𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐈𝐑! ❀ 𝐊. 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐀𝐌𝐈 [ˢʰᵒʳᵗ ˢᵗᵒʳʸ]

10. 𝙩𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙨

Kimika was at peace.

She sat peacefully at her plain metal desk, sitting criss-cross on the chair as she examined the paper before her. She tapped her pencil on her chin over and over again as she tried to figure out the answer. She racked her brain for a logical solution.

The first thought that came to her mind was to sneak in and knock out the villains.

It's got to be more complex than that. These kinds of situations don't blow by like a breeze-- they're like a hurricane.

Kimika tugged at her bottom lip, the smooth fabric of her gloves scratching against her skin. Perhaps the smartest thing to do would be to surround the building and cut off all exits while another team of heroes stormed the building. She furrowed her brow. In that case, what would stop the villains from hurting the civilians?

From behind her, on the other side of the room, she heard Keigo's frustrated groan.

She peeked over her shoulder just in time to watch the boy slam his head onto his desk. One of her eyebrows raised in amusement. When the two of them turned thirteen, they started strategic lessons. It mainly consisted of learning how to handle every possible outcome of every possible situation that could ever happen to them in the field. Both of them understood the concept very well, but Keigo had a hard time coming up with more than one tactic.

"Having trouble over there?" Kimika's voice was hushed and timid, but Keigo heard it nonetheless.

The blonde leaned his head back over the back of the chair and examined her upside down. His scrappy hair fell in all different directions, earning a teasing gaze from the girl. He stuck his tongue out at her, his golden eyes squinting. "Don't make fun of me, Kimika! I always pass the exams, but it's hard to impress!"

Kimika pivoted herself in her seat so she could more easily face the boy. He made no such action, however, intending to stay in his upside-down position. "I agree. It's hard to come up with a foolproof plan that will catch the special attention of the instructors." The girl pouted, glaring at her feet. "It feels like they're just testing us to see if we can only accomplish certain types of missions."

Keigo was immediately excited at how many words she had spoken to him. No matter how many times they had a full conversation, it still surprised him how much she opened up. He liked this version of her a lot better than the closed-off scared little girl he'd met seven years ago. He loved it when they talked like this. Since there were no audio sensors in their shared room, only video cameras, they could speak freely with each other.

The boy nodded in acknowledgment of the points she'd made. "At least we can complete some, though. If we couldn't, we'd be screwed."

Kimika pursed her lips. He had a point. They would have to double the training and strategic lessons if they couldn't figure out a single problem. They were here to train as special agents, for crying out loud. That was their one purpose here.

She was about to ask Keigo what he'd been planning when an alarm blared.

It was louder than anything she'd ever heard before, and she immediately slapped her gloved hands over her ears with a gasp. The white lights in the room faded to red and the color fanned the flames in her mind. She drew in a sharp breath and squeezed her eyes closed tightly. The alarm echoed after each ring, a warning signal.

A warning for what?

"Kimika!"

The girl felt a tickling sensation on her left cheek. Peeking one of her eyes open, she saw a single red feather hovering in the air beside her face. Her gaze traveled from it to the boy controlling it. Keigo's hands fell from his ears as he pushed himself out of his chair and made his way over to his friend. The girl noticed how his shoulders tensed every time the alarm thundered overhead.