Chapter 8

Mornings in the Narukami household are pretty much domestic. As early as 6 am, the soft tapping sound from the maids' shoes echoes the hallways as they move about the house. Closer to the living room is the low hum of the television as it shows the morning news. Shuu's father will either be on the phone in his office or perhaps sitting at the dining table with Shuu's mother, talking about the latest going-ons in the ministry as he finishes his coffee. A lot of times he won't be there at all if he's off on a trip or an important meeting. What is a constant presence is that of his mother, always by his side as Shuu eats his breakfast with one fist on her chin as she rambles about her plan for the day, and she'll ask Shuu to pitch in and share his plans for the day, or tell her what happened the day before.

That day in particular, she is on the phone as Shuu ignores his father's absence (probably another meeting) in exchange for listening to the news - something about a portal at a school.

"Shuu dear, are you listening?"

No, he wasn't. "Hmm?" He barely turns his head as he takes another bite of his toast.

"I was asking what kind of mattress you prefer".

"Uhh... I don't know?"

She smiles thinly before returning to her phone, "He prefers gel-infused foam mattress, thank you - Oh, and we'd like the Egyptian cotton, 1200 threads, please".

Shuu's dark orbs carefully dart to where his mother is sitting. "What are you doing?" He asks, a little alarmed.

"Planning your new room in the YES Headquarters, of course," she answers after tipping her head a little away from the phone. 

"Kaa-san, I'm just spending the night," He replies in horror. The plan is to do his first patrol with Koukichi this evening, which means he will have to spend the night at YES. "And I'm sleeping in the guest bedrooms, we can't just ask them to refurnish. I'm only going to be there for one night!"

"One night will one day be forever! As long as you are still employed by YES, and it wong be long before you are. We need to prepare for your assigned bedroom so once you move there, you'll be as comfortable as you can - although maybe you will miss kaa-san so".

Shuu's jaw grows slack at that whilst he drops his toast onto his plate. He knew this was how his mom was going to behave after news of his proceeding through his trial period with Team Phoenix reached her. Still, he wishes that he could speak some sense into her from ever going overboard with his possible move to the headquarters in the future. After all, an Esper's line of work is highly confidential and it's a security risk for them to live amongst civilians. Often, they live in dorms or live alone where their agencies can monitor them. 

"And kaa-san will miss you too!" The pout on her face is paired with big glossy eyes. All Shuu can do is sigh heavily as he mouths a spoonful of oatmeal and fruits from his bowl, "Of course, I'll call you every day, kaa-san. You won't be lonely". In the end, no one can say no to his mother.

His mother continues speaking to whoever she manages to capture into her clutch of micromanaging schemes until Tanaka, thankfully, appears in the dining room informing Shuu to depart for school now if they want to arrive on time.

"I'll be leaving," Shuu announces as he rises from his seat and slings his duffel bag, one that carries his clothes for the night at the HQ, over one shoulder.

His mother, barely turning away from the phone, chimes back, "Please take care! Have fun spending the night at the Headquarters!"

***

"5 minutes water break, and then join me for stretching and meditation," Katsu orders. In the meantime, Shuu is catching his ragged breath. He moves a fist throughout the length of his jaw to wipe the sweat that has accumulated on his neck. Some of that sweat drops to the wooden floor of the private gym they're using. Normally, Shuu feels compelled to clean that off the floor, but at the moment he only cares about getting some water into his system.

After another couple of swipes on his face and arms using a towel he brought from home and a plentiful of chugs from his water bottle, Shuu joins Katsu in the middle of the gym for a 20-minute cool-down. At the end of that stretching, they both sit cross-legged on the floor facing one another. Shuu thought they were going to proceed to meditate, but Katsu cuts him off with a question.

"So," Katsu opens with his usual sleepy drawl, "how's your training with the little missy?"

"Who? Oh, Rika-senpai? Uh," Shuu starts, "It's okay".

Katsu scoffs, "You can be honest, brat".

