Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 1

The time has come for the selected border agents to board the expedition ship and set on a journey beyond the neighborhood. After the heartfelt speech of General Manager Shinoda, the agents walked towards the underground facility that led towards their ship. Those who had already joined the expedition force many times are collected while those who are just joining this time are tense, especially the young girl named Chika Amatori and her captain—Mikumo Osamu.

They quietly boarded the ship and settled in the lounge. The ambiance was not as good as they'd imagined as some of the agents are beginners in expeditions. The top three team captains, especially Tachikawa Kei and Fuyushima, gave some reassuring words and calmed the tense atmosphere that formed a little while ago. On the other hand, Kazama Souya was standing on the back and nodding at what the other two captains were saying.

Soon, the atmosphere changed. Every border agent inside was now collected and composed. The top three captains were appointed as the temporary executives while on the expedition. No one retaliated against the decision of the higher-ups as those three were the ones leading the last expeditions and were more experienced in the neighborhood than the rest of them.

After rechecking everything, they began to assign the rooms that each team will use for the rest of the expedition. Once they settled inside, the timer was set.

In a blink of an eye, the expedition ship was swimming in the sea of darkness. They passed through the billions of stars around and with silence embracing their journey in the neighborhood.

The agents are resting in their own abode as they needed tons of energy once they landed on a country and began their plan. It was a quiet start for everyone.

Once the clock ticked at 5 P.M, the captains of each team headed to the planning room. Once everyone was complete, the meeting began. They discussed the matter regarding their expedition and the plan to bring their allies back to their own world. They began to tense when they talked about the situations that could possibly happen on their journey.

Everyone quickly resolved themselves. They have no time to worry about needless feelings. The moment they board the ship, they must accept everything that is about to happen and the thousands of possibilities.

"Remember, anything can happen while we're on this expedition. We must accept it and quickly resolve ourselves," said by no. 1 team captain—Tachikawa.

They nodded their heads. Afterwards, the meeting was adjourned. Each captain went back to their room and relayed to their team members everything they discussed at the meeting.

"Chika, don't let your guard down once we land on a neighboring country. You will be targeted because of your trion volume," the white haired boy turned his attention to the girl sitting in front of him.

"If the situation gets dangerous, quickly run away. You must put your own safety at high priority rather than worrying about your teammates," said the glasses boy.

The girl clutched her clothes and quietly nodded. "If I can help you out of danger, I will help. I won't standby watching all of you risk your lives trying to protect me and saving our comrades."

The three boys smiled. The girl promised to herself to no longer run away and help as much as she can while also prioritizing her own safety. She doesn't want to be a burden to anyone and composed herself. One could say she now has a heart of steel.

After a week of floating around in the darkness, they now crossed the borderline of another neighbor country. They prepare themselves for any upcoming battle that might happen once they set foot inside the country when the engineer aboard said aloud not to make any hasty moves.

"We can set foot inside while not making quite a noise. We must avoid any battles since we have currently no data regarding them," said by the female engineer at the meeting.

Tachikawa sighed. "She's right. Any battles could lead to a serious injury or worse—death."

"Don't make any hasty decisions that could lead to a serious toll on our force. We will quietly observe them for now until we make sure that they are not a threat to us," the raven haired man said. His red eyes showed no emotion as he observed everyone inside the meeting room.

One of the agents clenched his fist. He could no longer wait to exterminate any neighbor he saw. "Calm down, Miwa. It is not the time to let your emotions take over you."

He flinched as he heard those words. He looked at the man who said it. It was a man who had his hair in a low ponytail and a beard.

"Fuyushima-san is right, Miwa. Calm yourself," the man wearing a red jacket said.

He gritted his teeth before loosening up. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. The meeting continued without any hindrance.

The day has come. Border agents prepared themselves to depart the ship and set foot in an unknown country. They entered the neighbor's den without alarming anyone.

They quickly moved around and settled in a place where they could observe without standing too much. Each squad went to a place where they could gather information. This is their cycle for the whole week.

"What do you guys observe in the country?" Fuyushima asked.

Tachikawa raised his hand and reported everything his team noticed. "This place has a lax security compared to other neighboring countries. The citizens mind their own business."

"Their way of living is similar to ours," Kazama commented.

