A New Team in the Making
Having finished all of the test training, I wiped away my sweat and slumped onto the floor. Rain and Shine were sitting on either side of me. Both of them held water bottles similar to mine; Rain's was a bright yellow chick bottle, while Shine's was a cool dinosaur bottle just like mine. As we sucked on the straws sticking out of the heads of our dinosaur and chick bottles to replenish our fluids with sports drinks, Amy approached us. "Tired, everyone?"
I massaged my aching limbs and nodded. "It's probably because you're still in the adjustment phase," Amy said. Was that really it? I turned to look at Rain at Amy's words. Rain looked exhausted. Sucking on her chick bottle with a tearful pout, she didn't look adjusted to this at all.
"Are we going to do this every day from now on?"
"Yes."
My jaw dropped at Amy's response. Did she mean we had to go through this grueling routine every single day? On top of that, once we got back to our room, I still had to do today's share of studying. Even though this was my choice... My choice? Feeling a faint doubt rise within me, I carefully set down my water bottle.
"Shine."
"Yeah?"
"Did I... I chose this, right?"
"Chose what?"
Slurp. Shine pulled the straw from her mouth and asked back.
"This... starting the same kind of work as Amy."
"Yeah, that's right. You started it because you wanted to, Jeff."
"Right?"
"Mhm."
My hazy memory was the problem. A completely blank period of time. Perhaps because of that, I lacked confidence in myself. I reached out cautiously and took Shine's hand. "Thank you, Shine."
"For what?"
"For always being by my side."
The moment the words left my mouth, I hung my head. It felt a bit too embarrassing to say with a straight face.
"Thank you too, Jeff," Shine said, pulling my hand. I was dragged helplessly into her embrace. "You'll stay by my side forever, right?"
Forever. I rolled the word around in my mind. I probably would, wouldn't I? I couldn't even imagine being separated from her. The outside world was too dangerous, so staying by Shine's side—where she could always protect me—was the safest place to be. I smiled softly and caressed Shine's cheek.
"Shall we head back soon?"
"Aren't you going to train, Amy?"
"I'm in a recovery period, so I need to rest for about a week."
"A recovery period?"
"It has to do with my ability."
What did she mean by a recovery period? As I looked up at her curiously, Amy's large hand came down onto my head. "I'll tell you later." Her hand ruffled my hair, as if to say now wasn't the time. I slipped out of Shine's embrace and stood up. My drying sweat began to steal away my body heat. It's a bit cold. Just as I thought that, Shine came over and linked her arm with mine.
"You're cold, aren't you, Jeff?" Shine acted as if she knew my exact thoughts. Feeling a strange sensation, I nodded. "I'm cold too!" Just then, Rain, who had been watching us, came over and linked her arm on my other side. Suddenly pinned down on both sides, I sent a pleading look toward Amy for help.
"You three have gotten incredibly close." But Amy only laughed and made no move to rescue me. "Are you leaving already?" The moment Amy picked up our water bottles and stood up, a woman approached and asked. She wore skin-tight clothing that left absolutely nothing of her figure to the imagination. As I stared at her body, utterly spellbound, Shine suddenly covered my eyes.
"Shine?" No matter how much I shook my head, Shine had no intention of removing her hands from my eyes. "Do you like big ones, Jeff?" "Huh?" While I was flustered by Shine's completely random question, Amy replied to the woman. "Yes, we're heading back now. The kids' training is finished."
"Are these the kids? The ones from before..." "Yes, I rescued them." Frustrated, I squeezed Shine's hands tightly and shook my head. "Rain, help me." Thanks to a desperate struggle, I managed to break free from Shine's blinding grip, only for Rain to fly in from the side and seal my vision once again. Pitch-black darkness. The constricting arms of Rain and Shine. Held fast by the two of them, I was completely helpless.
"I want to look!"
"Don't look!"
A battle between the one who wanted to see and the ones trying to stop her. I thrashed my body around, but overpowering the two of them was practically impossible.
"I saw them fighting on the road... Their abilities are far from ordinary. Are you raising them to be Victor's successors?"
"Victor's?"
"Yes..."
"I have no such intention."
"But... I heard they learned how to control their abilities directly from Victor..."
"It was just basic control methods. You all learned them too, didn't you?"
"But in that video..."
"Vapor."
"Yes!"
It seemed the woman who just answered was named Vapor. Since I couldn't see, I had to rely entirely on the sounds to piece together what was happening. "Let me see!" "No!" I desperately tried to pry away the small hands covering my eyes, but all my efforts were in vain.
"Not these kids."
