Chapter 3

Under the dome of YES headquarters is a large structure that was built to resemble terraced fields. Shuu remembers comparing it to the beauty of Sa Pa terraces, albeit with a wider green balcony on each level made to resemble a vast field of green. Each platform contains a structure built into its walls. The base of the structure, also called Level 1, serves as the largest, which houses training studios and gyms open to everyone, including their fresh recruits of junior trainees as young as 15. Level 1 is open to everyone, and thus, this is where you will most likely find trainees. This platform is treated almost like a school and is connected directly to the HQ's square.

The structures tiered on top of the base go smaller the higher they are. Level 2 is the administrative and support office where trainees can get consultations, request uniforms, and get medical treatments or be linked to a guide as needed. However, it is also the deployment point for YES official teams. Junior trainees have limited access to this level, and Shuu has only gone there a couple of times when he first joined to do his paperwork. He, and his fellow junior trainees, would often watch from the square as cruiser after cruiser was released from this level to the sloping driveway and then out of the dome whenever YES sent their teams out to the field.

Further up are levels restricted to official members of the organization. To Shuu's knowledge, Level 3 serves as a boarding area for espers from team Falcon and Garuda alongside administrative members of the organization. It also houses training facilities exclusive to Team Falcon, which is the lower-ranking team in the organization; but Shuu sometimes sees Team Falcon members training in Level 1 with other senior trainees.

Most of Shuu's gym mates gush about Level 4 and how much they want to join it. Level 4 is the training facility reserved for Team Garuda and Team Phoenix. Garuda consists of 40 young class A espers ranging from 21 to 24 years old. To a lot of trainees, who are mostly A-class, joining Team Garuda is considered the peak of their young career as an Esper. It is, after all, the largest esper legion that accepts young espers.

But Shuu has always had his eyes on Level 5.

This level can barely be seen from the bottom levels as it is significantly smaller compared to Level 1 or Level 2. Not a lot is said about it; except for the fact that Team Phoenix resides there.

Yes, Team Garuda would not cut it for him. He was born as an S-Class. Hence, he aims for the one team in Neo Japan that consists of only S-class members.

"Let's go to Level 4!" Abe exclaims almost merrily as he strolls closer to the large elevator embedded into the tall walls of Level 6, where they just had their meeting.

Shuu can't help but be a little disappointed. He was expecting to be taken to Level 5. "That's where we conduct our training. We see a lot of the Garudas there too," Abe points out.

They cross the large lobby of Level 6 passing people who either look like they're here for business or are about to hit the field to fight monstrous mutants; the prior dressed in nice suits and the latter looking quite casual in their infamous light gray zip hoodie and a matching pair of jogger pants. They walk about, some nodding to Abe, but all of them look like they have somewhere to be, although some make a pitstop by the clusters of expensive seats by the tall glass wall facing the terrace, doing small talks with the gentlemen sitting there. The structure on this level reminds Shuu of an airport gateway; vast space, tall ceiling, and an overall solemnly busy atmosphere.

They are going towards the large elevator when a group of people in their hoodies walk towards them in the opposite direction. "Yo, Koukichi!" The leader of the group raises his fist so he can bump it with Abe's own. Shuu peeks at the guy's badge on the left of his chest. The badge forms one side of a wing, with the head of a Garuda bird attached at the end. 

They look like toy soldiers made from the same factory - all the same uniform, all tall, all having the same clean haircut, and the same body language. It's fascinating to see an Esper team so up close because Shuu, while being the grandson of one of Neo Japan's most notorious Esper in history, has never been face-to-face with any Esper team. "You're not going to the battlefield?" The guy asks Abe.

"Nah, got a kid right here I have to show off to everyone," Abe jokes, but tilts his head towards the person behind him. Shuu bows to his seniors. "This is Narukami Shuu. Shuu, this is Takahashi Dai. He's the current leader of the Garuda's".

Shuu mutters his polite, "Pleased to meet you, I'll be in your care," but puzzle pieces seem to have put themselves together in Takahashi's head because his eyes soon lit up as he perks at the mention of Shuu's name. "Oh, you're that Narukami kid!!" He smiles brightly, "We've all heard about you in the Garuda team!"

Shuu blinks owlishly. "You have?"

"Yeah! Everyone has!" The leader replies. The people behind him all speak amongst themselves. "Hey, that's the kid!" One of them says; "What is he doing with Abe? Do you think...?"

