier.

---

The walk home felt eternal, the events of today keep rummaging across his mind evoking a sense of foreign embarrassment and disappointment. Eyes trained itself on the now broken piece of a drone he kept on his hands. Mila said it wasn't serious, that it could be remedied, but the more he twisted it to encompass its damage visually, the more lost he was about how exactly that was gonna happen. Mila also said Kuni would be proficient in that, but... The grit on his teeth began to tighten finding himself ruffling his hair in frustration of just thinking about the prospect of approaching a girl, let alone attempting a full blown conversation. Perhaps he made a fool of himself, and that in of itself made the edges of his cheeks flush in the color of rose. "You'll hear this-- You always do." Why was that peering to his thoughts again? His mood was already sour and this wasn't alleviating Hiro's mood at all. The stop light flashed its crimson, he needed to stop. The vehicles moving at their usual pace, the world forwarding without a means of a halt. Everything is based on the periphery of tomorrow, today is what we are inevitably stuck with and yesterday what we leave behind. Unfortunately, although the actions we took form what we are today for a yesterday, there is rarely the case for someone who shares no history, who's slate has been written blank. The night's stars hid between the world's pollution of light. The moon was all which stood its ground through the spectacle of night. Each minute longer than the next.

Faintly, the sounds of footsteps were captured in a moment of trance, where two stood next to the other, eyes trained on the distance where they now knew to focus upon. Although the scenery before them was bustling with the sounds of everyday in the city, of motor engines and clatter of the masses, of distant chatter and faint music drumming somewhere close, their time was silent. Hiro clutched his senses, knowing he took a certain turn without much thought placed upon it. And the familiar voice rose to greet him in a moment that preludes his worry. "You must've taken the wrong turn... You know I take this route to the train station." Yes, he knew at least this much. He knew about how some roads lead to certain people, monotony was a routinely sin we all took part of. "Would it be too much of a surprise if I said that just for a moment... I forgot?" A palpable silence. The two remained without speech, noting every secular moment pass them ever slowly.



There, in the bustle of everyday where two met each other in the heat of a warm cup of tea. There didn't seem to be an instance where anything felt out of place, where with each deliberate blow on the surface of his drink, steam begun to surface alluring him to its aroma. His company, a girl who's bliss perhaps enveloped the entirety of the atmosphere. The placid nature of her essence would sooth storms into silence. Porcelain skin, flawless and quaint, meshed together so effervescently with the hue of her iris. The auburn which decorates her, nay embellished her long yet fluid brunette locks, rested upon relaxed shoulders. Long lashes courteously gracing the innocence of her gaze which gracefully follow a trek which leads all downwards to her rose colored lips. Thin neck, adorned by a necklace of gold, moon and sun emblem at its display. Someone from an unknown, or perhaps better said, faded past. Himura, Hanako...

Silence propelled between the two still, although one sat before the other, it's as if they were at their lonesome. To each, their presence was felt, yet their absence was noted. The reflection of the liquid provided better entertainment. Room for thought, canvas for memory-- Their silence was mere preparation. Eyes raising from their slumps, her smile, perhaps forced in the light of the situation. Whatever powers were which brought the two her today were now colliding with each other, attempting to break through a wall of ice thicker than any stone. "How have you been, Hanako?" Her hands gestured her hair behind her ear, looking for the answers perhaps through the glass window which peered to the outside. People walking as the night began to settle in, and all were at their way towards their homes. "I don't know. Perhaps things have been comfortable for me. Nothing particularly new has happened from the usual."

"Guess that's nice in it own way. It just means life is going well, perhaps not exceptionally well. But well enough." Her sights have demonstrated a pattern, and much to his surprise so did his. He never felt awkward towards this girl, but it all was met with a sense of guilt. Perhaps, because he felt like an invader in his own body. Memories should flash, thoughts should emanate from merely speaking to her. But it was all a blank page, where the remnants were ripped of its books, and old testament of their history wiped clean from his every existence. Her thoughts troubled her, certainly there was something she wanted to say, but found it impossible to speak it. Hiro was certain, that whatever it was he was not prepared to faced. And much to his dismay, he could not remedy either. "Rich, coming from a cadet Linker like yourself. I bet things in the academy are going well for you."