In a split second, memories of having to course through very intricate obstacles flash through his eyes. And, most importantly, that barbaric attitude of hers - that will forever be stored in a secret room in his brain labeled 'childhood trauma'. "It's terrible," he confesses, finally.

"She's torturing you isn't she?"

"... yeah".

"She's cruel".

"Yes".

There's a knowing smirk forming on Katsu's lips, "Yet you know deep down she's doing you justice".

Shuu sighs heavily. "Yes," He can't help it if he's pouting at the moment, "It's just too much at the moment".

Ever since he was given the pass in his trial period, they added a session with Rika on top of his session with Katsu. With Katsu, he focuses more on his abilities, especially on enhancing his control over the elements using multiple martial arts techniques, and the practice of using the elements in various battle scenarios. A lot of times this involves a spar or target practice using the AI.

With Rika, it is a training on navigating numerous landscapes in a very realistic yet chaotic obstacle course gym on Level 1. So far, she has gotten him through wall climbing, crawling, and swimming. She said soon they would do a lot more running, high dives, and using multiple explorative tools. "I suppose it is useful," Shuu admits, "A lot of those skills I will use in battles, but she's just so... harsh".

"That's the level of discipline you need to expect from this kind of establishment. You know that, brat," Katsu states while propping his chin with one fist. An opened portal would not only spout mutants of various levels of threats, but it also manipulates its environments enough to make it hard to navigate. An esper will face a lot of unexpected scenarios with their surroundings constantly changing.

"Yes, I know that," Shuu concedes. 

They then start meditating. "Remember what you are?" Katsu reminds him.

"A battery," Shuu replies. They are aiming at getting his first contact with electricity, an element his Grandfather was renowned for in his prime. Gaining contact with a new element is not necessarily hard, but one will need to be in the right mindset and be able to visualize the element well. Shuu has gotten himself to learn the mechanism of a battery and try to imagine himself as one in his meditation. 

When he's meditating, his inside is electrodes and electrolytes and his arms are anode and cathode. He would link his hands like one would wire to batteries. Then, he imagines those electrons traveling from one arm to another. 

"Do you feel it?" That's Katsu, outside of his mind space.

There's energy flowing within him; travelling. He hears it moving; he feels it drumming through his veins. "Yes".

"Okay, now as they flow, let them linger a little in your palm. You will feel them warming up your hands as they pool slowly".

"Yes".

"In your headspace, conjure a ball; a crystal ball the size of a watermelon. Without cutting the flow of energy between your arms, allow the ball in the cusp of your hands. Let the energy flow through it to reach your other hand, feel the surface of the ball like you're welcoming it as part of your circuit".

Shuu follows the instructions, imagining a sphere in his hold and visualizing the electric current going through it as it travels from his right arm to his left. He pats the surface of the sphere like he would a volleyball before a service. "Allow the energy to spark within the ball; allow it to convulse and gather within that ball," Katsu's voice directs him.

He does so. The electrons create sparks within the ball. It buzzes almost like a bee; yet it's not threatening. Instead, it's peaceful. It's there to make itself known to Shuu.

"Shuu, open your eyes".

He opens his eyelids to find an electric spark between his two hands. "Woah!" He exclaims; and in an instant, his mind cuts its connection to his headspace. The electric spark disappears in a puff of smoke, but its presence is clear to him and his trainer. Shuu quickly turns his gaze to Katsu, who is smiling.

He did it! He gained his first contact with electricity!

***

Hours later, Shuu finds himself crossing the curvy hallway of Level 4 with Arilio Banks, passing by Team Garuda members who are sending them curious glances. "How do you find your room? Is it good enough?" The man of smiles asks with his usual upbeat tone of speech.

"Yeah, it's all right," Shuu responds. It is just another empty guest room on the second story of Level 4, alongside many other rooms used by Team Garuda members and some trainers. It's furnished like a standard hotel room, though Shuu would prefer it with more personality compared to the sleek and clean appearance of the room he's greeted with then perhaps it might feel less empty and more welcoming. Then again it's practical. Shuu is given an hour to settle down in the guest room after practice before he's picked up by Banks to have dinner on Level 5.