"A lot of the seniors watched your training. I have to say I'm impressed. You were the talk of the upper levels when you first joined!" Takahashi explains, "Hey, now that we mention that, if you're here with Abe then... No way! Is Team Phoenix adopting a new brat?"

"Nah, I think Felix will stay the only brat. This one's well-behaved, you see?" Abe states as he lands two heavy pats on Shuu's shoulder. Shuu doesn't know who 'Felix' is...

...but he has a good guess.

Takahashi and Abe exchange a couple more words before one of the prior's companies whispers something to him. "Alright, we gotta go. Flying mutants. Need more people to handle that".

"Sora's down there too, right? With Hide?" Abe crosses his arms.

"Yep, but they need larger teams to help with the evacuation. Am I going to see you there?"

"Nah, as I've said, kid-duty," Abe shrugs, "Good luck on the field. I'll see you guys tonight".

Takahashi snorts, "If we're done by then, that is". As he walks away with his comrades, he points two fingers at Shuu, "We'll be looking forward to seeing more of you, kid!"

Is Shuu starstruck? Yes. Yes, he is. He has heard stories about espers on the work or watched them on the internet from the safety of his room; but this time he's watching their backs as they depart for actual work.

"Shuu? Are you coming?"

"Yeah," Shuu rushes to follow the older man to a smaller elevator. "Level 6 is our management office and strategic building, so it's open to guests, usually government officials and other high-profile visitors. Those large elevators are mostly for those guests, but if you want to access more levels, like Level 4 or 5, you'll have to take this staff-only elevator," Abe taps his black card pass onto a scanner on the elevator and pushes the button that says 4-1.

**

The loud Ding! from the elevator signals their arrival to the curvy corridor of Level 4. The flooring is from wood, which gives this deep, comforting sound when walked on. That, paired with the dark walls and the warm lighting, reminds Shuu of the movie theater.

"That's the cafeteria. It's open for both Team Garuda and Phoenix, our trainers eat here too. Team Phoenix mostly eat in their quarters, though, or not eat at all when we're busy. It's a fun place when you feel like socializing and trying their menu items. The menu is, sadly, very very healthy. When you make it to one of the teams, you're strictly forbidden from eating junk food," Abe grimaces as they approach the cafeteria; a space separated by a decorative halfwall to the hallway. Inside, there are many plush seating around round tables by the tall glass wall facing the terrace just like the one they have in Level 6. The space is arranged almost like a high-end coffee shop with its cozy yet business-like decor. To the wall on the far left, where there's a double door leading to the kitchen, are mostly empty food stands. Only one stand is serving something at the moment. There are trays of sliced fruits and what looks like choices of pastries. Next to them are two tall drink dispensers that contain what looks like iced tea and some fruity beverage. Considering the time of the day, no one is sitting at any of the tables. It is only 5 o'clock and dinner is usually sometime after 6.

The other side of the hallway is a room with a glass wall that follows the curve of the hallway. From the outside, Shuu can see a pool table inside, and further into the room is a large screen with a large U-shaped couch and several chairs messily put around it. "That's the recreation room. We play video games a lot there with the Garudas. It used to not be enclosed, but we get really loud when we game, so they put a glass wall around it," Abe chuckles as he leads Shuu further into the hallway, "You're welcome to join game nights too if you'd like. It's a nice way to meet new people. Oh and here - this is the lounge. You can take food here from the cafeteria and join conversations, though you should be mindful of the dirty dishes. So a lot of times you'll see this place is brimming with people, but the Garudas are called to the field today".

They stop at where the hallway widens to a small staircase, leading to an open lounge area with a large modern chandelier looming over it. While it does copy the lobby from Level 6, this room has a lot more personality to it. The seats are not arranged perfectly around their complimentary coffee tables, making the room feel a lot more used, but, at the same time, welcoming. There are clutters here and there, especially on the tables, such as stacks of comic books, board games that look like the players left them mid-game, and there's even a random dumbbell sitting innocently on one chair. The space also has that large glass pane facing the terrace on one end, but the other end has an electric fireplace and a large-screen smart TV.

"They sometimes hold movie nights here. Team Phoenix is welcome to join, of course, but we're mostly cooped up on our floor. They're much more fun, y'know, Team Garuda," Abe smirks, perhaps feeling sorry that Shuu will not be joining the 'fun' team. What Abe doesn't know is that Shuu doesn't do a lot of 'fun' either.

