The five of them made their way onto the train. ‘’We’re in the back section, just so you know,’’ Hiona gave them a heads-up, starting to walk towards the back of the train, where the lighting was dim and it was empty, with the other four following accordingly, walking past the people that had already gotten on the train, Yohiro looking at an elderly woman, smiling at her and leaving her confused. Making it to the back end of the train, Clous jumped, making it easier to sit down in a seat, the others sitting all over the place.

‘’Everyone has been quiet, even after we got on the train’’, Yohiro though, watching Bernie wave his hand at him, welcoming him on the seat next to him. ‘’Look, Yohiro,’’ he said to him, opening his large suitcase and taking out a thin book, resembling a notebook, ‘’You still don’t know how to read, do you?’’ he asked the fascinated boy. ‘’No,’’ he responded with, ‘’I don’t really know how to read, Mr. Bernie!’’ Bernie grinned, feeling empowered. ‘’Didn’t have enough time to show him that back at the base, did ya? You had to do it while we’re on our way to...whichever district this shit takes place in,’’ Clous preached in annoyance, resting his head on his arm, placing the elbow on his legs, which he had crossed as he sat on the train seat.

‘’Um… I didn’t think to do that,’’ he chuckled, feeling slightly ashamed. ‘’Never mind, the kid requires normal human skills to be able to survive anyway. We can’t always hold him by the hand,’’ Rosa jumped in as she raised her arms, letting a quiet grunt as she stretched. ‘’U-um, thank you so much, all of you,’’ Yohiro began, ‘’No matter what you say, it’s the perfect time to say this…’’ he said, gradually raising his voice, ultimately getting off the seat and stepping on his feet, fighting against the train’s shaking and remaining straight-up, surprising Hiona, who was at that point ignoring their conversation for the most part. ‘’It’s just a bit of my teaching, though i’m not that good nowadays,’’ Bernie tried to dismiss his excitement, getting a serious stare from him.

‘’It’s not the book, Mr. Bernie; it’s for everything! I’m endlessly embedded to you all… Clous, Ms. Rosa, master Hiona, Mr. Bernie…’’ he blushed in embarrassment, jumping back onto his seat and lowering his head, starting to stare at his hands, with which he was gripping his shorts, leaving them all speechless. The three of them exchanged a few stares, Bernie grabbing Yohiro around the shoulder gently, ‘’Don’t be grateful to people like us, okay? We’re not doing you any favors whatsoever, ‘’ Bernie explained, widening his eyes. ‘’But that’s wro-,’’ he tried to disagree, hearing Hiona’s loud stomp and stopping.

‘’Hear me well, Yohiro, because i’m not good at this at all,’’ she looked away, speaking in a voice completely alien to the others in the group, ‘’What Bernie said was the closest thing you’re going to get to sincerity out of this shitshow of a team, appreciate it.’’ Uncomfortable silence set, leaving them to listen to the loud sound of the train moving. ‘’Screw that,’’ Yohiro muttered aloud, shocking Bernie as he stood up again, walking over to Hiona, shaking left and right with each step, getting Rosa and Clous’ curiosity.

‘’Master!’’ he exclaimed, causing her to turn her head, instinctively giving Yohiro a death-stare, stopping it as she realised who it was. ‘’Yes, dear?’’ she asked him, placing her hand on his cheek and rubbing it slowly. ‘’I… I don’t want you special, kind treatment, master,’’ he said in a low tone, pushing her hand away, causing the others to move further away. ‘’A literal newborn is acting the way my companions can’t, huh,’’ she whispered to herself, standing up and raising her foot. ‘’Yohiro, either go back to your seat and let me sleep, sweetie, or I will split this whole train in half this very moment. Pick,’’ she intimidated him, causing him to take a deep breath. He extended both his arms, grabbing her iron boot, making her smile. ‘’Oh-ho,’’ came out of her mouth as she watched Yohiro gently crouch down, pulling Hiona’s boot down along with him, until placing it down safely, his hand shaking and his face wet from the sudden sweat. ‘’I ask of you: please teach me how to protect myself, master, with no kindness in-between!’’ he begged, letting go of her boot.

