Ruby Red

18

"Crap. There are only kids." I locked eyes with the mysterious cloaked man as he floated out of the Gate. "What a bad draw," he said, displeased. A scowl adorned his sickly pale face and his brows furrowed in frustration.

"Woah... Here comes a Humanoid, Kazama," spoke Kikuchihara.

"Yeah. And he has black horns. I guess we've hit the jackpot." I scowled at the older boy beside me.

"Don't act like this is some game. This is way more serious than those stupid new types." I already had my katana equipped in my hand as the black-haired man continued to look down on us.

"No matter how you look at it, you're only four little brats. But you do have the skills to take out a Rabit, right? Give it your all, alright?" I snarled at the man. The boys were silent which became odd to me. I didn't quite understand it until I realized that they were communicating telepathically with Mikami's help.

"Damn you guys," I muttered. "Usami! Activate Trion Sensory!"

"Roger!" I saw his Trion signature floating around itself like it was liquid in his body. I made a sudden realization and watched as his leg melted into the cracks of the abandoned building. Shiro must have noticed as well because he alerted the others.

"Below us." We all jumped up as large, black spikes protruded from the ground. Once we landed again, my realization became a memory.

Dairoku sat at the lab's computer as I stood behind and watched him work out the programming for the new type. He fingers typed away and characteristics were charted as they were added to the new development of Trion Soldier.

"How can a man of your battle stature be smart enough to also design these Soldiers?" I jokingly asked.

"Very funny, Hanae." I fakely laughed at his use of my undercover alias. "How can a woman of your beauty be strong enough to wipe out an army, Ka-o-ri." I grimaced at the silver-haired man. His azure eyes had a hint of mischief in them but I wasn't pleased with him haphazardly using my real name.

"Don't call me that around here. You're the only one that knows and if I get found out, I'm as good as dead." He laughed to himself.

"Alright, alright."

"Tell me again: why do you not snitch on me when you know I'm a spy?" He became serious again.

"When you first appeared here so suddenly, I knew there was something off about you that no one else seemed to notice. But I decided not to care like everyone else because of how gorgeous you are. When I found out though, I hated the idea of them executing you on display at your capture. So, I kept it to myself. You've got me wrapped around your finger, Hanae." I blushed and smiled genuinely at him.

"You know, I'm gonna have to leave in a couple of days." His face turned sad but then lit up with an idea.

"What if I came with you?! I could work with you and maybe we-!" I cupped his face in my hands.

"Dairoku!" He became silent. "I already told you. The organization I work for would never allow me to bring you back. And..." I lowered my gaze apologetically. "I have someone back home that's too dear to me to forget. No matter how much we go through, we always come back to each other. I think I'll always go back to him, even if times get tough." I made eye contact with him again and he gave a half-hearted smile which was full of pain.

"He's lucky to have someone like you around. We don't have many like you in Aftokrator."

"I know. I'm really sorry, Dairoku."

"It's okay. I need to focus on my work here, anyway."

"Yeah, you do. Aftokrator wouldn't be half the nation it is if it weren't for your work." He grew an embarrassed blush.

"Hell yeah." I giggled at him and watched as he continued working on a new type called a Rabit. They hadn't yet been presented to the Council for approval yet, but I'm sure that they would soon.

As more of my memories flowed through my head, I remembered sparring with him. The sweat on his face, the way his black horns shown in the sun. I loved his Trigger and was mesmerized by how skillfully he used it. The ability to change the physical state of your body; solid, liquid, and gaseous.

Borboros.

"Who the hell are you?!" I screamed at the psychotic looking Humanoid.

"Why so irritated, little girl?" His voice was irritating to my ears and the snarky tone made me want to murder him.

"Where's Dairoku?! And why do you have Borboros?! It doesn't belong to you!" My anger bubbled to the surface and I could feel the looks of confusion stabbing at my back from the boys.

"Oh, so you're the spy from a few years ago. Dairoku? You mean the little engineer that was in love with you?" I grit my teeth and clenched my fists tightly. "When you were found out about by the Council, they also found out about him giving you the information you wanted at will." I held a solid demeanor until the awful feeling I had been enduring surfaced. "He was executed on the spot for treason and Borboros was handed over to me." I suddenly felt sick and my eyes watered enough to completely blur my vision. "Damn. I didn't know Meeden had a monkey that knew about my Trigger. What a nuisance..."

"Kazama..." I wiped at my eyes and took a quick look back at him. "Be careful and try not to breathe much."

"Where do you think you're going?" His tone was angered, but I couldn't tell if it was directed at me or the enemy.

"I have a plan, but there's something I have to do... I can't defeat him unless I get it." Before he could protest, I jumped away to safety and began to sprint toward Tamakoma's base. I hated the idea of using it, but since I was too stubborn to add it for myself and since I was low on time, I had no choice.

By the time I could finally see Tamakoma, I saw a green streak fly through the air and toward Border HQ. My jaw dropped and I immediately understood over the confusion on the intercom.

"Kazama?!"

赤

It's a really short chapter but I wanted to get something out to keep you guys from waiting a long time. Thank you all for reading!