1905 hours, 27 June 0145...

We sat on the sofa in Commander Katoki's office, listening to the soft hum of the air conditioner, as we anticipated the arrival of the two new Authonoids any minute now.

Commander Katoki expected the freshly transferred Authonoids to arrive in 1900. But five minutes had gone by, and the room was still painfully quiet. Looking down at his watch, Axel's eyes burst with curiosity.

"They haven't shown up yet. It's been 5 minutes."

The only thing I could think of to say in response was a caustic joke.

"They could be in a tough spot, with terrorists threatening their flight."

Upon hearing my crude remark, everyone looked at me in disbelief, and Joshua sent me a scornful glimpse.

"What makes you come up with that?"

Commander Katoki's declaration resounded throughout the room when he abruptly arrived at the office, only moments after opening the door.

"Evening everyone, thanks for taking your precious time. The two newly transferred Authonoids have arrived."

He looked at the opened door and beckoned with a wave of his hand.

"Come on in."

Nolan and Lisabelle, fresh from their transfer, exuded confidence as they strode into Katoki's office.

Commander Marisa's younger sister, Kyouko, joined with the two new Authonoids as her perfume filled the air.

I saw a tall Authonoid, around 180 cm, with a tanned complexion and a muscular build. His black hair was almost middle-parted and swept slightly to the right, and his dark brown eyes were strikingly captivating. He wore a black cyberpunk leather jacket with red Oni engraving on the sleeves, an inner grey shirt, and black half-finger gloves with hard knuckles. He completed the look with a dark brown belt with holsters, black camo leather trousers, and dark grey boots that made a loud thud with every step.

Beside him was a female Authonoid who was shorter than him, around 160 cm. She had long pink wavy hair, and her sweet smile brightened her ocean turquoise eyes. She sported a painter's cap, a pink off-shoulder oversized hooded jacket, an inner white blouse with a blue vest, a dark pink grunge short skirt, and a pair of black thigh-high socks paired with black heels with pink heart decoration.

Looking at these new Authonoids brings back a flood of memories from my middle school days.

With a confident smile on his face, Commander Katoki came forward to present them.

"Meet Nolan and Lisabelle. Kyouko will guide them as they join forces, under the leadership of Commander Marisa. And we'll put them under the name of Purple Mastodon."

"Their simulated fight outcomes are flawless, and they never hesitate to team up when things get rough."

"Don't make fun of their records, or they'll embarrass you in a flash. And give them family names because I hope you get along well."

Nolan confidently walked forward and introduced himself, stomping his boot lightly.

"I'm Nolan; Razorclaw's my frame; I'm a tanker, an Autonoid of the new type; and my element is flame. I transferred to Minerva because the Walrusian Marine Corps keeps fucking my ass all the time."

"So nice to meet you, matey!"

The lovely Lisabelle then greeted everyone with a radiant grin and a sweet voice.

"I'm Lisabelle; the frame's name is Phantombolt. I am a tanker, just like him, and my element is bolts. I was an ex-Vandaarian mercenary known for shady business operations like resource theft and assassinations."

"But as I reached my breaking point, I escaped from that vile mercenary cult and joined a more supportive military group like Minerva."

"Aside from that, I love making music and paintings. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

After Lisabelle ended her introduction with a sparkling smile and a sweet wink, Kyouko then spoke softly to provide further detail.

"It is imperative that everyone gets along, since Minerva must take on the Scorching Virus in whatever manner possible."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"And we shall unite you all as the Scorching Hunter. The reason being that you all possess an innate ability to swiftly eliminate any scorching infected adversaries that may be hiding around."

We all nodded in unison after listening to her interesting explanation. But Commander Katoki abruptly halted in front of us, his expression grave, and delivered a final message before swiftly exiting the office.

"Unfortunately, I can't make it with all of you. Commander Marisa called me up for an important meeting. Why not recognize each other while you still can?"

Commander Katoki departed his office, leaving us in a hushed atmosphere with the two newly transferred Authonoids standing still.

***

My emotions were flooding with joy as I witnessed my two long-lost friends reuniting after all these years. With a shaky voice and a suppressed sob, I cautiously made my way to Nolan and Lisabelle.

"Nolan? Lisabelle? It's been a long time!"

I received a scent of Nolan's cologne as he extended his hand for a handshake, and his smile was soft as he approached me.

"Good to see you back, Tsuyuki. It's been years, matey."

As I embraced Nolan and felt his warm handshake, I was filled with pleasure and laughter as we reunited after a long time apart.

A sense of relief washed over me when I reconnected with my middle school friends after a long six years. Reconnecting with old pals was a welcome treat after all the hardships I've endured.