"The citizens coordinate well with each other and it mostly seems they are not bothered by invasions," Arashiyama added.

"Kids freely roamed around the plaza and students freely walked around the area," he added.

"It is undeniably quiet at night. Only a few people walked in the alley, especially the village that's quite far from the city," Kusakabe captain said.

"The public market was extremely loud at night like there are some kind of festivities around," Oji responded.

The whole new scenery they witnessed while observing didn't put them at rest. It was oddly too good to be true.

"Other than that, did you get some information?" The female engineer asked.

"A gate appeared in the southwest part of the city, before anything came out of it, it disappeared," Mikumo, the Tamakoma-2 squad captain said.

It alarmed every person inside the meeting room. "A gate appeared!?"

"No trion soldier came out!?"

"What time did it appear?"

"It was alarming!"

The room was now filled with noise. Everyone was flabbergasted by what Mikumo had reported. "Is what you said is the truth?" Kazama asked.

Mikumo nodded his head. "Yuma and I are shocked at what happened. We headed in the southwest but we didn't find any evidence that proves that a gate opened."

"Did you notice anything other than that?" Kazama asked once again.

"My teammate, Chika Amatori, noticed a silhouette of a person in front of the gate. She said it was too fast and she couldn't grasp the person's identity," Mikumo explained.

"Did another neighboring country enter this place after us?" The female engineer asked.

"They must be trying to place a spy inside and put a halt on this country's counterattack in case they really did invade," Tachikawa replied.

The ambiance inside the meeting room was not as good as it was earlier. The agents began to get nervous at what they heard. "We will fly away once another country begins their operation inside," Kazama said.

Everyone released the breath they held earlier. "Did you gather other information like what kind of country is this? Their leader's name? What kind of army do they have?"

"We entered a place that looked like a bar and heard some old men say something about their 'king'," Miwa started.

They had gone quiet and let the young man speak. "Their leader was said to have a health issue and an order from above came down. The content of the order is to mobilize all units to seek a certain doctor. They never mentioned anything about the doctor’s personal information."

"As we presumed, there will be an invasion. If we added what Miwa said, the neighboring country seize the opportunity to invade this country," Fuyushima said.

"And based on what we observed all this time, the security might be lax due to the search for a certain doctor," Tachikawa added.

"The reason the citizens can still act and move around freely and happily must be because the news about their leader's deteriorating health didn't reach them," the female engineer voiced her opinion.

"It might be. It's more plausible to assume that they know about the news but they fully trust those in higher position," the no. 1 attacker, Tachikawa, responded while holding his chin.

The agents medullated about what each of the other agents said. They recalled what they witnessed and observed this whole week. They are only back to their senses when the female engineer and appointed operator speak.

"We're missing some valuable information that could connect what we've known so far," she said aloud, enough for the agents to come back to their senses.

She caught everyone's interest. Their eyes are on her, patiently waiting for her to speak again. "If the doctor is just settling in another part of this country, would there be a need to mobilize an entire army just to fetch him? I don't think they would be foolish enough to do it."

What she said made the other agents rethink. Before they could let their mind wander in other possibilities, the engineer spoke again. "Now, let's look at another scenario. The doctor might be kidnapped by an opposing party. The opposition is powerful enough for the king to mobilize his full army just to find the doctor. Another reason for the mobilization of their troops is because the situation requires the doctor so much. The king's body might be nearing its limit soon."

"What you said actually makes sense," Tachikawa supported the engineer's words.

"Also, we didn't find a trace of the king's armies. If they are scattered around the area, aren't our agents the same? Yet, we didn't notice their presence," she added.

Tachikawa clapped his hands to gain the attention of the other agents. "How about we observe one more time?"

The agents nodded their heads. The meeting was about to be adjourned when the engineer spoke again. "I apologize, but I'm doubting the information we have right now. We don't know whether what you observed is the truth, especially what Mikumo-san and Miwa-san said. We don't have enough evidence to prove it right."

The top three team captains faced the engineer, who had a worried expression on her face. She met their gazes. Fuyushima and Kazama offered her a smile while Tachikawa ruffled her hair.

"Don't worry. We will do our best to gather information as much as we can," Tachikawa gently said.