"Well? I guess, the people are nice enough. Teachers are a bit strict, but nothing out of the ordinary. It feels like any other school-"

"Do you even remember what being in another school feels like?"

There it was. Perhaps she spoke it as if to understand something about him, underlying those words was a tinge of hope or perhaps, a tinge of grief. Her eyes locked with his, a smile broke on him. But silence once again over took the atmosphere. A smile was certainly the best way to get out of problem. Anodyne which lead people to peace. She was unconvinced, unmoving with her stare. Hiro thought for a moment, perhaps even hesitated in whatever calm he was grasping. Certainly the softness of his features allowed Hanako a moment of respite, but she knew all too well that those words stung. Like a blade to his side it was perhaps the limp which halted his run into a stop. She couldn't understand, or perhaps she didn't want to. Their history was something she treasured, perhaps valued above many others in their circle.

"You know, everyone is doing pretty well. Their pretty mad though, you haven't been answering your calls."

"I'm sorry. I haven't really been in the mood, I guess."

"In the mood? Hiro, people are worried about you. The least you could do is answer their calls."

"It's not that simple..."

Notably getting much and much more frustrated, Hanako gripped her skit ever tighter attempting to regain whatever amount of composure she could. A sigh released itself, her thoughts were begging to get jumbled with her feelings. And Hiro understood it too deeply. Something about everything that was happening at this moment felt like it was meant to come sooner or later. He could feel it creeping into his very core it was a matter of time. It was only a matter of time.

"It wasn't your fault..."

"She's still on the hospital on physical therapy, attempting to walk. How is it not my fault?"

"She doesn't blame you for it."

"I can't even remember why--. I can't take responsibility for something I don't even recall."

"There you go again."

"What else do you want me to say? I've apologized and apologized, but... it's not that simple."

"Does forgiveness lost its meaning on you? Hiro, for all the graces in the world I don't understand your obsession with this. It was an accident. An accident!"

A single memory rose, something he did moment after waking. A voice telling him he should do better, he should improve and attempt to live life in the struggle. A journal, when trying to recall events, moments, family. Was a section that wrote about a person, himself, that wanted this to happen. a detail note explaining some inner turmoil, some inner demon he needed to unleash. And so... when waking comes to fruition the idea that all of this was his doing, her damage, her moments of pain and therapy felled down on his hands. But why? Hiro, the man most envied other praised, a man who was sought to be the next Striker to surpass his father... After such an event, he didn't want to rise another hand against someone, it be better if he focused one something else... on a more supporting role. Maybe if he mastered this technique, maybe if he could do something to ease her pain and get her to move more efficiently... Then maybe he would obtain redemption. He was entertaining his thoughts, and Hanako was getting impatient, her features finally ease themselves and a slight frown exchanged for her anger.

"I get it. You're scared, but being scared is expected. But to be lost in hope? To be lost in the unseen. I think that is really disappointing"

She was right. But where to start? All he could do was continue, move on, attempt to get better. But at the moment--

"It's just... not that simple."

After spending a bit of time on her own, Kuni got up and stretched her arms. With no one approaching her, and with Mila sticking to the other group, Kuni figured it would be fine if she went ahead and depart from the beach. While she did appreciate the fresh, salty air the area had to offer, she felt like she could likely come up with a lot more to do on her own rather than just lay on a beach. She quickly gathered her stuff and put her jacket back on, before leaving.

The travel back to the academy was a rather quiet one, and uneventful. Kuni somewhat preferred it that way. It gave her a bit of time to think.

Upon arriving back at the dorms, she quickly tossed her things to the side of her bed, before changing into some proper clothes. Feeling much more comfortable, she glanced towards the door. No one was passing by, no one came knocking. Sitting on the bed, Kuni opened the bedside drawer, and gave a weak whistle. A moment passed, and a small drone came flying out, giving a beep as it appeared to register Kuni's presence. Smiling to the drone, she got up and moved towards the holographic screen of the computer.

