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The last thing I expected was to be woken up at the crack of dawn and forced into the combat training field with Kazu of all people. I never took him for a morning guy; in all my time spent under him, he was consistently late, and when he did show up, he was hunched over a book he refused to let anyone else read. The fact that this impromptu training session was arranged by him was surprising, to say the least.
Felix yawned beside me, reaching up to rub the back of his head. “Uh, Kazu-sensei, why are we up so early?” he asked through a mumble. “We have a mission or something?”
Kazu narrowed his charcoal-colored eyes at Felix like Felix was a buzzing fly who wouldn’t take the hint and just go away. I was surprised by the blatant annoyance permeating across his chiseled face; Kazu-sensei was a lot of things, but it had always been difficult to figure out what he was thinking or feeling because he always schooled his emotions behind a mask. Today was clearly different.
“You’re both in need of training,” he growled. “I want you to fight without reservations. Fight like you’re enemies.”
“But…she’s not my enemy,” Felix said, gesturing at me while failing at stifling a nod. “She’s Embyrlyn.”
“And what happens if there comes a day where you’ll be expected to fight each other?” Kazu-sensei asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest. His temples pulsed in irritation, and as he tucked his chin down, I realized he hadn’t even shaved. “What then? Will you choose to go easy on each other? Or will you fight like your life depended on it?”
“What’s going on?” I asked, taking a step forward towards the captain. “Why are you asking us this? Do you…do you know something?”
“You’re both obsessed with finding Dade and bringing him back to the academy, aren’t you?” he asked. “What happens when you have to fight him one-on-one?”
“Dade would never fight us –”
“Get your head out of your ass, Embyrlyn,” Kazu snapped, dropping his arms to his side. “If he was successful and made it to the north, the Light Bringers would erase whatever memories he has left of you two in order to focus him completely on their cause. And what do you think that means?”
Felix and I glanced at each other. We were both already pissed at how Kazu-sensei completely dismissed us, and the way he hurled insults right now was infuriating. But he asked an interesting question, one I wasn’t sure how to answer.
“It means,” Kazu continued, “that there’s a chance you’re going to have to face him. He might not even recognize you. And you should practice with each other. At least get in the mindset that there’s a chance the Dade you thought you knew is gone.” His dark eyes flashed on me, and it was like he struck me with one of his kunai. “Are you prepared to handle that?”
“What’re you talking about?” Felix asked, throwing his arms up. His movements were still sluggish, especially when he dropped one hand to run his fingers through his messy blond hair. “Dade is Dade. He’s still in there, Kazu-sensei. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but there has to be a way to get him back. You’re always so negative —“
“Realistic,” Kazu corrected. “You’re an EFT member, and you should both be prepared for multiple scenarios. Understand that the Light Bringers are a thing we’ve dealt with rarely. We don’t know much about them except for the slices of information our agents have managed to acquire.”
“And what’s that?” Felix rubbed his stomach. “Hey, sensei, can we talk about this over breakfast? I mean, you woke us up way earlier than either of us expected, and if you really do want us to fight hard against each other, shouldn’t we, I don’t know, add sustenance to our body?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, ignoring the chilly December breeze as it tickled the back of my neck. Leave it to Felix to think about food when we were discussing Light Bringers and Dade.
Kazu sighed, glancing away. “Fine,” he said. He jerked his head in the direction of the academy building. “Go. But hurry. I want at least one match between the two of you before classes start.”
Felix clapped his hands together and rubbed them up and down, snickering to himself. How he could be excited for food, I had no idea, especially since I watched him scarf down his food across from me at dinner not even ten hours earlier.
“Embyrlyn,” Kazu said in a voice as low as a whisper. “A word.”
Felix groaned dramatically.
“Just go!” I shooed him away with my hands. “Get me a plate, though.”
It could get competitive in the dining hall at six thirty in the morning, and while we were never left wanting, particular foods ran out quickly and it took forever for the kitchen staff to replace them.
“Yeah, yeah.” Felix rolled his eyes. “Waffles with strawberries and bananas and extra bacon. I got it.”
Once Felix left, I turned to look at Kazu, folding my hands across my chest. My heart fluttered with nerves. The reserved sensei barely paid me any attention. Between Felix and Dade, his training focused on their strengths rather than mine, and most of the time, I felt like the odd man out. It was why I focused on strategic training specifically in field-related scenarios because I knew I could do something worthwhile, that I could add value on top of my fighting. The fact that Kazu suddenly wanted to speak to me alone wasn’t something I expected nor did I know what to do with.
For a long moment, he said nothing. Those eyes bore into me, studying me, as though he wasn’t quite sure what to make of me. I supposed I deserved the scrutiny; somehow, I was classified as an Elite agent, but I was nowhere near as powerful as Felix, even if the two of us were on equal standing. Then again, it wasn’t as though Kazu-sensei gave me the time of day, so how would he know, really?
“You’re going to be approached to do a mission,” he said abruptly. “I strongly suggest you don’t do it.”
I blinked, dropping my hands to thrust behind my back so he wouldn’t see me fidget with my fingers. “What?” I asked, and, of course, it was the stupidest thing I could have said. I had never gone out of my way to impress my captain, but it would have been nice to have his respect.
“You…are going…to be…approached…to do…a mission,” he said slowly, now speaking to me as though I was an idiot. “Don’t…do…it.”
I clenched my teeth, narrowing my eyes slightly. Something inside of me yearned to rebel, though I wasn’t sure why. This was Kazu; cold and direct. Why would I expect any sort of tact from someone who barely gave me the time of day. “Why not?”
His eyes widened slightly, probably because I had the audacity to talk back to him. If my curiosity wasn’t biting through my veins, I might have smirked at being able to catch him off guard. As it was, I wanted to know why he suddenly decided to take an interest in what I chose to do or not do. Was it because I was offered a mission? Did he think I didn’t deserve it?