"Try to take a rest Miss Engineer, you've been working too hard this whole week for us," Fuyushima said before exiting the room

The other two captains followed him and left the girl alone in the meeting room. The girl heaved a sigh. She picked up her stuff and headed to her small office.

On the other hand, Osamu went to his teammates and relayed what happened inside. The three show a restless expression on their faces. Osamu noticed how the ambiance changed and stared at his teammates.

"We cannot let our guard down since we can't fully grasp the situation we are in," Hyuse, the neighbor from Aftokrator that became their teammates later on, spouted.

"What are the plans, Osamu?" Asked by the white haired boy.

Osamu holds his chin. An idea suddenly popped inside his head. "Shall we ask for assistance from Tsukubu-san?"

The three members looked at each other before agreeing to their Captain's suggestion. They went to the farthest room inside the ship and knocked thrice on the door. No one came out so they knocked again, but still no one opened the door.

They nearly left the place and headed back to their room when a blonde haired boy showed up on their back and tapped their shoulders. They faced him with a confused look.

"Are you looking for Tsukubu-san?" Asked by the blonde.

"Yes! We are trying to ask for her help, Izumi-san" Osamu quickly answered.

The blonde guy simply nodded his head. "She might not be here at the moment."

"Is that so?" Yuma said. He looked at his Captain who didn't seem to know what to do.

"Well, I've already knocked on her door many times but she still hasn't opened it," Izumi reasoned out.

Yuma smiled. He's not lying and his words make sense but he wondered where the engineer could be. "We can all just go back later."

They went to the lounge and interacted with other agents. After an hour had passed, they decided to go back to the engineer's room. They knock thrice but to no avail, no presence of her can be felt. They began to worry about her condition.

Izumi stood to break the door but it didn't work. He tried again and again but none of what he does has an effect to the door. Their worries grew.

"Tsukubu-san!" Izumi's knock became strong as he felt something amiss happening. His voice became louder and louder as he shouted the female engineer's name. It drew the attention of some agents passing by the hallway.

"What happened, Izumi?" The spiky black hair guy asked.

"Tsukubu-san hasn't opened her door since earlier, Yoneya," he said worriedly.

"What!?" Yoneya said alarmingly.

Izumi called her name again but there's still no sign of her existence. "Does her room have any spare keys?"

The other agents shrugged their shoulders. They are thrown into chaos when they heard someone groaning in pain inside. They called the three appointed executives. Just like what the other agents did earlier, they knock on her door and call her name. They almost break the door if they haven't been stopped by the operators, especially the Tachikawa team's operator— Kunichika Yuu.

"What are you guys doing!?" She said.

Their attention turned to the fuming mad operator. On her back were also the other operators worriedly looking at them.

"YUU-CHAN! TSUKUBU-SAN HASN'T OPENED HER DOOR SINCE THE MEETING ENDED AND NOW WE HEARD SOMETHING INSIDE!!" Izumi exclaimed.

The Tachikawa team's operator sighed. "You could have just asked for a spare key to her room instead of trying to break the damned door!"

Kunichika made her way towards Tsukubu's room and opened it. She entered the dim room and found Tsukubu standing while looking at the wide screen in front of her. She was breathing heavily and shivering like she had just undergone a terrible experience of pain.

Kunichika quickly went to her direction while calling her name, which alarmed the agents outside. Kunichika faced her in front of her. Tsukubu was shocked at the sudden appearance of one of her friends but she was more startled and confused at what she just watched.

She composed herself and inserted her hearing aids in her ears. "What happened, Ayane?" A question she first heard after she plugged her hearing aids.

She blinked twice and noticed different faces inside her room. She was more confused than ever. "A-YA-NE" she heard Kunichika calling her.

"What happened Tsukubu-san?" Izumi worriedly asked.

The engineer turned her attention towards the boy. She opened her mouth to speak but there's no words coming out of it. She can't find the right words to describe what she watched.

"What happened to you?" Kunichika once again asked.

Instead of answering her question, Tsukubu went to her computer and tapped some keys. Afterwards, a video played on the large screen. Multiple voices can be heard on the background. They are talking about the undergoing experiment and transformation of neighbors into trion soldiers. What they heard next was the voices in pain of the suffering neighbors. Next scene was the outcome of the experiment. It was absolutely horrid and bloody.