"So, I've been thinking Mio." She started speaking, and the drone immediately responded with a pair of beeps "Well, I'm always thinking about something, you're right. But I was thinking about both you and Dee. Something that you have, while Dee doesn't, is voice activation. I can't say your system is super advance, but you do register a limited amount of commands that way. If I could implement that into Dee's system, then it could very well improve how well I can direct him. Get where I'm going with this?"

Mio beeped once, and Kuni nodded "Exactly! The only problem I have is figuring out how to implement such a system on a drone like Dee. He's directive is to be more combat and support efficient than communicative. He was never built with that idea in mind. And I can't start taking him completely apart, it will leave my team much more support-less than allowed." She said, and connected to a cloud user registered on her name. After going through several files, she found a copy of Dee's schematics "If I want to figure out how to do this, I need to find a way to either add it as a new component, one that won't require full disassembly, or a place in Dee that could contain such a thing."

After a moment of looking over the schematics, she tapped herself lightly on the head "Of course, finding a suitable spot is impossible as long as I don't know how big the component would be." She remarked, and turned to look at the little drone. Mio beeped a couple of times, and Kuni nodded "Yeah. Looking up at your schematics and finding the component that's implemented in you would probably be for the best. But unfortunately, I haven't uploaded those to the cloud. I'll need to ask dad to do so. And knowing him, it could take a while."

Closing the schematic and logging out of her cloud account, Kuni went and sat down on her bed "What else did I have in mind." She pondered. Mio, lacking a response, started hovering in circles around her head until she snapped her fingers "Oh! Right. Went to the beach today. First time I did so since joining the academy. My roommate thought it would be nice, and it was briefly. I forgot the feeling of smelling the salty air of the beach. Though, suddenly, there were a lot of people."

Mio beeped a couple of times, and Kuni shook her head "You know I'm not like that! Mila dragged me to a couple of our classmates, one of them being my teammate, Lucia. And then it turned out there was another girl there, and before I knew it, Falk showed up, and he started making remarks on Mila's swimsuit. Then Hiro didn't make the situation better, and I decided to just walk away." Finishing her speech, she looked at Mio, who was simply hovering in the same spot now. After a moment, it offered a couple more beeps.

"I suppose. I'm just not used to it! And I just wanted to tell you what happened today. Not to delve into my personality problems." Kuni told the little drone. She got a beep as a response, and then decided to simply make the same, weak whistle as before. The drone received the command, and hovered back into the drawer. After seeing the drone landed safely in its small docking station, Kuni closed the drawer.

Standing up, she felt a bit restless. She needed to go do something. Grabbing a bit of of her personal equipment, Kuni walked out of the room. She ended up finding herself in one of the academy's courtyards, working on what appeared to be a small, remote controlled vehicle. What type of vehicle, though, was still unclear, but Kuni certainly appeared happy to be working on it.

“Join him? FUHAHAHAHAHA,” went EvilAlienMonster!Tian-Gui, “Such foolish, child of flesh. He may have vanquished me this time, but mark my words, I’ll be the one to reign victorious at the end of this war! …also, sure, go ahead.”

Despite the embarrassment of Mavis’s boyfriend (cute that they had a couple of pets named Red and Grumpy), the costumed Tian-Gui lowered himself on one knee regardless, waiting for the Striker girl to get on before slowly, carefully, standing up. The balance was a bit rough, but without her Shield, Mavis was pretty light, and after a couple of posture adjustments, it was easy enough for Vel-Tor to strike another pose, his claws extended ferociously towards the cameras, before turning his attention to the boyfriend saddled with tons of junk food.

“Hey, wanna come up as well?” Tian-Gui asked, tone chipper, “Gotta make some memories on the off-days, yeah?”
@KoL@TheWindel

It seemed the conversation was getting a little out of hand. Ely, for her part, put two and two together and surmised that they were all cadets, which seemed to have an ostracizing effect upon the poor girl. But, Lucia thought, she'd be damned if she was about to let such an opportunity slip away. Ely was smart, kind, she had a soothing voice, and and she was quite pretty on top of it all. It was a chance to make such a friend completely outside of the Academy and the military, away from the fighting and the training and the constant vigilance. But if she didn't act fast, she might lose it.