"Well, it's not a lot, I know; but when you join the team officially, you'll get your own room on Level 5. And let me tell you, the team's condo is very fashionable. We combined two stories of Level 5 and multiple rooms for their condo, you see; so it's large and it's beautifully furnished. You will love it, I kid you not," The older man says with the energy of a real estate agent, "AND you get to live with your teammates, isn't that just amazing? Youths love spending time with their friends, do they not?"

"I guess," Shuu idly responds. He has no idea what it feels like to live with people close to his own age. All his life, he lives with his family and he always has enough space for himself at home. The last time he saw Sora, Rika, and Koukichi together, they all looked so close to each other. Surely that's the product of not only working together as Espers, but also of living together for a while. The idea of having a second family certainly has a nice ring to it.

They reach the elevator preserved for Team Phoenix that Shuu has once used with Koukichi. Inside, Banks presses his card to the scanner and pushes the button to L5.

Shuu is trying so hard to contain his excitement. He has always dreamed of going to Level 5 since being a trainee of YES. It's a space closely related to the highest rank in YES; and so, normally, most trainees would look up to it as a place they want to be in in their career as an esper.

The elevator stops with a soft ding before it opens. They're in a hallway - not just another hallway, it's a hallway inside of a quarter. Then Shuu realizes that this elevator connects directly to the inside of Team Phoenix's quarters.

Entering the hallway, the first thing Shuu notices is the chill of a heavily air-conditioned room and the smell of clean air freshener. Warm lighting is cast throughout the hallway. To his left is the wall of the hall's end where a tall double door stands. Shuu doesn't know where the door leads, but there's a smaller hallway leading to a different door between the elevator and that tall double door. On his right is where the hallway leads, which stops at a junction. But before they go there, Banks stops him.

"You should change to indoor slippers," the man says in the middle of taking off his own shoes in front of a half-opened closet next to the elevator. Half of the shoes inside that closet are sports shoes of various sizes and colors, though there are a couple of high heels here and there (perhaps it's Rika's). Despite how organized the inside of the closet is, in front of that closet, on the floor, are some pairs of shoes just messily strewn about. "The cleaners are not going to be happy about this," Banks comments on the sight as he sends Shuu a disapproving look, "I know the kids reserve the second to the lowest shelf for guests, so put your shoes there and take the slippers from the shelf below that".

Shuu parks his shoes right next to a pair of adult-sized leather shoes that are already there and takes a pair of clean slippers from the lowest shelf. Banks does the same right after him. "Hmm, it seems there's already someone here," Banks notices the leather shoes. Meanwhile, Shuu wanders about in the hall, stopping at the entryway table. On the wall behind the table is a large framed picture of Team Phoenix, all dressed in black suits (and a black dress for Rika) on what looks like a stage of some sort. Around them are a lot of other people dressed similarly, including Arilio Banks, all smiling to the camera while they all hold a gigantic certificate claiming the title of "The Best Performing Esper team of The Year". It seems to be an award party open to the public because both Koukichi and Felix, who both have a persona as Espers, have their heads covered by a helmet and a facemask in this picture. 

A different picture in a smaller frame on the console is a picture of all members of Team Phoenix with Arilio Banks in his office. In this picture, they all wear casual clothes; some of them sitting on the sofa, and the rest standing behind the sofa. Banks himself is standing right next to the sofa with his infamous winning grin. 

"Oh, I think I know the culprit behind these carelessly thrown shoes! This design, this shoe size, it has to be Felix!" Banks exclaims. He only realizes where Shuu is after turning around, "Are you looking at pictures? Ah, that one - I printed that one myself for the team! It looks so nice right there, eh? The perfect memento of the perfect moment".

What catches Shuu's attention, however, is the fact that Hinata Ren is also in the picture. He's sitting on the sofa shoulder-to-shoulder with Felix , who is showing the camera the metal hand sign; and he looks like he's in the middle of laughing as the camera clicks. From behind the sofa, Koukichi is seen hooking both his arms around Hinata Ren's shoulders in a friendly chokehold - a gesture that Shuu can't help but reckon as somewhat intimate either as friends or... perhaps more.