A deafening silence covered Tsukubu's room as the agents inside watched the video she played. She was looking at them with an unexplainable expression. Suddenly, Tachikawa appeared in front of her and stopped the video.

"Tsukubu-san, where did you get this video?" He asked coldly.

She was still trembling in shock when Tachikawa placed his hands on her shoulder. "I-I-"

She was stuttering and couldn't find the right terms when Kunichika cut her off. "I don't think it's the right time to ask her questions."

"I agree with Kunichika. I'm sure Miss Engineer is as well shocked as everyone around here," Fuyushima tapped Tachikawa's hands.

Tachikawa sighed. "We don't have time to spare and I need an answer right now."

Fuyushima looked at Kunichika and gestured to her to lead the other agents outside. Kazama remained inside the engineer's room and patiently waited for her explanation.

"Where did you get that kind of video?" This time, Tachikawa asked with more care and gentleness.

"Wh-while cr-creating th-the map, th-the v-video s-suddenly a-appeared o-on t-the s-screen," Tsukubu stammered the whole time.

Tachikawa led Tsukubu to sit on her swivel chair before asking another question. "Do you know where it might have come from?"

She shook her head. "I tried to track the sender but it led me nowhere."

"Fuyushima-san, alert everyone about the danger of the situation and what might possibly happen while we're in this country," Kazama said.

"We should not conclude that it was this country that sent the video," Fuyushima calmly said.

Kazama leaned on the wall and closed his eyes. "This country was the only one that can intercept in our signal and was on our radar. It is highly impossible that it was other neighbor countries doing."

"I'm sorry," Tsukubu muttered.

Tachikawa patted her head. "It's not your fault. You should rest for now, Tsukubu-san."

Tachikawa faced the other two captains. "What's the plan now?"

"Relay this to everyone...." Tachikawa said.
"We must check for ourselves whether the king is dying or not," he added.

The plan was quickly relay to everyone. They gather energy as much as they can for tomorrow and prepare themselves for what is about to happen.

Chapter Text

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm, golden glow upon the tranquil city, the scene became a masterpiece of serenity. The city, nestled between rolling hills and alongside a serene river, was a testament to both human ingenuity and the beauty of nature.

The architecture was a harmonious blend of old-world charm and modern design, with cobblestone streets winding through the heart of the city, adorned with street lamps that cast a gentle, inviting light. Majestic trees lined the streets, their branches swaying in the gentle breeze, offering shade and a sense of natural tranquility.

The river, its surface shimmering in the fading light, flowed peacefully through the heart of the city. On its banks, people gathered to relax and enjoy the simple pleasure of life. Boats gently glided on the water, carrying passengers who reveled in the soothing rhythm of the river's current.

In the distance, a mountain range framed the horizon, their peaks painted in shades of purple and pink by the setting sun. The air was filled with the fragrance of blooming flowers, and the sound of birdsong added a melodic soundtrack to the scene.

The city's inhabitants moved with a calm and contented demeanor, going about their evening routines. It was a place where the pace of life was in perfect harmony with the natural beauty that surrounded it, creating a sanctuary of peace and beauty that left visitors and residents alike with a deep sense of appreciation for the world around them.

Regardless of the majestic scenery offered to them, no one could enjoy such harmony and peacefulness while bearing the feeling of uncertainty and anxiousness.

The agents quietly moved down the alleyway and rendezvous with their team. They finally reach a conclusion on what could possibly be the lost dot on the pile of red strings on the hanging board.

They are nearing the heart of the country, the place where bustling of joy and shimmering eyes of the citizens forever glisten. They stopped midway along the busy streets, unable to move due to the crowd. They tried to pushed their way out but to no avail, it did not worked. They are stuck and left with no choice. If they tried to make a move, the citizens will be alarmed. As of now, they are still safe from their grasp.

The other teams safely make their way towards their assigned positions. They thoroughly observed the people that passed them, segregated the words that might aid them in reaching an absolute conclusion, their behaviors and movements that may seem ordinary. None of it gets passed through the agents' eyes.

They took their job earnestly as it was their last opportunity to inspect a country unknown to them. They did so for their current situation and for the future they had not yet to foresee.