"Oh, well, oui," Lucia responded, "I suppose the cat's out of the bag then. But, err, that said, well..."

Lucia paused for a moment. As mildly uncomfortable as Ely seemed to be, Lucia herself was feeling on the spot. Why was she nervous? This wasn't anything out of the ordinary, was it? All she was doing was offering her friendship... so somebody she'd met by chance, rather than being in the same class or sharing a circle with her family. She'd actually be offering her time in the future, with no guarantee that she'd see this person at a regular interval of any kind. Perhaps it was out of the ordinary in that sense, then.

It was ironic, really; the same girl who would fearlessly charge at an Invader was getting cold feet thinking of simple social interaction. But, she thought to herself, that simply would not do. If she could get through a life-or-death battle, she could certainly get through this. She took a deep breath, then spoke again.

"Well," she continued, "I'd actually like to make you less of a stranger, if that's alright? I think it would be quite nice to have a friend outside the Academy. Here..."

With that, she strolled back to her towel and reached into her bag. She fumbled around inside of it a little, but shortly her hand emerged again clutching her phone in its silver case. It was a solid model, not the latest or the sleekest, but it handled what she needed it to quite well and that was enough for Lucia. With it in hand, she ran through the various ID systems and password locks she used, pulled up the contact list, and extended the device towards Ely. "Your contact info, if you're up to sharing? Of course I'll return the favour," Lucia said with a warm smile.

The turbulent nature of their relationship rocked their conversation like a seesaw on summer's day. Their shifting gaze avoiding each other's stare because it was easier to witness their own reflections upon liquid than to contest the other's flaws. At this moment, both seemed to try to bare their hearts on their sleeves, but were too afraid that by doing so, they would be exposed by the tidal waves that would threatened the foundation of the castle of sand they tried so hard to built. People are like this in general, always afraid to demonstrate their most intimate pureness to one another because we're too afraid to see what was is only and simply only what is called human nature. Hiro sensed an incredibly guilt boiling upon the epicenter of his conscious, a trauma which left him bound by the questions that would never obtain answers. And so fear crept from the lights that casts shadows, men and woman knew of a perception he was too foreign to. Attempting to live as someone else because whoever he became now was naught but an outsider in the body of a stranger.

These thought and emotions were his own, but with each passing second he questions if it would be better for him to disappear. Hiro thoughts every individual outcome there could, perhaps even those which he couldn't even do alone. But nevertheless, no memories of his past whisked themselves back. People argue that the backbone to humanity is their ability to adapt, their ability to face any all adversity in the eyes and conquer it with audacious might. To stand above all tribulations and come out the victor, or perhaps even never lead a life where defeat is acceptable. Mankind is a force powered by their own history, but Hiro... The boy who now sat a short distance from a, now stranger, could not relieve even a moment where he and his parents smiled or shared. He had no attachment to anyone because he could not associate any emotions of them to memory. You see, to deny someone's very existence in you log of life, is to erase them completely from your reality.

And every day, every moment he sees this individual, every moment that Himura, Hanako spoke or even took it into herself to speak to him, was but a ledger of how he-- of how HE right now was but an intruder in a world not meant for him. The journal's words spoke to him once more, rose once again from the faint memory he had when waking.



Those words etched themselves into his mind, a certain sense of disgusting, perverse egoism and pride of which he was disgusted by. Words that were apparently written by him. By his own hands, those emotions which burned with certain passion-- Perhaps even hatred.



His hand gripped to his hair, he was responsible for it all and he couldn't even remember why. Those words and emotion were foreign, those desired and hopes and lack of thereof were all from a mind that was not his own. Time wouldn't heal those wounds. Hiro was by all intent and purposes... a criminal. Jealousy was all which oozed from that individual, a power hungry fantasy that would quake any adversity out of its existence by any means necessary. Hiro couldn't apologize for those actions it would feel disingenuous or perhaps even... Why? They all loved that monster, why was he the one being removed from reality in exchange for that? He didn't get it. He didn't want to get it to some extent, he needed to right by him and heal that girl... that girl who merely wanted to follow a path similar to that Hiro from the past.