The next frame has a closeup picture that is probably a group selfie. Considering the angle, the camera was probably in Segawa Hide's outreached hand when the picture was taken. The man himself barely has a smile, yet that gaze is one worthy of a professionally done picture for a fashion brand. Next to him is Kikuya Rika with a cheeky wink to the camera and her tongue out as she pulls her hair to one side of her face. Koukichi does not have any difficulty showing up in the camera from behind Rika with his height, but Felix looks like he has to be on his tip-toe to fit in the frame. Again, Shuu sees Hinata Ren standing next to Rika, looking slightly caught off-guard whilst Sora has one arm slung over his left shoulder. Sora's head lazily perched on Hinata's other shoulder while the team leader sports a fake pout.

There are six, Shuu realizes suddenly. There's always six in Team Phoenix, not five. 

Besides the table, on the wall, is a whiteboard with a hand-drawn monthly planner. Each date already has something written on it in markers of different colors. Shuu is flattered to find his name written on several dates; one of them being today, where it is listed as "Dinner with Shuu".

Below that whiteboard is another whiteboard. The top of the board has "YOUR AGENDA TODAY" written in bold letters using a red marker. Under that is a table with each resident's name. The first one is Felix, with a sentence under his name written in pink saying "On a journey to discover myself" with a drawing of a cartoon character with their back turned and their hair billowing as though blown by the wind. Next to that is Koukichi's name, which is shortened to 'Kichi'. Under it, Koukichi wrote in blue marker, listing each of his agenda with time labels. For example, one says, "7.00 am-8.30 am, checking new machines at the workshop", and the last two things on his list are, "7.00 pm, dinner with Shuu," and "9.30 pm-2.00 am, patrol with Shuu".

Rika has her name written in orange with stars drawn around it. Under that name, she wrote her agenda as, "Speech preparation with Sora!!" with flowers and butterflies. Thing is, Shuu knows Rika is busier with more than just this speech preparation she's having with Sora. She trained him earlier that day, and she also watched over other team's practices before that.

Sora's is written in large purple letters. It's short yet practical as he is known to be. He writes, "Speech prep, welcoming Shuu, and online meeting with the High League," in his column.

Hide's column, with his name written in brown, is empty like he does not care to participate in the activity. But between his name and Sora's is a column for Ren.

He has a column for himself. Of course. He, to Shuu's horror, lives here.

His column is written in green, and in it are bullet points. The first one says, "Cram school until 6.30 pm". The second is, "Dinner", and Shuu doesn't know why he feels a little disheartened that the other teen does not care enough to list his name there. The third is, "Call the Ministry," which sounds a little alarming (what business does he have with the ministry?), and the last says, "Science homework".

There are six, Shuu repeats in his mind. He turns to count the coat hooks on the wall right next to where the whiteboards are. Yes, some of the hooks are empty, but there are exactly six hooks. One for each Phoenix! And who else is the sixth member if not...

Hinata Ren.

Then comes the muffled scream from somewhere within the condo. Banks snaps his head to where it can be heard. "Oh no, they're on it again," Banks grunts, "I thought they would be on their best behavior today".

Shuu nervously looks between Banks and the end of the hallway, where the noise definitely could be traced. It sounds like it is from within an enclosed space, perhaps from inside a closed room. The noise continues, this time sounding like a guy screaming back. Together, it sounds like a fight.

As if on cue, someone passes by the junction at the end of the hallway. It's a tall guy with skin paler than most people Shuu has met. Shuu recognizes that blonde hair from the time he first saw this person in the parking lot. At the moment, that hair is pulled up in a messy bun. "Felix!" Banks calls. Felix stops in his tracks and sees both of them. His eyes linger a little longer at Shuu and Shuu swears he throws him a glare, but those pair of light brown eyes quickly go to Banks. "What's going on?" Banks asks urgently.

