Fragments

Ch.4 - Our new home

A week after the Ceremony, everyone was in their new home as official – though low-ranked – Guardians. Min-jun awoke and sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes as a light yawn escaped his mouth. "Huh– Where am I..? Oh. Right." The 7 rookies were in one of two Aegis stations located in the city. It was empty until now, housing only common armed forces and Asuma herself. The building was quite sizable and included everything one would need as a Guardian – a small dining hall, a "classroom", individual rooms for everyone, a library, two training areas and even a large garage for Aegis' vehicles. Due to everyone being new to this job, their first few days at the station were peaceful and involved almost no work.
Min got dressed in his usual black and red attire, washed his face and did some warm-up exercises. It was a very basic but effective morning routine. He felt a light rumble in his stomach as he finished doing one-armed push-ups, which prompted him to get up. Nothing compared to the refreshing feeling of warming up his body after a good night's rest. He reached for the doorknob that led into the hallway with a loud sigh, thinking back on how quickly all the events leading him here went by. Compared to his years of preparation, it felt so… Easy.
As he stepped out, he noticed Lilly peek her head out of a door near the end of the hallway. She was right by the showers where Reuel was headed with a towel around his neck. Accompanied by a devilish smile, the small girl tossed a banana peel under Reuel's boot, making the hulking man fall over like a sack of potatoes.
Min rushed by without a reaction, hearing the aftermath of the girl's prank in the form of loud yelling and several other crashing sounds. Some movers passed Min by, carrying heavy boxes filled with things Yin carried over from her home. She moved in only two days ago but got a far bigger room than anyone else due to her being from the Guild, so it was still in the process of being decorated.

After going down a flight of stairs, Min entered the small cafeteria and got his breakfast, which was nothing special, just an average, healthy mixture of various foods. Looking around, he didn't see anyone else in the room. Rosea most likely spent the night in the library, Yuu was probably in a training area and he didn't know where Yin went. Everyone adapted to the life at one of Aegis' stations quite quickly and picked their favourite spots to be in... All for Min-jun and the black-haired Korean, who entered the cafeteria just as Min thought about where he might be. He grabbed his breakfast on a tray and made his way to the same table Min sat behind, not even asking if he could join or not. "Yo," he said, waving his hand in greeting as he set the tray down and pulled out a chair. Min's eyes raised from the breakfast to Ku as he only just now realized he joined him. "Hi. You could've at least asked if you can join, y'know," Min replied. However, the Korean simply shrugged off the comment and continued. "I just wanted to know if the guy who fought a Reaper bare-handed is batshit crazy or really brave– and I dunno which of those slots you belong to, honestly."
"It's nothing special." Min said while taking a bite out of a sandwich.
"Nothin' special? There's a reason there are rumours about you, dude."
"Rumours? That's new."
"You're really not interested in this, are ya?"
"I'm mainly not interested in how overblown that situation was. I can't be a Guardian if I can't face those things."
"What a simple mindset you have… It's like running into a bear– you don't fight the damn thing, you run for your life. And yet you stayed back. I'd say you're someone in-between– both crazy and brave."
"I'm honoured," Min said sarcastically, not wanting to be a part of the conversation anymore. He wished not to get too attached to others, as that'd only hinder his plan of finding out about his past. "Also," Ku leaned forward a little while speaking. "We're getting our first mission tomorrow, didya hear?"
"How'd you know?" Min asked, seeming more interested than before. "I've got my ways," Ku said while grinning. "I do whatever I want, whenever I want. That approach gets me some good info occasionally."
"I see. I assume it's one of those things I better not ask?"
"Haha, nah, nah, ask away. I got nothing to hide, I just like to enjoy myself."
"Do you know what it'll be about?"
"Some drug cartel… Doesn't seem very interesting if ya ask me."
"I'd say that's good for a start. We can't face Reapers immediately."
"You're one to talk, Min."
"Oh, come on." Min said with a sigh, which turned into an exasperated laugh. "What's your name?"
"Ku. Ku Sujeong."
"A nice name... Hopefully we'll get along well, Ku."
"You can bet we will," he responded, grinning. "Enjoy yourself while ya can, we'll probably be waking up early tomorrow."
"Will do, thanks for the heads-up." After their short talk, Ku got up and was about to carry his breakfast away, presumably to his room, but Min had one more question. "Hold on, do you know where Yin might be? I'd like to talk to her."
"What, got a crush already?"
"Eh? No– I just want to ask her something."
"You mean ask her out, right?" Ku was clearly getting a kick out of this, because he knew the answer and could freely choose to not provide it. Min stayed silent, his face showed hints of being a little flustered and annoyed at the same time. "I'll stop, I'll stop… She's probably sulking around on the roof. From what I got, she can't stop complaining about how cramped this station is compared to her home. She seems like a bitch if ya ask me."
"I'll see that for myself, I just have a question regarding the Ceremony. Thanks, Ku." Min looked at his breakfast and showed the Korean a thumbs up as they both quietly continued eating their meals, with Ku walking up the flight of stairs leading to their rooms. The moment where Yin looked like she only pretended to drink from the fountain stuck to Min's mind. In addition, for as long as he could see her, she fought nobody. It made him wonder just why exactly she was accepted, but that didn't matter. By not obtaining a power, she's putting her life in danger… She can turn into a Reaper within a few years if nothing's done. Shame would be brought to both the Guild and Aegis, and Min can't let that happen – both as a person and as a Guardian.