[HARU'S POINT OF VIEW]

The members within a club were called a team. And each team must fulfill five roles to function. The artillery unit was the one responsible for free fire, attacking from a distance with consistent and powerful shots. The Defense/Support unit usually protected the artillery, but their main job was to protect everyone. The attack unit's job was to find the target's weak spot and exploit them in an attempt to end the fight as soon as possible. The Field-Control unit possessed powerful abilities that could affect large areas. They were responsible for groups of enemies or keeping the aggressive targets at bay. The vanguard unit risked themselves in close quarter combat to create openings for the attack unit.

All members must coordinate, watching each other's back to ensure any operation was a success.

"Watch out!!!" Koshimizu-senpai shouted as a round-ish figure the size of a school bag jumped from the shadows to the darkness. Currently, we are inside an abandoned building trying to fight an overgrown rat.

After waking up at the infirmary two days ago, my club mates had informed me about the overflowing emails we had received. We finally received missions. They said it was probably thanks to me, but that didn't really matter now. Especially at this moment.

"W-W-W-Where did it go!??" Murayama-san trembled while cautiously extending her hands, ready to blow some intense wind to the enemy. That's right. Her ability was controlling the direction as well as the pressure of the wind in a small area in front of her. Like a fan. Our Field-Control unit.

"H-H-Hold s-still Akane-chan!" said Fujimoto-senpai. "Make sure to s-stay behind me." he added as he stood before us. His arms barely transformed into a much larger, stronger, and uh.. furrier(?) version with huge, sharp claws. His ability was morphing into a beast but he could only do it if the surrounding was dark enough. Our Vanguard unit.

"Are you sure you're not the one who needs to stand back?" Koshimizu-senpai asked in annoyance. Her ability was electroshocking any living organism that she touched at will. Like an electric eel or something. Since she had to do close quarter combat to use her ability, she practiced judo and karate for a long time, even becoming a regional champion. Our attack unit.

And I was their support slash defense unit. I used my shielding ability to keep them from receiving any damage as much as I can.

"W-What are you waiting for, Fujimoto-senpai!? Go get it!" Murayama-san demanded.

We could hear him swallowing the lump in his throat before going ahead. "A-Alright."

The three of them jumped in fear as soon as the monster(?) showed itself. And I must admit, the sight of a rat that huge with its bloodthirsty eyes and sharp fangs was enough to send shivers down anyone's spine. It was our first time handling a real situation like this as a team. So I didn't expect everything to go well. But boy was I not prepared for what happened next.

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Screaming for her life, Murayama-san showcased the maximum output of her ability, blowing away the huge rat alongside Fujimoto-senpai. Koshimizu-senpai rushed to provide back up but it was too late. The target had been alerted and managed to escape through the halls. Unfortunately, they didn't see it and kept on spamming their attacks in the dark.

"Guys, I think the rat got away." I uttered. Thankfully, I got their attention.

"Eh!? Where!?" Koshimizu-senpai asked, confused.

"I think he went that way." I said, pointing to the dark, narrowed hallway ahead. "But I think we need to treat Fujimoto-senpai's injuries first."

Murayama-san scoffed in annoyance. "Hmp! How could you be injured by an enemy that small?"

"You were the one who injured him." I responded in Fujimoto-senpai's stead.

It was messy, but we decided to proceed to the hallway. According to the email, this place used to be a corporate building. But monstrous rats like the one we just saw began appearing, harming the civilians working here, leading to this place to be temporarily closed until the monsters had been taken care of. And that was our job.

"Hey, Haru-kun." Fujimoto-senpai tapped my shoulder with his reverted hand as we walked ahead of the girls.

"What is it?"

After a short silence, he let out a deep sigh. "If Kazuki-kun were here, he'd be like, really pumped up, wouldn't he?" he spoke with a weak voice. It was dark and I couldn't see his face very clearly, but his tone was enough to give away his sadness.

"He used to talk about wanting to go on real missions." I replied.

"And the combo's he and you could pull off together." he chuckled.

Kazuki used to be our artillery. His throws could reach speeds up to 160 kilometers per hour. Add the fact that he throws projectiles at burning temperatures, monsters like these wouldn't stand a chance. Too bad we couldn't see his full potential.

We tried to conceal our presence as much as possible to catch the monsters of guard and eliminate them. Murayama-san was scared stiff and was clinging close to Koshimizu-senpai the whole time, but I was prepared to wrap them up in my barrier should any danger arise so I wasn't worried. We continued walking until we passed by a suspicious room by the stairs.

It was the only room with closed doors and the stains on the floor lead to its entrance. "H-Hey, Reiko.." Fujimoto-senpai uttered, observing the stains. He then turned his head to us.

We gave him nods of affirmation which horrified him. Perhaps he was expecting us to ask him to turn down this mission completely. "You can do it, senpai." I said on a whim. Who knows? Maybe it would give him courage.

He looked at me and then laughed to himself before reaching for the doorknob. "Right. How could I call myself a leader if I can't handle something like this? H-hahaha...ahh.." The door knob made a squeaking noise as he turned it, but he stopped midway and kept silent. As if he was frozen in place.

"What's wrong, Mitsuki?" Koshimizu-senpai asked.

"Our enemies are rats right?" he asked with a dry tone. Murayama-san and Koshimizu-senpai gasped as they realized what Fujimoto-senpai did. "How could they lock themselves inside this room, then?"

I felt the sleeve of my uniform being pulled lightly. Also the back of my shirt. I looked to my side only to see the two girls almost tearing my uniform in fear. "Then does that mean.. there's something more powerful than those rats behind that door?" Murayama-san uttered.

"Maybe that." I butted in before stepping ahead of Fujimoto-senpai and opening the door myself. "Or something entirely different." I heard them calling my name as I entered the room. Turns out, my hunch was right. A person was lying unconscious on the ground with empty food and water containers on the floor. The light that came from his phone flashlight on the table was the only thing that lit up the dark room.

"Haru-kun!!!" Koshimizu-senpai whisper-yelled from the outside.

"Come in, guys. I found something."

[END OF CHAPTER]