"But! The leader of Team Lightning should be someone who is truly fit for..."
"Victor already decided, didn't he?"
"But... how could I..."
"Vapor. Have some confidence. Victor trusted you and chose you."
With those words, the conversation came to an end. After sensing the presence beside Amy quietly fade away, I asked Rain and Shine, "Is she gone?" "Yeah, she's gone." "Then I'd like to see now." At my words, the hands covering my face finally withdrew. *Blink, blink.* My blurry vision gradually cleared. I looked around, searching for the "big" thing I had spotted earlier.
"She's not here anymore, Jeff," Shine said, pulling my arm as I searched for the person who had just left. I had several things I wanted to ask the woman named Vapor, but because of Shine and Rain's interference, I couldn't ask a single thing. Seeing my sullen expression, Shine's face hardened. "So you really do like big ones, don't you?" I kept my mouth shut, choosing not to answer her question.
On our way out of the training grounds, walking down the wide hallway, I asked Amy, "Who is Vapor?"
"She was a member of the team Victor used to lead."
"Used to lead...?"
"Yes. Victor is retired now."
When we first met Victor, Amy had told him that she knew his injuries were fully healed. If so, it made sense. "So Victor retired after handing over the team leader position to Vapor?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"But it didn't seem like Vapor wanted that position."
"Correct again. Vapor is highly capable, but she has a timid personality."
"Then why did Victor leave the leader position to her?"
"Because we're that short on talented people."
I nodded, thinking of the crowd that filled the training grounds. It meant that even with so many people, finding someone with the leadership skills to guide a team was no easy task. "Is Team Lightning composed of electric ability users?"
"Yes. They boast the most powerful firepower among all our squads."
"Don't worry, Jeff! You and Shine are going to join my team, Raincoat!" As I nodded at Amy's explanation, Rain, who had been listening quietly, chimed in with a shout. A team. A team, huh? I hadn't thought deeply about it, but since we had officially joined, it was something I had to consider at least once.
"What team are you on, Amy?"
"None."
"Huh?"
"I always work alone."
I stared at Amy in utter dismay. If Amy didn't have a team, my plan to work alongside her in her team was completely ruined. In that case, would I have no choice but to work in Raincoat? When I turned to look at Rain, she was already looking at me with sparkling, expectant eyes, as if my entry into her team was already a done deal.
"It's going to be the perfect team!" I pictured Shine, Rain, and myself standing together. Three short girls lined up in a row. It wasn't exactly a reassuring picture. We would definitely draw attention wherever we went, and Rain didn't exactly inspire confidence.
"Then... we won't be able to work with you, Amy?" I reached out and grabbed Amy's hand, asking. My eyes welled up with tiny tears. My vision blurred, and the tip of my nose turned red. It felt like I was about to burst into tears at any moment.
"Do you want to work with me, Jeff?"
"Yes... I want to be with Shine and you, Amy. Just like we always are." At my answer, Amy stopped in her tracks. Since I had been following right behind her, I ended up bumping my head straight into her long legs.
"Then shall we make one?"
"Ah! Amy! Are you seriously going to make a team?"
"I think it's about time I made one."
"No! Jeff has to join my team!"
"It is about time for a major team reorganization, isn't it?"
"No!"
"And since Victor just retired as team leader, the timing is perfect."
"No!"
At Amy's words, Rain began tearing at her hair and running wild in every direction. *Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.* The sound of her small footsteps filled the hallway. *Cheep, cheep.* Flapping her arms as if threatening the bystanders, the little chick Rain suddenly bolted in the opposite direction. She disappeared so quickly that I didn't even have time to call out to her.
"Rain...?"
"She'll be back soon." Unconcerned about Rain running off in the opposite direction, Amy guided us back to our room. After taking a shower and while I was drying my hair, Rain returned, just as Amy had predicted.
"I disbanded my team!" She made this quite shocking declaration. Was disbanding a team really that easy?
"Really?"
"Yep!"
"Then you won't get the team leader bonus anymore, right?"
"Ah...!"
"And you'll lose your team leader vacation days too, right?"
"Ah!"
"And your right to refuse business trips will be gone too, right?"
"Aaaah!"
"Disbanding a team... didn't you push that through a bit too fast?"
"Aaaaah!"
Rain fell to her knees with a tearful face. "A-Amy..."
"I told you, the team reorganization period is coming up. Are you letting Jin trick you again?"
"Waaah..." Amy stood up and scooped up the collapsed Rain. Watching Amy treat Rain no differently than she treated us was a strange sight considering Rain's actual age, but looking only at her outward appearance, it didn't seem out of place at all.