They go all the way back to the elevator and walk further to the opposite wing of this level. On the way, Abe discloses that team Garuda and the trainers sleep on the second story of Level 4, which can be accessed through the elevator and the stairs next to it. The hallway then stops at an automated glass door that opens to a lobby area for the gym.

A young woman in YES bodysuit is catering to the front desk and is acting friendly with Abe. "I'm here to show him around and nothing else," Abe points a thumb at Shuu. They exchange more pleasantries before Abe and Shuu are allowed to enter the gym.

"Is she a trainee?" Shuu asks. The lady at the front desk does not have any badge on her, so he's inclined to believe so.

"Yeah. Anyone ranking from senior trainees above can work for the organization for some extra penny. Depending on where you're stationed, you can access levels you wouldn't have access to with your rank, as is the case with her. It's a good opportunity to meet people from different ranks, and you can even get hired part-time as the administration staff, management, or support. Most of the people taking care of this level are a Falcon or a Garuda, sometimes a trainee. Security is everyone's job except for trainees, though. Once you're officially part of us, you'll be on the night watch roster too".

The hallway has dark padded walls to swallow loud noises from behind each door and, perhaps, to absorb any force it might take from each studio. They use warm lights that, again, remind Shuu of the movies. The first door they reach is a heavy dark double door. "This is Studio 1, it's our biggest studio and it's for team training. Mostly used by The Garuda's," Abe opens the door to reveal a sports hall like ones in schools albeit almost double the size. It's large but is also empty of lives, making it feel even more deserted if possible. "Contrary to this silence, this studio is almost always in use. I've only entered it twice and this is my third".

The next rooms are Studio 2 and 3, which are smaller and are typically used for martial arts training. It has a mirrored wall. Workout mats are arranged neatly on the floor and some equipment is lined on a long rack in the back of the room. Studio 4 contains workout equipment like in most gyms. From cardio to strength workouts; they have all the right machines for it. Studio 5 is for weapon training.

Studio 6 to 18 are all private studios of various sizes, ranging from 3-person use to rooms that can fit up to 10 people. "You can use any of Studio 5 to 18 as long as you've reserved it at the front desk. Otherwise, if it's booked already, you can chummy up with the people inside and see if it's okay for you to join them. Or...., because you're one of us, you can use Studio 19 and 20, which are reserved for Team Phoenix only," Abe winks as they reach the aforementioned studios nearing the end of the circling hallway, bringing them back closer to where they start.

"Oh! Actually, someone's inside at the moment," he adds as they stop in front of door 19. The thin finger-length LED light on the door is lit blue, as opposed to the other doors, which are not lit at all.

Abe scanned his card onto the door handle. The click signals their allowed entry. Shuu is a little nervous. If this is a studio reserved for the Phoenix, surely it's another one of them to meet inside.

Instead, the first face that greets them is a man of very dark skin and long dark braids. He's lifting an eyebrow at their unexpected arrival but doesn't say anything once he sees Abe. "Oh, hi!" Abe says, "Erm, I'm here to give a tour to that guy I told you about?"

A look of recognition passes the man's face. The man approaches them slowly. His large shadow looms over Shuu's figure. This man is built like one of those superheroes in Western comic books. The lines of his muscles are visible through his white shirt and he's larger than most men Shuu has ever met. Perhaps it's because the man is clearly a foreigner, and most Asian males are built on the slender side. "Narukami, isn't it?" The man says with flawless, albeit a little accented, Japanese.

"Ah, yes!" A little flustered, Shuu bows.

"Shuu, this is one of our main trainers here in Level 4, Carlos Martinez, but you can call him Carlos. Carlos is not a fan of honorifics," Abe introduces.

"I'll be in your care," Shuu mutters politely, to which Carlos nods. While he appears battle-hardened, the man exudes calmness and peace. If he is a trainer on this level, Shuu will probably see him a lot in his training. Maybe he could enquire more about it now -

"Holy shit!! Is that my move??" Abe shrieks, interrupting any line of thoughts Shuu is having.

When Shuu turns his attention to the center of the medium-sized studio, he sees flowing strawberry-blonde hair. There's only one person who that might be; the only female in Team Phoenix.

It's Kikuya Rika.

She is facing an offensive strength-type dummy. She is handling herself just fine. At first, she has difficulties reaching the dummy as the dummy seems to be set at a higher level. Every time she attempts a short-distance attack, the dummy evades it. At one point she attempts to bodylock the dummy, only to be thrown to the other side of the room. Afterward, she takes a running start posture and dashes towards her target, pushing the dummy with all her weight by facing her side.