Their hearts beat faster as time continues to flow. A sweat began to form and their hands began to tremble in anticipation, they grip tightly on their weapons as if anticipating something to suddenly happen. They did not notice their own composure, they are restless as they observed their surroundings. A preaching was suddenly instilled in them in the midst of the battle of uncertainty, 'one wrong move and they could lose their precious life'.

Finally, after a long time of investigation, a clue appeared. They received a message from one of their fellow agents regarding the king's army. They found one of the king's soldiers while investigating a village not far from the city. The soldier was knocking on a door of one of the village's men.

"Shall we get close to them and listen to their conversation?" Oji, one of the chosen agents, said over.

"Make sure you keep a proper distance. We cannot afford to be noticed now," Kazama responded.

"Roger that," the other two agents alongside him hid on a tree near the house.

The two neighbors' conversation was heard by everyone. They did not react to anything and silently listened, not missing a single word on their conversation. The female engineer left on the ship began her analysis on their conversation.

She examined every word and the point they are trying to make sense. In the middle of her analysis, she noticed something peculiar in their words. She hurriedly went over to the hanging board, wherein multiple red strings were pinned. She inspected the information given to her, from the agents' observation, the words that came out of the neighbors' mouth, the video she had regarding the country's appearance that she used to create the map, all of it hit her like lightning struck on her.

The missing dot has been finally found. All the loose ends began to connect to each other. Everything posted on the board finally brought light to their confused and clouded mind.

"Everyone! Get back on the ship!" She shouted but no response was relayed to her.

She slammed the table. She realized it too late. What the Tamakoma-2 unit witnessed, what the Miwa unit heard, the video and the map she created, all of it are just a means to lure them out. To make them completely exposed. To ruin and clouded their minds. They are completely manipulated by them.

On the other hand, a person wearing a cloak appeared on each team. The Border agents are perplexed. None of them heard a sound of the person approaching their direction. They became more alarmed when they could not contact the other agents.

They are put to halt from moving. Truth to be told, they are not able to move, there is no escape route in their assigned place and they are currently left with no choice but not to make any drastic movement that could lead to a serious toll on them. They don't want any unwanted attention from the neighbors of this country nor do they want to be completely erased from existence.

Each of the people wearing a cloak revealed their faces. They don't show any hostility on their faces when they show themselves, rather, they are quite welcoming.

"Sorry for suddenly appearing in front of you, dear visitors, but I have come to fetch you," the woman suddenly said to Tamakoma-2 unit.

The agents did not move and anticipate the woman's next move. They are suddenly alarmed when the woman took a few steps forward in front of them.

"Please refrain yourself from creating any scene, you do not want to face the wrath of the citizens, do you?" The woman said.

The Tamakoma-2 unit captain sighed. "What should we do? We can't create any commotion because it will bring more troubles for us."

"We can't silence her off, not while the citizens are around and not while we don't have any knowledge about her," Hyuse said telepathically.

"It's best to observe her for now," said Chika.

"We should follow her for now until we see some chances of escaping. We also have to know where she brought us and we don't have any evidence that'll prove that she's a neighbor. Remember, there are some cases where a citizen of our world goes to the other side," Yuma answered.

"Yuma is right. While we are at it, why not use this chance to leech off of them for information," Huyse gave an affirmative answer.

Osamu nodded. "We will only follow you under one condition. Once you have already finished your objective of bringing us somewhere, you have to let us go completely unscathed and let us be free."

The woman blinked twice before bursting into laughter. "You are smart for your age. Don't worry, you will be set free."

Osamu looked at Yuma who's showing a smile in his place. He took that as a 'yes' to follow the woman. "Well then, we will follow you."

"I knew you would make the right decision," the woman said before by handing them a cloak. "Please wear it."

The Tamakoma-2 unit did not retaliate and followed her. They are still on guard while closely following the woman. They walked through an alley that they didn't know where it would lead them. They passed by some residents but none of them noticed their presence as if they were completely hidden. After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the place.

They are met with a grandiose palace. They walked in a long pathway that leads to the main door of the palace. They met their co-agents inside of a large lounge room for visitors. The tension can be felt inside just as soon as you step even one of your foor inside. The woman in cloak left the four agents inside along with their co-agents.