Hanako finally rose her voice from the seams of silence that protruded between the two. Her stare finally calm, like an ocean before a heavy storm, they demonstrated a certain conviction to them. The glistening of the blaring light reflecting like fractals in the surface of her iris, brightening the hue of her auburn eyes unto view. "I can't say I understand... I don't really, but it's tough to talk to you recently. You've been always a good friend to me, and to everyone one in our circle. I just..." Her words stumbled between sentences, attempting to search the words which jumbled in her mind... As if someone took a dictionary and began to rip the pages. "Why is it so hard for you to just... try again!? Are we really that unbearable now!?" Her tone was softer... trembling under her own pressure, sustaining whatever emotions she was suppressing all this time.

"Is it too much to ask to be friends again, Hiro? Really? Did I do something wrong, was that it?"

"No, that's not it... It's just--"

"Not that simple, right? You think it's easy for me, too? You think I like to know that my best friend doesn't even want to bother himself with us anymore? You're not the only one who has it rough, Hiro! We're all worried! I want to know about you, I want you to know about me! What is so wrong about rekindling what we once had!? Is it such a sin to want to talk to you!?" She was getting visibly more frustrated, hell, frustrated was an understatement. She was livid, sad, torn. Everything felt like it was breaking before her very eyes, and he could only stare... This is also why he couldn't tell them about who that monster was. Because to some extent, he must've been important to someone. To sully that image, to interfere with that care they had with him.

And so Hiro stands and moves towards his friend, grabs her by the arms and drags her alongside him. Her mind taken aback, the words didn't seem to follow through, but there certainly was sense of guidance. It wasn't forceful what he was doing she followed. Throughout, there was a certain warmth to his grip, a reminiscent aura of a boy who she knew long ago. Taking her further, and further away from the cafe they both were in. Soon, 5 minutes passed, then 10... then 20. Until they finally reached the outskirts, after traveling within a narrow path between the trees and forest, overlooking a small hill he turned and witnessing a florescent sky, with the stars illuminating the world with their beautiful radiance over the city.

"Hiro, what are you-"

"You're right. It's not a sin to try to rekindle a friendship. I don't remember much about you, Hanako. I can't force myself to so either... And I apologize because of it." Hiro, mesmerized himself due to the view, a smile across his face.

"So, even though I can't remember the past. There's no reason why I should be afraid of the future. So... I think this moment right here, really paints itself as a great first memory for us." And so he sat, tapping the floor next to him, welcoming Hanako to be next to him. She was... She didn't really... she laughed, genuinely as she sat, pulled her phone and took a picture of the two.

"To our first memory then."

He had many demons to conquer, many issues to resolve. He didn't understand everything, he didn't accept all of what he knew, but for tonight. For this moments. He would spend it making a first memory... with a once, former friend.

A couple days before…

As expected, a whole weekend of leave was a luxury that was well used by most of the cadets, each in their own way. Be it making new acquaintances, like the soft-spoken Elysia who traded numbers with Lucia before going off on her own devices, or Mavis’ misadventures at the mall.

Among all of them, perhaps the only one who hadn’t had any time for herself was Subaru. The mysterious white-haired girl remained behind for “medical purposes”, isolated in an area deep in the laboratories of the Biomedical Research Center. The only things she remembered being the soothing coldness of the equipment she was hooked to and a few disorganized segments of memories like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle.

One could only wonder where this would all lead.


Present time.

“Alright, Cadets. The situation is dire so we don't have much time to lose. I'm going to be as brief as possible and not repeat myself so, pay attention,” Lieutenant Isoshima said as she came out of the command sector of their transport and faced the Cadets under her command, all of which had been woken up by an emergency alarm before the sun even rose up in the first day after their leave only to be met with a ferocious stormy weather and their well-known transport ready to take them to god-knows-where.