‘’That kid… Is he for real,’’ Rosa thought as Clous debated weather to stand up and help or to remain seated, succumbing to the fear. ‘’So- ha, ha- you’re asking me to fucking teach you to fight? You?’’ she tried to get a clarification or at least further confirmation, uncontrollably laughing in-between her words. Yohiro nodded. ‘’...sure,’’ she said, blushing at the shaking Yohiro. ‘’R-really?!’’ he raised his head, revealing the tears beginning to leave his eyes and run down his face. ‘’Aw, how can could I say no to that expression?!’’ she grabbed him, embracing him closely, causing him to cough in pain.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

‘’B-bernie, did master just get tamed…?!’’ Rosa whispered to him, unclear of the probability of what went down in front of her very eyes. ‘’No, she didn’t,’’ Clous interrupted, turning around, ‘’...she just let us think that, or so I think. It’s master; she probably planned to toughen him up the moment she kicked him yesterday,’’ Clous told them, making hand motions in front of them, lighting a lightbulb inside their head. ‘’Y-yeah, that could also be the case…’’ They looked back together, finding Yohiro losing consciousness in her hands, starting to gag. ‘’MASTER, LET HIM GO, DAMMIT!!’’

Yohiro slowly opened his eyes, finding himself lying in Bernie’s lap at the very edge of the line of seats in the train, looking around a little as the foggy vision began to clear. He looked up, finding Bernie sleeping soundly. ‘’Um, hello…?’’ he let out softly, wiggling his way away from Bernie, doing his best not wake him up, sitting down next to him. ‘’You’re aware, it seems,’’ Hiona said from the other side of the train space, sitting alone and away from the others.

‘’My chest hurts a little, master,’’ he complained, touching it and shivering a little. ‘’Also, why is everyone sitting so far away, slipping?’’ he asked her, pointing at Clous and Rosa, who were leaning on each other, snoring quietly. ‘’No idea, something about me being violent again; I don’t know what they mean at all,’’ she started laughing, Yohiro starting to laugh along with her as the sound the train was making on the train rails came to a close, the whole vehicle stopping slowly with a screeching noise, causing Yohiro to cover his ears, waking up the others surprisingly.

‘’We’re here, guys, get up and get fresh,’’ she ordered them in a proud voice, standing up and shaking, realising her feet had gone a little numb. The others followed suit, stepping off from their seats. ‘’Twenty-seventh district. I repeat, twenty-seventh district. I request for people stopping her to leave the train as soon as possible,’’ a voice came from what appeared to be an intercom attached to the upper left corner of the train section. ‘’Twenty-seventh?! Master, what is this?!’’ Clous yelled, worried sick about the situations she had put them in without telling them. ‘’’Here’s the detail I ignored: We’re stealing from the Rokenson Army, that’s that,’’ she said in a casual tone as she wiggled her legs around nonchalantly. ‘’Master! You know that’s far above what we can do!!’’ Rosa and Bernie added, shouting in anger. ‘’Well what did you expect from an A rank assignment, dumbasses?’’ she asked them confidently. ‘’That’s another thing you didn’t mention!!’’ Clous pointed at her, grunting in frustration, ‘’We could die,’’ Bernie added, trying to reason with her.

‘’Wha~~~t? No, you won’t, it’s fine,’’ she chuckled, grabbing her grocery bag full of random, useless things and beginning to walk out of the back section of the train, stunning them. ‘’What’s this...twenty-seventh district?’’ Yohiro asked Bernie, watching them not even be scared, but disappointed, already being unable to get angry at Hiona. ‘’It’s the district where the Rokenson army rules; they’re one of the ten most influential army forces in the entire world…,’’ Bernie mumbled under his breath, losing confidence in himself and the others.

‘’They’re ridiculously high in numbers, and we’re just five… The fuck does she expect us to do against those bastards?’’ Clous asked rhetorically, talking to himself. ‘’Shouldn’t you believe in her, guys? She brought you here because she believed you could finish it,’’ Yohiro spoke loudly, raising their heads. ‘’He has a point; master’s plans never fail. Though, we’ve never had to deal with shit of this magnitude,’’ Rosa pointed out, raising their spirits.

‘’The hell are those tools waiting for? An invitation?’’ Hiona thought, tapping her foot so loudly, others stared at her with looks of varying meanings. The four of them quickly made it out of the train, jumping out and watching it slowly depart, leaving them there. ‘’First, you guys, we’re gonna go visit an old friend of mine to get some essentials, then we’ll proceed with the operation, ‘kay?’’ she asked, getting three synchronized nods in responce, excluding Yohiro’s late act of action.