The teen glares and snorts. As he puts on the headphones that are hanging from his neck, he says, "Dunno, don't care. I'll be gaming in the PC room," He throws them a careless wave, "Call me when it's time for dinner".

Banks huffs in disbelief but starts walking toward the end of the hallway. Shuu tails him to the junction, where, across from the hallway they are in, there's a wall with a built-in electric fireplace that can be seen from all sides alongside a planter divider that separates the hallway and the room across it. On the other side of the fireplace is a short step to a lowered room. They both enter this area, which appears to be the living area, where they find Segawa Hide sitting on a chair with a man sitting on a separate chair across from him that Shuu has never seen before. 

"What," Segawa Hide sharply chimes like he does not appreciate them just barraging into the room.

"I forgot you have tutoring session this evening," Banks says, but offers an acknowledging note to the man that is with Segawa Hide, "Good evening, Sensei. Thank you for being patient with our Hide and pardon my intrusion".

Shuu blinks dumbly at the sight. Segawa Hide has private tutoring sessions? He gives the older teen a once over and reckons that he is holding a book. If that's not surprising enough, there's something else more pressing. "You wear glasses?" Shuu finds himself blurting.

To that, Segawa Hide takes off his glasses and tilts his chin up in what is the coldest glare Shuu has ever received in his life. He says nothing, but the silent sharp stare is very loud and clear. Bank, thankfully, comes to his rescue. "Our Hide is actually very smart, you see. He's interested in classic English literature and is an avid writer himself, which is why we got him linked to a private tutor. Sensei is a literary professor at the local university," the manager explains.

Shuu is quite literally taken aback that he feels himself being pushed by an invisible force out of sheer disbelief. Literature and Segawa Hide seem to not belong in the same sentence. Shuu steals a glance at the book Segawa Hide is holding. It's Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Shuu knows the book from her mother's collection and he cannot see how a book so talked about in his mother's book club of rich housewives could end up in the hands of such a brute. 

"I have to say, Hide-kun has quite the knack for capturing the emotional grip books can evoke," the professor beams proudly at Segawa Hide, who now glowers at the book he's holding, "One requires a sensitive soul to be able to do so, no matter how strong one appears to be".

Shuu has to push down the sudden desire to laugh thanks to the murderous glint in Segawa Hide's eyes. Banks doesn't seem to see the irony. "What's going on in there?" He pointedly asks Segawa. His chin tilts towards the closed door on the opposite wall. The fight seems to be taking place from behind that door.

"What do you mean?" Segawa questions back, but then appears to realize what Banks was asking, "Oh, if it's the screaming match you're referring to, it's Kichi, Rika, and Sora. Something about a speech". Segawa doesn't look bothered by the noise at all.

But Shuu does not expect those three to fight at all; especially not like this.

The screaming escalates, followed by noises that sound like furniture being pushed around or slammed. He can't hear exactly what they are saying to one another behind that closed door, he simply perceives it sounds murderous. Shuu slowly directs his horrified gaze to Banks, who is forcing himself to smile. "They're just kids being kids".

The door opens for just a moment and Shuu can hear, "You know nothing!! You should just shut up and let us do the work!!" and "You're fucking killing us!! You're going to send them to us and everyone will want to kill us and it's all on you!!" before the door closes again. Sora has the door to his back as he faces all of them in the living room.

"Shuu, you're here already! That's great!" The air-wielder beams; completely ignoring the look of horror Shuu is sporting, "How's your room? Not too great huh? It will have to do for now".

"Sora, what the hell is going on in there!?" Banks interrupts. Sora has the gal to look confused.

"What? Oh! You mean that?" He points a thumb behind him in the direction of the closed door, "Yeah, we're making this speech for the incoming High League Round Table Forum, and we have some disagreements about how to go about what we're meaning to say - just normal discussion stuff!" Just as he says that something slams the wall behind that door. The force is enough to send a small shockwave throughout the living room. Sora acts like nothing happened, "So, Shuu, are you ready for your first patrol?"

