On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Interval 3 - Joining Fifth Sector

"Go home, Kimiko. Just go home and explain to them how you felt."

She didn't want to. She knew she had to go back eventually, but she still didn't want to. She was no longer afraid of facing them, but she still didn't want to. She knew they had the right reason to send her to that training camp, but she still didn't want to.

So, why was she standing in the lobby of this nightmare of a building at 7 in the morning?

It was simple. She didn't want to trouble her only friend any more than she already had. In fact, she came to do the exact opposite. She was going to repay him.

She glared down on the young man at the front desk. He sat still in his seat, looking up at her and too stunned to speak. That figures, seeing how she looks a lot like his boss. Especially with her newly dyed hair.

"I want to see the Holy Emperor." She demanded.

After a long while of just staring back at her, he finally gathered his voice back. "I-I'm sorry, but he isn't here―"

"Don't bother lying." She cut off. "I have his schedule memorized. He's here. Either you call him down here or you give me a pass to get up there."

"I-I... I..."

"Please, don't scare off the new recruit." A familiar voice came from behind her. "He just got his job yesterday."

"S-Sir!" The man hastily stood up and bowed. "I-I apologize for my lack of initiative! I'll call in the guards and―"

The blonde held up a hand to stop him. "There's no need. I have business with her as well."

"I-I see... Then, please use the second room to the right." He pointed down a corridor opposite from where he entered. "It's currently unoccupied and no one has reserved it for the day."

"Thank you." Dark brown eyes went to the girl, who was already making a beeline to the designated room. He followed her in, closing the door and making sure no one is around to hear them.

"Why bother? There's a camera in here." She pointed her gaze at the corner of the room. Indeed, there was. "Though, knowing the size of the surveillance room, I'm willing to bet they have all the audio off."

She was probably right. The building was huge, and there were plenty of rooms with cameras just like this one. With the tiny security room housing that many screens, they'd need to keep the volumes down to focus.

"Then, I'll get straight to the point. Are you okay?" His expression didn't change, but his tone did. He was genuinely concerned for her wellbeing.

But that's not what she wanted. "I know you sent me there for a good reason, so I won't complain. However, if you want me to come back home, I want you to do me a couple of favors."

"Using yourself as blackmail..." He sighed. He supposed he should've known. She knew she had a rather high standing within the organization, especially since she had to introduce herself as his relative. Still, if his superiors found out what she was capable of, there was no telling what they would do to her. "Alright, I'm listening."

She held up a finger. "First, I want you to make sure I don't get sent to any schools by the higher-ups."

He raised an eyebrow at this. "That's easy enough. Any and all SEEDs take their dispatch orders from me. The higher committee isn't very involved with the systems and operations. But can I ask why?"

She shrugged. "I'd pretend to be all cryptic if it was funny, but the truth is simply that I can't play soccer on the field anymore."

"... What?"