After some time, the door of the lounge room opened and revealed the Tachikawa unit, Murakami unit and Yuba unit. They are quite shocked to see the other agents inside, especially the Kazama and Fuyushima unit who are also on top of the bracket just like the Tachikawa unit. Once again, the person in the cloak left them.

The agents stared at each other, eyeing every movement each of them does. It took some time before the tense atmosphere disappeared.
Now, they are living in silence. Kikuchihara, one of the members of the Kazama unit let out a groan that broke the silence.

They looked at him. The boy spoke. "I could hear all of your heartbeat, people, and it seriously bothered me."

Once again, the room fell into silence. Izuma, the blonde member of the Tachikawa unit, was the first to burst into laughter. "You're so funny, Kikuchihara!" He said in between his laugh.

"Nothing's funny, Izumi-san," Kikuchihara responded. Izumi's laugh was contagious enough to have some people join him.

"I feel like I will be out of breath if I keep laughing like Izumi," Yugia said. Despite saying those words, he still laughs.

"Izumi must have been an oxygen tank in his past life," Yoneya said out of nowhere that made the blonde boy stop. They have some staring contest before Izumi laughs again. He even has his hands on his stomach.

They are quite composed despite being led in an unfamiliar place. They still have the courage to laugh even though they don't know what could happen to them.

"So, how did all of us end up here?" Tachikawa said to break off the series of laughter.

The agents stared at each other before sighing. "It was quite too fast to process and before I could notice it, I was already facing a palace— a grandeur one," Kako, the A-rank no. 6 captain, said.

"Same for us here," Arashiyama, the black haired boy wearing a jacket with his team's emblem on it, added.

"Tsukubu-san gave an order but it was already too late and the communication was cut off afterwards," Tachikawa answered his own question.

FLASHBACK*

The busy street of the public market make it hard for the three teams to move and went to a place rarely passed by the people. They are pushing their way through when a hand was placed on the number 1 attacker. He was taken aback by such action but quickly composed himself. He sees the situation as just a coincidence due to the crowdedness but his thought was quickly erased when the hand didn't left his shoulders even after some minutes passed.

"Everyone! Get back on the ship!" He heard the female engineer say something on the other line. He left out a sigh. He knew it was already too late to make an escape. He looked at the hand on his shoulders and to the person in cloak beside him. He silently observed him.

His comrades were aghast when they gazed at Tachikawa's side. A person who has the same height as the number one attacker has his hand on his shoulder. They cannot fully see his face as it was covered by a hood cloaked clothing. They have their guard up and intently watch the person in cloak's next move.

A silence befall on them. Izumi's heart is beating at an abnormal rate and he can't seem to calm himself. He noticed his allies' hands, they were trembling and he didn't know the reason why.

Tachikawa placed his hand on his sword's handle and tightened his grip on it. He was near unsheathing his sword the moment his opponent decided to make a move. He waited for ten minutes for his enemy to make a move, but it remained standing with his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't try to unsheath your sword; you will hurt the innocent citizens if you do so," said by a man's voice.

"If you try to do something stupid, I will not hesitate to draw my sword even if the citizens of your country will get hurt," Tachikawa said in a calm yet menacing voice.

The man sighed. "Follow me if you still value the life of your comrades."

Tachikawa was stiff as he heard the man's words. He threw him a dagger look which did not falter his enemy. "Didn't I tell you not to do something stupid," Tachikawa said.

A grin formed into the man's lip. "You would not unsheathe your sword, unless you want to see their heads hanging on the central plaza."

Tachikawa's grip on his sword tightened and was ready to attack the man when he spoke again. "I am just playing with you. Don't take it to heart. Now, if you really do not wish to see them as corpses, quietly follow me."

The number attacker had his mind clouded with numerous matters, yet another one added. He sighed and calmed himself. "Lead the way," he said.

The man's lips curve upward. "I knew you would say that.

The man began to walk. Izumi went near Tachikawa with an infuriated expression on his face. He was mad at his Captain for not asking their opinion about such an important matter. One wrong decision could lead to their death.

"What are you doing, Captain!?" He said in a low voice.

Tachikawa faced him. "Following him, we don't have much of a choice right now, Izumi."

Izumi pulled his hair out of frustration. He can't do anything at the current moment. In fact, he was confused at what was happening and couldn't process the situation properly and was not in his right mind.

