Ruby Red

9

The four of us stood together in the designated operating room. We were all equipped in our navy blue Kazama Unit uniforms and held solemn expressions. Shiori sat down at the desk with her dark blue and orange operator's uniform and headset, ready to command our attack. She gave us a thumbs up as we began to transport to the battlegrounds. I was the only one to reciprocate the thumbs up and before I knew it, we were faced with a large, moderately compact cityscape.

"Ready boys?" All of us used our Bagworm triggers to hide from the enemy's radar.

"Utagawa and Kikuchihara: you guys head towards the East side of the map. Hanako: West. I'll head South. Take down your targets quickly and don't reveal any tricks if it isn't necessary."

"Roger," we all said in unison. I sprinted off in the West direction looking high and low for any hiding enemies. I had come to a walking pace as I found the area to be slow moving and quiet. I suddenly shot my head toward the East and saw one green streak of light fly into the air. Another followed just a bit to the South of the previous one. I pouted as my teammates racked up all the points.

"That was quick- wait. There's only one left?! No fair!" I stomped my way forwards, continuing to look for the final enemy of Suwa Unit. The boys all confirmed their stopping points in our earpieces.

"Utagawa and Kikuchihara, defeated Hisato Sasamori for one point."

"Kazama, defeated Daichi Tsutsumi for one point."

"Hanako, defeated Casper for a drought of points," I added sarcastically.

"Their areas have been swept. Suwa has to be moving around in your area somewhere."

"Screw this!" I turned off my bagworm. "Oi! Kotaro! Come and get me!" I stood with my hand on my hip in the middle of the street. I was in plain sight; you couldn't miss me in this bright blue uniform.

"Don't make yourself so obvious! Put your bagworm back on," Kazama hissed in my ear.

"Movement approaching to your right, Kaori!" I shot my head to the side at Usami's warning and narrowly missed Suwa's bullets like the Matrix.

"Finally!" I unsheathed my Kogetsu and ran in the direction of the bullets, brushing them to the side with my blades and jumping through the narrow gaps between them to avoid getting hit.

"Shit!" Kotaro's cigarette fell out of his mouth and he equipped his rarely used Kogetsu. He parried my blade before I roundhouse kicked him. The male skidded to the ground, his blade sliding away from him.

"Sorry buddy," I said innocently as I pierced his Trion center, standing over his body. I smirked down at him.

"Y-You're gorgeous and all," he sputtered out. "But from this point of view, you just look evil to me."

"Combat body limit exceeded. Bail out." Suwa shot off in a bright green stream of Trion. I thought about his final words to me and I became easily bothered. I was transported back into the team combat room to meet the others. Utagawa and Kikuchihara had a couple cuts leaking Trion but they were minuscule. On the other side, Kazama sat in perfect condition in the team uniform.

I sat up from where I laid and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I gripped the edge of the mattress with white knuckles as I stared at the tile floor. Footsteps approached me at a rushed pace.

"Follow orders!" Kazama yelled from above me. I didn't tear my gaze from the floor. "I said to defeat the targets as quickly and simply as possible but you couldn't help yourself." I ignored what my captain spat at me while Kotaro's words remained carved into my cranium. "Are you even listeni-?"

"Am I evil?" I looked up at the red eyed boy with blurry vision, yet I could still see his eyes widen. Everyone glanced over at me, taken aback at my question.

"Hanako..." Usami approached and sat beside me. "What happened?" I looked over at her and suddenly remembered who I was and how I looked right now.

"Nevermind." I stood from my seat and pushed past Kazama. "Trigger off." I was once again in a sweatshirt and leggings, heading for the door.

"Hey, Hanako-" I cut off anymore voices with a slam of the door and headed in the direction of my room. People from other squads all looked in my direction and shot compliments off at me, but my eyes focused on the male who had a new cigarette lit in his mouth. I turned swiftly as I headed for my living quarters, ignoring everyone around me.

'Why is this affecting me so much?' I emptied my brain as I locked myself in the large, lonely room, putting my headphones in and blasting out anything that would load.

I sat in my own company when I heard a loud knock through my headphones. I ripped them out and glanced over at my clock, seeing I had been in my own solitary confinement for over an hour. I walked to my door and opened it, a dark haired person pushing past me and into the room.

Kazama sat himself on my bed and stared at me expectantly while I gazed at him curiously. I clumsily set my phone and headphones on my dresser and made my way to sit next to him.

I sat criss cross as we both avoided eye contact.

"You know, you could have some fun with these battles. Especially with the weaker teams. Loosen up a bit, Kaz. And hey, we won, right?"

"What was that all about earlier?" He ignored my statement. I shifted uncomfortably and remained silent. "I'm your captain and your teammate. You can tell me; I'll sit here and listen." I was shocked that those words could leave the lips of the constantly stoic Soya. I gulped before hugging my knees to my chest, my no-show socked feet hanging off the edge slightly.

"Well... When I was battling Suwa, he said I..." I stopped as I felt embarrassed about the situation. "Nevermind, it's not importa-"

"He called you evil?" I bit my tongue and nodded, trying my best to bury my head into my knees.

"I guess I was just smiling because I find combat and fighting fun. Especially in that situation. But I guess that's not what you people know, here at HQ..." Kazama sighed. I chuckled in irritation, rubbing at my eyes. "Jeez, why is this bothering me so much?" My eyes drooped as a sudden exhaustion from the match washed over me. I dropped one leg to the ground but continued to hold the other as I leaned to the side a bit.

My head met Kazama's shoulder as sleep began to take over me. As my eyes were shutting, I could feel Kazama crane his neck to rest his head on top of mine. I began to drift off finally as Kazama's soft and sweet words lulled me to slumber with a smile.

"He just doesn't know you like we do. But I can promise that you're not evil. You're far from it."