“At 02:00 hours this morning, we lost contact with Neo Kyoto's offshore processing facility number 01 for a brief period of time. That in itself wouldn't be a cause for more worries given that we are in the middle of a typhoon alert. However, fifteen minutes later, we received one single burst of a class II emergency alert before OPF 01 went silent again,” the Lieutenant said, pointing to a monitor behind her back. As expected, it displayed the fact that a class II emergency alert was an Invader raid. In an offshore factory dozens of miles away from any traces civilization. During a typhoon.

“I know I might be asking too much of your this time. However, we are the only available first response unit in the area that can reach OPF 01 in time. Your priority objective for this mission is to find and rescue anyone trapped in there. The facility is mostly automated, so it runs on a crew of 12 officers and 30 technicians. Your Linkers will be given a list of the personnel as well as OPF 01's schematics. Once you've secured any survivors, bring them to Helipad nº03. It's the only place in the whole facility where this transport can land safely.

As a secondary objective, try to clean OPF 01 of any Invaders. However, don't get too hung up on this, since we have no information regarding the enemy forces.

Lastly, there's something else you must recover but Command didn't divulge any information regarding it. Team Arizona will be in charge of that mission since Subaru is the only one with clearance for it. The rest of you must support them if needed.

“Now get your gear ready! You'll be rappelling in 30 seconds since we can't land when the place is this hot. One last thing, all Linkers will have to deploy to the field today. In order to make space for the victims, we had to get rid of any non-vital equipment so you can't help your teammates from the mobile command center.”

The silhouette of the massive Rig, roughly a 500 x 500 meters square massive industrial structure with at least 30 stories over the waterline, finally became visible right as Lieutenant Mako finished her briefing.

The door of the cargo bay was opened a moment later, buffeting the interior of the transport with stormy winds, rain, and saltwater spray right as they approached an area of the rig that wasn't crawling with so many Invaders yet. Even so, countless burning red eyes could be seen here and there when powerful lightning discharges hit the structure or surrounding water.

“Very well then, Cadets, you are authorized to begin your mission now. You have until daybreak, that is 06:00 on the dot. Anyone else who hasn't been evacuated by that point will have to be left behind since our fuel reserves won't last for much more than that. Now, go!” the Lieutenant ordered as she held tightly to the plane. The ice-cold rain and winds had already soaked her to the bones before the mission even began...

---

The rain and the winds, whipping ferociously against the chopper, had been vital in wiping away what remained of Tian-Gui's lethargy. Most of it was gone by the time he had heard of the specifics of a mission, and now, his heart beat with valor and excitement. A search and rescue mission whilst in the middle of a storm? THIS was the sort of Psyker work he was interested in, the sort of stories he followed on the news with ardent attention. With a nod to the Lieutenant, the tall Striker took in a breath and...

...leapt off.

A blue bolt streaked through the storm-scarred sky, lightning converging upon his form, sparkling off the amulet wrapped around his wrist. As the world slowed around him, each individual drop of rain illuminated by the crack of lightning, all Tian-Gui could hear was the sound of his own breathing. His own breathing, and the roar of the world.

“Final Red…”

Crossing his arms, Tian-Gui ran his psychic power through his Armament, a golden light flashing as identification was confirmed. His right hand thrust to grab the fiery power of the red sun, and his left hand reached out to draw upon the might of the earth’s magma core. A stream of golden energy coursed through his body, as real and powerful as the blood that flowed through his veins, before it covered his form entirely.

“TRANSFORM!”

Straight red lines shot through the golden haze, while brilliant white burst from the back. Within the convalescing Armanent, twin orbs of burning blue flashed with righteousness and courage. And then, like the thunder that followed after lightning, the roar of a lion resounded through the minds of all that watched the transformation, before the veil was lifted.

Lightning struck, flaring up the image of a golden monolith, a hero of justice that made the power of the storm his own. Somersaulting down onto the off-shore rig, he landed with a burst of flame and a boom to match the roar of thunder. Static electricity snapped off his white man, as Tian-Gui slowly stood up from his dynamic arrival, his azure gaze sweeping around his immediate surroundings, ready to take on any Invader not cowed by such entrance.

Retrospectively, maybe the Lieutenant would yell at him for that, but hell, Strikers gotta vanguard. No point in being what he is without being the first on the rig, right?