"That's my move!" Abe grits with a deadpan stare at the still ongoing battle, "Are you in on this? Because I'm sick of her just stealing our style every fricking time".

"Rika says she wants to master strength-type abilities. It is a good choice. She's not very good with mental abilities nor the elements," Carlos explains. Shuu hears more protests from Abe, but he then blurts his own curiosity.

"Does Kikuya-Senpai have more than one type of ability?" That is extremely rare. One can have multiple subtype abilities, but rarely does it cross its classification of type. For example, an elemental user can acquire control of more than just one element, such as fire and water. However, it is almost unheard of that an elemental would also be of a strength type, although esper training can help them achieve an above-average speed and strength.

"No, not really," Abe answers. His eyes, Shuu notes, are avoiding his gaze. "You'll find out sooner or later".

The thing about the Phoenix, the core esper unit of YES, is that they never officially announce their members' abilities. In fact, most Espers' abilities are never officially announced. The public simply finds out from the quick glimpse they get from videos spread online or the news report. Sora, for instance, is loved by the country. Naturally, eyes follow him everywhere. Hence it makes sense that most people could point out that Sora is an elemental user with a thing for flying. As for the rest of the Phoenix, no one truly knows. Segawa Hide's ability is most likely a strength type. Tungsten is probably the same. Kikuya Rika? Well, she's been seen with elements before.

Soon Abe takes Shuu with him to leave the studio as Kikuya is too engrossed in her training to care about them. She did nod at Shuu and Abe mid-training while wiping her sweat, but she quickly resumed tackling the dummy to the floor. Her moves are quick yet calculated. It's hard to take your eyes off her.

When Shuu closes the door of the studio behind him, Abe is answering a call in the middle of the hallway. "Yeah?" Shuu hears him say.

Perhaps because there are only two of them in the hallway, or maybe because Shuu is standing close to Abe, he could hear the person on the other end of the call from the black phone Abe is holding to his ear. 'I'm borrowing your car. Where did you put the key?' Shuu hears. Abe's face scrunches up.

"No, what the hell?? What do you need my car for?"

'I'm picking xxxxx- Senpai up,' the voice from the phone says. Shuu can't really hear the name of the person, but he is sure the caller refers to them as senpai.

"Why do 'you' have to pick him up? Where's the driver??"

'I told the driver....', and then Abe walks ahead until Shuu is out of hearing distance, but the older guy signals for Shuu to follow him. Together, they leave the gym. The front desk lady tells them to come again, which Abe doesn't respond to due to the fact that he's still talking to the person on the call, but Shuu bows to the lady.

Shuu catches up to Abe near the cafeteria where he hears the bespectacled young man say, "Alright, fine. Just take the key at the door - you know which one. It's the one with the green octopus. Good? Alright. Okay. You better drive safe and be nice to my baby. Babies. What do you mean which one? Both are my babies. I'll hang up, bye". Abe then directs a thin-lipped smile at Shuu, "That's that. So, Shuu, let's go see the classrooms".

**

Abe takes him to another tour of the classrooms on the same level (Everyone aged 18 and up in YES participates in Esper and civic studies) before they both wind down at the cafeteria to enjoy some refreshments. About 15 minutes later, Abe receives a call that asks them to return to Level 6.

That is how Shuu finds himself glued to the large screen hung on the tall walls of Level 6's lobby where the local news is showing a clip of Sora and, possibly, Segawa Hide (another Phoenix) sitting atop what looks like a dead bird-like mutant. Both espers are dressed in YES light gray tracksuit. Segawa Hide has his mask on - the only reason Shuu knows it is him is because Abe mentions it. Sora, in the meantime, is rarely seen with his hood or mask on. Even now, he lets his hoodie unzipped and his wild wavy black mane be swept by the wind as he drinks from a bottle of water. The camera continues to record the two as Sora finishes drinking and speaks to his fellow Phoenix, but then he notices the camera and waves while making weird faces.

Childish, maybe. But Neo Japan has always adored Sora's antics since he was 15. He could do something stupid, and people would cast it aside as "That's just how Sora is!".

"Shuu!"

Shuu almost jumps to Smith calling him out of the blue. His grandfather's law adviser is looking at him next to Yamada and Banks. Banks assistant, a woman in her late 20s, is holding a black box a size bigger than a shoe box. The box is handed to him. "Thank you?" Shuu states, a little lost. He hasn't been paying attention to the conversation since the news is on. A lot of people are also watching the news around the lobby. The stand-off against this mutant has lasted 3 hours on the south border of Shintokyo so people are bound to be curious about it.

