[TTEOTS] At The Edge - Zero's Route

Dark Clouds

They made it up to the VIP room where Eight was, but Five was nowhere to be found. As they entered, the dark-haired girl did a glance through of her. Whatever her first impression of Seven was, she did not show. Zero closed the door behind them as they walked in and Eight gestured towards the empty space of of the booth.

"Hey." Eight greeted.

"Wait." Zero stopped everyone from continuing. He turned Seven and immediately leaned in towards her and reached towards her face. She felt him touch her ears gently for a second and with that, he removed her comm device. They watched him fiddle with it for a second before he announced that he was done.

"What was that for?" She asked. Eight gave a questioning look as well.

"Midas." Zero replied simply, looking at Eight before looking back at Seven. "One of KAIROS' Umbras. Hold still." He said before he fixed it back onto her ear. "He bugged our comms. Did you realise anything different before?"

Seven could have kicked herself. She had not even realised that he had bugged her. What if she had divulge classified information and their mission's details. She traced back her memory, looking for any small changes but honestly she didn't feel a thing except.....

"I was suddenly able to hear him really clearly... We were initially shouting across the music but suddenly I could hear him really clearly and automatically just adjusted to it."

Zero nods. "Let's hope he didn't hear anything else."

Eight cleared his throat. "So this is our new member. We have already confirmed with Four and Six. They are on their way here now."

"You sent us that letter," Zero started with a strange undercurrent to his tone towards the new member. "Why?"

"Would you have preferred if I hadn't?" She raised an eyebrow. "I've already received the letter of acceptance from PHASE. It was just my decision as to whether I would like to join or not." She smirked. "Honestly, I'd rather see what my potential team can do before I sign anything."

"I hope that we have met your expectations then." Eight cut in, easing the tension in the room. Something about the new member just rubbed Seven off the wrong way. What was her deal acting all superior to them. She sneaked a peek at Zero whose expression was cool despite her less than lukewarm response to him.

"Anyways, let's do things proper. I'm One, your latest addition." She stood up and held a hand up. "Nice to meet you." She smiled. Seven walked forward to shake her hand, followed by Zero.

"We'll have a team briefing when we return to HQ." Eight wrapped up. "The rest will meet us there."

As they made their way out of Club Viscounti, a sudden realisation hits Seven.

"Where's Five?" Seven asked curiously, and wondered why was Zero not with him. "Is he not going to join us?"

Zero had a playful smile on his lips. "Seems like Five hyung might have a found a potential girlfriend instead." Eight sighs when he heard that. "Hopefully it doesn't end the same as the last."

"I'm assuming that it's a common occurrence for him to always have a girlfriend." One brushed off, uninterested.

"Actually, that's not true." Eight clarified. "It may seem that way to others, but when Five dates a girl, he's honestly serious about having a future with her." This made Seven smile ruefully as she saw Eight defend his partner so protectively. She can only assume why Five was like this for now. In fact, the more she thought about it, his behaviour applies to his friendships as well. She never saw him interact with anyone else besides those within PHASE when necessary, much less unless they were in Phantom Alpha.

"Well, if you say so." One huffed and flicked her hair off her shoulder. "Let's go, I'm tired already."

They met up with Four and Six at the entrance. Four was on his bike with his helmet on. He didn't even bother getting out or removing his helmet. He just took a glance at One and ignored her without so much as a nod or sign of acknowledgment. Six however, greeted her warmly, holding the envelope in front of her.

"Nice try." He teased as if he was talking to a childhood friend.

"How was my apartment?" I hope you made yourself comfortable." One shot back without a moment of hesitation. She took the envelope from him. "Guess you guys will do. You're all surprisingly very good looking." She voiced candidly.

Four revved up the engine on his bike, signalling his impatience. Six smiled and waved back without looking. Four immediately left the vicinity in an instant.

"New highscore to beat." Six explained, smiling. "So, it seems like I'll be joining you guys. SHOTGUN!"

Zero climbed into the backseat of the Renault and scooted all the way to the end, pulling Seven with him to sit in between. Seven couldn't help but giggle at the way he was behaving. He has always been shy whenever in the presence of the opposite sex, including her. It took months of training and hanging out before he could comfortably even practice hand-to-hand combat with her at the full extent.

Eight was still a gentlemen and helped One into the car before closing the door. As Seven sat in close proximity to One, she could smell a hint of... blackcurrant? Despite the first impression, she lucky to have another female member of the team. Recalling the advice given by Zero, Seven made a resolve to attempt at being good friends with One. At most if it doesn't work out, she still needs to be professional with her.

"So what do you do?" Seven started off, trying to initiate a friendly conversation.

One flicked her hair to the side before giving an uninterested look in return. "Nothing much. Just a few odd jobs here and there." She gave a polite smile to which Seven didn't even need Five or Eight to tell her that it was fake. To her, One just exudes a vibe, or aura if you will, that one can only describe as suffocating.

Sitting beside, Zero shifted uncomfortably and Eight locked eyes with Seven through the rear-view mirror; the only two signs showing that she was not alone. The only person who didn't seem to be the slightest bit affect was Six. In fact, he seems to accept her wholeheartedly and was the only one who received a warmer reception from One.

The ride home was awkward unlike their usual post-mission atmosphere. With Zero pressing himself against the car door and Eight humming to the radio, their usual cheerfulness seemed to be smothered by the presence of the new member. Even Six who seemed to be the only one who's able to potentially get along with her kept quiet and stared out the window. One, on the other hand, was completely relaxed and even had a smirk playing at the corner of her lips. Unsettled by this sudden change of dynamics, Seven could only worry for the rest of the ride. How are we going to make this work?