Ko Murakami along with the chosen agents to be on the away team gave him a tap. "Everything will be fine. I'm sure Tachikawa-san has a plan."

Izumi looked at his Captain and sighed. He silently followed them until they reached a gate. He stared up above to see a breathtaking palace. He was so hooked by it that he didn't notice that they were already inside a lounge.

END OF FLASHBACK*

"I thought we hid ourselves well enough to not be caught while observing this unknown country," Yoneya said.

"Too bad. We already got caught," Toma—Fuyushima team's sniper—said then sighed.

"What confused me is how our cover got blown?" Arashiyama asked.

They once again fell into silence as they drifted back to what happened to them. "They lured us out," Yuma said, cutting off their trail of thoughts.

"But how?" Yoneya and Izumi said in unison.

"I don't know how it happened but that is what I observed," Yuma responded.

"It seems we are back to square one but with more difficulty this time," Tachikawa said as he sat on the couch.

"I badly want to know how we ended up in this situation or else it won't sit right with me," Izumi muttered.

"We really won't be able to relax ourselves knowing our dear operators are trying to reach us out," Arashiyama said worriedly.

Some of the agents groaned. They know they have to escape this place quickly and board their ship before the unknown people that brought them to the palace get close to those left behind in the ship.

They are thinking hard about their escape plan when they trailed back to what happened before they ended up in that kind of situation. They are carefully observing their surroundings while being unnoticed by the people. They are ordered to get as much information that will aid in connecting the loose ends and finding the missing piece of the puzzle that will as well help them in reaching the right conclusion.

As they pondered the situation again and again, they began to trace the loose ends and connect it with each other yet it was still not enough to clarify everything that had happened to them today. They are still missing the biggest piece of the puzzle that will help them enlighten until they recall Yuma's words. They looked at the bigger picture and arrived at the conclusion their enemy wanted them to reach.

They began to feel bad for themselves as well as those left on the ship. They are trained for any kind of situation but their current situation took them by shock and confusion and before they could regain their calm composure, they followed those unknown people to an unknown location. What made them feel more bad is the help their operators gave them without asking them their reason. The operators trusted them yet they failed them.

Disappointment and guilt crept inside of them. The not-so-chilly ambiance now covered in guilt and anxiousness. They are once again facing their own dilemma— their feelings.

Ninomiya Masataka, the B-rank number 1 Captain, put down the book he saw and spoke. "The reason we all met the same fate and destination is because we are restless and confused about this unknown place. They used that to their own advantage. If we don't want the situation to get more dangerous than it is, calm down yourself."

"I really hate that attitude of yours," Kako commented.

"Why is that?" Ninomiya asked back.

"You sounded bossy and bastard," Kako fired back.

Ninomiya threw her a glaze which the latter didn't care about.

"Now, now! Calm down everyone. It won't do us any good to keep repeating the cycle of confusion, restlessness and anxiousness," Tachikawa loudly said.

"You finally said something great," Kako said.

"I already thought about everything," Tachikawa responded.

Just like what Tachikawa had said, the agents are calmed more than ever and are peacefully chatting with each other. Ninomiya and Kako are an exception. They throw death glares at each other while Kageura and Inukai are bickering in the background.

They suddenly stopped talking and looked at the door when they heard it twisting. Two soldiers— a female and a male, entered the room and guarded the door. They held their chin up high and straightly stood on the ground. They are wearing a dark blue uniform with a crest on one side of it. They are not holding any weapon with them nor carrying something bizarre.

Yuma, who was currently talking to Shun Midorikawa, walked towards one of the guards. Gasped and multiple voices telling him not to get near any of them filled the room. He didn't listen and inspect the crest on the male guard. The guard didn't have any reaction even when Yuma was staring closely at the crest pinned on his uniform but when Yuma tried to touched it, he shoved his hands away.

"Please refrain yourself from touching my crest," said the male guard.

Yuma's lips curved and showed a grin. He went back to where the other agents were. He was scolded by Osamu and other A-rank agents.

"Why did you act recklessly earlier, Yuma!?" Osamu was distressed when he witnessed what the guard did. They didn't have any time for them to react nor fight back due to their situation and they are currently in their enemy's den. One reckless decision will endanger their lives.

"Don't worry, we won't die," Yuma said almost quietly.