Shuu gapes stupidly at the older elemental, eyes blinking owlishly as his brain rakes for a way to answer that question. Banks, in the meantime, throws his hands in the air and exclaims, "Where's Ren?? Is he not here??"

"Cram school, Ari. You know that. Though he should be home any time now. He said he'd make it for dinner, we have Shuu joining us and all - oh, you'll love the food that Bailey's making tonight! She's our nutritionist and she's so good at what she does!" Sora chirps happily whilst Banks takes steps away with his phone, tapping madly onto its screen to call someone. Soon, the manager has his phone to his ear.

"Hello!? Morita!! Where are you?? Do you have Ren with you??"

Shuu, however, is still in Sora's little clutch. "Um..., yeah. I can't, uh, wait," he absently answers as he watches the door behind Sora quaking yet again as if something is slammed against it.

"He's almost here!? Good, good!! Oh my God, you don't know how much that news brings joy to my tiny little heart!!" Banks scurries back to the hallway, leaving Shuu in this weird predicament - totally not forgetting that Segawa Hide is a short distance behind him, reading Jane Austen aloud.

"Koukichi and I have picked the best area for your first patrol. You'll learn a lot, and it won't be scary at all, for now, that is. But it'll provide enough challenge for you too. I can't wait to hear about your future progress," Sora continues. 

From afar, Shuu can hear Banks' howl of, "Ren!!! You're here!!" And can't help but feel perhaps things are going to be better for real though he isn't sure why or how. "Yeah, I'm really looking forward to this, uh, patrol," Shuu responds yet again to Sora as hurried steps come from behind him. Banks has a tight grip on Hinata Ren's elbow as he drags the teen, who's quite ruffled after a long day of studying as a final-year student and after the rough treatment, into the door. As he passes by, Shuu catches the confused expression on Hinata Ren's face. His red backpack sags on one shoulder, and his school sweater is all rumpled. 

The door is opened and shut yet again. This time, both Banks and Hinata disappear behind it. All that's left is Segawa Hide's warning of, "Oi oi! Don't be rough with him!!"

Yet, somehow, one way or another, the ruckus from behind that door slowly dwindles down to muffled white noise. Not long after, Kikuya Rika and Hinata Ren walk out of that door side to side with Rika's arm hooking around Hinata's. "We've decided on taking plan B", Rika announces merrily to Sora. She appears unharmed - to Shuu's surprise.

"Great! Maybe it is for the best," Sora says.

"Yeah! Maybe it is," Rika mirrors, like they weren't having a bloodied screaming match just minutes ago. Shuu is staring dumbfoundedly at Hinata. The brown-haired boy is wiping his face with one hand looking like his life has just been cut short a couple of years. Overall, he seems okay, though Shuu finds the way Rika is holding the boy's hand to be... awkwardly excessive. She has both her hands cupping his right hand; she fingers each of his fingers, rubbing it, squeezing it, throwing the hand from left to right and vice versa like it's a fidget toy. And Hinata Ren just... allows it.

"I told them that it doesn't matter which, actually, but plan B requires less effort," Hinata murmurs with a heavy hint of exhaustion in his vocal cords, "Urgh, I still have to make a call to the ministry".

"I'll help you!" Rika volunteers without being asked. She pulls him away somewhere.

Koukichi enters the living area with Banks right after, both also appearing unharmed. "I told you I know what I was doi - Shuu! You made it to the den. What do you think about our place? Do you like it??"

Koukichi is skipping a lot of dialogue options. There are a lot of questions swimming in his head after just ten minutes of standing within the walls of their quarters. Shuu silently wonders if he will get his answers in time, or if he would have to ask for the answers to be given to him. Or, perhaps, it's one of those things that simply happens when you live with someone close to your age - a concept that is wholly alien to someone sheltered like Shuu.

Suu swallows thickly, "Uhh," he inspects the room once again. The white walls, the large windows, the warm lighting, and the plush couches in the living room all look nice, So he says, "Yeah. Yeah, it's pretty cool. I do like it".

***

To be Continued.