Banks barks in laughter at his response. "I can't blame you for not paying attention, Son. This box right here contains your new card pass, a new phone, and two new training sweatsuits for the length of your trial contract".

"I already have two tracksuits," Shuu peeks inside the box. True enough, it's the same light gray tracksuits he has at home. Every YES trainee is given two sets.

"Oh, they may look the same, but team members wear a different training suit. To better protect you from the grueling training," Shuu doesn't know how many times he has seen that smile plastered on that man's face. How does he not get tired of grinning that wide? "The phone is our highly secure device. You can insert a new SIM card into it or use your current one and transfer your data. However, the device will automatically delete all apps it considers not secure".

Shuu checks the inside of the box as he listens. The phone looks like your typical smartphone with a square shape and a doss black case. He figures he'll inspect the device further once he's home.

What follows is exchanging many thanks with the people from YES. Shuu makes sure he thanks Abe many times before finally taking the elevator with Smith. They take the smaller elevator, the one reserved for staff members of the organization. Once in the safety of the elevator cabin, Smith pulls his tie a little to unfasten it. "My, that's a long day, isn't it?" The man asks. Shuu nods. He carefully scans his new black card to the scanner. He can't help the excitement that rushes through him once all the buttons light up. With his old junior trainee pass, only some of the buttons lit up, for he could only access a few levels.

"B3," Smith tells him where to go.

"I'm sure it was B1," Shuu responds.

"No, you go to a different parking lot now, one reserved for your assigned team. The driver has been informed about the new route. We'll meet him there".

As the elevator slowly climbs down, Shuu asks, "Is the parking lot for Team Phoenix only?"

Smith struggles to remember, "Uh, I think you'll share it with, uh, Team Garuda, is that what they're called?"

When they arrive in B3, they are greeted by a vacant room with an automated door ahead of them. "Okay, we should go right here," Smith points to a sloping path to their right that brings them to a lower level. The sign on the wall says "B3-2". The room is small, with one elevator opposite to the sloping walkway. That elevator is not connected to the one they just took. Perhaps it's a more exclusive elevator, reserved for those who use this floor. Next to it is a glass wall with an automated door leading to a parking spot. Shuu sees a number of vehicles already parked in it. It's not a large parking spot, though it can still fit around 15 vehicles.

This is Team Phoenix's personal garage, Shuu believes. Smith leads him to the automated door, and when they walk through it, someone else is walking towards them from the garage. A boy; A boy of Shuu's own height, dressed in a school uniform of a white short-sleeved button-up and a pair of blue windowpane slacks. He has his gaze down to his phone and his ears covered by a pair of blue headphones. 

A Phoenix?

The boy lifts his gaze and for a second Shuu and his eyes meet. Shuu finds a pair of round eyes with the same shade of dark brown with his short hair. For a split second, they eye one another - perhaps questioning why the other is here in this reserved space. Shuu, in particular, is trying to match that face and that stature with anyone in Team Phoenix.

They walk past each other and that's when Shuu notices the lack of dense aura he knows an S-Class would exude. Even crazier, that boy does not give out anything - no energy whatsoever - which confuses Shuu because even B-class individuals would have something on them Shuu can sense.

"Who -?" Shuu finds himself turning his head back to check again, only to have Smith jolting him by pulling his arm.

"Ah, I can see Tanaka-san right there. Let's go Shuu-kun," Smith starts walking faster. Shuu follows, but can't help but turn his head behind him to see that person again. That guy is going to the elevator in B3-2; the one Shuu assumes is more exclusive.

'Who is that?' He can't help but wonder. After all, if this is Team Phoenix's private parking spot, then that elevator should be reserved exclusively for the team.

It is then that someone new exits one parked car. Shuu doesn't catch the person's face, but when he runs past them, the thick blue energy wafts over him. Shuu flinches out of its sheer volume, as though he just opened a room full of smoke. He only sees flashes of blonde hair that extend just past the tall person's shoulders. He's running towards the building, and then Shuu hears him say, "Senpai!! Wait for me, don't leave me behind!" in flawless Japanese.

Curious, Shuu turns his head back to see the guy and notices the object the guy is holding in his hand.

It's a green octopus plushie attached to a car key.

**

To be Continued.