Then everyone rushed up to Nolan, and the air was electric with the happiness of long-lost friends being back together.

"Nolan, it's been forever! Where have you been?"

Scott leaned in closer, his words lingering as he shook Nolan's hand firmly. In response, he made a lighthearted joke.

"Kicking terrorist asses for 6 years. Hahahaha. And we're lucky that we banded under the name of Scorching Hunter. Like, that must be shitstorm-type badass!"

My friends welcomed Nolan and Lisabelle with a hearty handshake. When I was talking to Nolan, Lisabelle came up to me and lightly tapped my left shoulder. Her smile was warm and inviting.

"It's been a long time, Tsuyuki."

Even though I had messed up in the past, it was unexpected to see her being so loving. My stomach dropped at the sight of her, and I averted my gaze to save myself from the distressing recollections. But, despite how awkward it was, it gave me a chance to open up about my past mistakes.

I lightly touched her right shoulder and asked for a private conversation.

"By the way, Lisabelle. Mind if we talk?"

She seemed perplexed as she arched an eyebrow in response to my suggestion.

"What's up with that?"

Before I can have an intimate chat with her, I need to get everyone's approval.

"Uh guys, there's something personal I wanted to talk about with Lisabelle."

Possibly because they were all too busy making small conversations for the purpose of reunion, no one seemed to have replied. Moving further, we went straight into the private room to discuss Elliott, Lisabelle's dear younger brother, and my old squadmate, who had died four years ago in the Vortikan battle.

***

Tension hung heavy in the room, palpable in the uneasy silence accompanied by the soft hum of the air conditioner. Before I asked the inquiry, Lisabelle looked confused and wrinkled her brow.

"Do you have anything to say?"

My gut knotted up, and my heart raced with the weight of my errors' remorse. As I responded, I took a deep breath and felt the words flow freely from my lips.

"It's about Elliott."

There was a noticeable change in her expression and level of astonishment when she heard my response.

"What's wrong with that?"

I felt a profound sense of loss when I talked about Elliott's passing, and every syllable pierced my faith.

"Even though it's been four years and you seem to have moved on, the guilt I feel over your brother's death in combat persists. Despite my best efforts to rein him in, he insisted on doing his own thing."

"I fear that despite the fact that your brother is a stubborn dickhead, your family will hold me accountable, as if I were the one to blame."

"I will never forget how much you cherished your brother, as he would constantly yell at you to stop pecking his cheeks."

"Not only Elliott. My childhood friend Minami died saving me from the Gorusian sniper."

"The latest are Luke and Clarissa. Onigashi slaughtered them and destroyed their cores.

I looked away as tears streamed down my face, drowned out by a surge of shame. Before continuing, I glanced at Lisabelle, who seemed to be full of questions.

"And it devastated me that I'm the one who's carrying all the burdens, spilling lots of blood, and almost dying. Yet, those who carried fewer burdens and spilled fewer blood than myself died in front of me instead."

"I always asked myself: Am I the grim reaper who has brought death upon everyone? Even the one I bring death to is my closest one."

"From then on, I always warned people to stay away from me so they wouldn't get my curse. Not because I'm stubborn. But to prevent the same tragedies from happening again, I'm the one who's to be blamed because of that."

I looked down, feeling the pain in my stomach rise after I shared my experience with her. She came close and gave me a comforting embrace, the warmth of her hands on my shoulders.

"Sometimes, it's okay to just let it all go. People fail not because they're not strong nor smart enough; it's because they don't have enough faith in themselves to tackle the challenges ahead."

"Without gratitude, life will always be like a living hell."

"Even though it killed me to see my brother die, I was still grateful. I can't stand watching my brother so upset because of everything he's gone through."

"Death isn't the end of the line. It drove us to reach our goals, making us even more thankful for life."

"The closer we are to death, the livelier we are."

"Don't stress too much about Elliott and your pal's passing. You're not completely to blame. You never know what might happen."

"It's painful to think about my dearest friends who perished in the horrible plane crashes, but I keep pushing on and making sure their efforts weren't in vain."

Hearing her tragic tale helped ease my suffering and gave me the sense that I was not alone in my struggles. Tears welled up in my eyes as I spoke.

"Yeah, thank you, Lisabelle."

"Don't mention it, Tsuyuki."

Afterwards, she cradled me in an armful of comforting embrace, her fingers gliding delicately down my back. With my friends gathered, the air was heavy with the sound of reminiscences and tales.

A heavy premonition gripped me, signaling the ominous fate awaiting one of my companions in the impending conflict. Thinking about when and how it will happen fills me with dread.

But who can tell? Fate always has its own agenda.