10

The auditorium buzzed with energy as students filled the rows of seats. Some talked excitedly, others scrolled through their devices, while a few looked half-asleep. The air smelled of old wood and the faint trace of cafeteria lunch, a mix of fried food and something vaguely metallic.

Hikaru slouched in his seat near the middle, arms folded. Ren sat next to him, composed as always. Kaede fidgeted on his other side, bouncing her leg up and down.

“I hope they let us fight something cool,” she whispered. “Like a giant demon or a dragon. No, wait- what if it’s a demon and a dragon?”

“Wouldn’t that just be a dragon?” Hikaru said.

Kaede ignored him. “Tsubasa, what do you think?”

Tsubasa, adjusting his glasses, exhaled sharply. “I think this is a complete waste of time.” He leaned back, resting his cheek against his fist, the other holding his tabket on his lap. “Why are we being forced to do these missions anyway? What if I had important plans today?”

Kaede tilted her head. “What plans?”

“Like sleeping.”

Before Kaede could argue, the murmurs died down as the Head Instructor, Shion Takasugi, took the stage. A tall, grizzled man with streaks of gray in his hair, he carried the weight of experience in every movement, looking weary but kind. His eyes scanned the crowd, and when he spoke, his voice echoed effortlessly.

“As you all know, Seisen Cross exists to train and deploy students to handle anomalies.” He paused, gaze sweeping over them. “Some of you have talent. Some of you don’t. But all of you are expected to contribute as much as possible.”

Tsubasa let out a sigh. “Great. Forced labor.”

Kaede nudged him. “Shh! He’s gonna announce the teams.”

Takasugi continued, his tone firm. “This year, we’ve seen an increase in mission difficulty. Students will be assigned based on compatibility and skill level. If problems were to occur, speak to your class teacher. If you have valid reasons not to participate even though you are qualified, you know where to find me.”

At the word increase, Hikaru felt a strange prickle down his spine. The world wasn’t supposed to be getting harder. It wasn't supposed to change.

A holographic display flickered to life behind Takasugi, showing the mission squads.

Squad 8
Kanzaki Hikaru
Shirogane Ren

Amagiri Kaede
Aoi Yuna
Shinomiya Tsubasa
Hoshino Kuroya

Kaede whooped. “We’re all together! That’s so lucky!”

“Yeah,” Hikaru muttered. “Lucky.”

Except… something felt off.

The hologram had glitched for a split second before Ren’s name appeared. Like it hadn’t been there at first. Hikaru glanced at Ren, but she seemed unbothered. She wasn’t aware.

Neither was Kaede, who was busy whispering to Tsubasa. “See? Now you have no excuse. You’re stuck with us!”

Tsubasa groaned. “You say that like it’s a good thing.”

Takasugi’s voice cut back in. “You will report to your assigned teams immediately after this assembly. Missions will begin as early as tomorrow, do as your team's level is reccommended to.” He paused, letting that sink in. “Be prepared, let's all do our best.”

The temperature of the room seemed to drop a few degrees.

Hikaru felt it. Ren, oblivious to the tension. The glitch in the system.

Then there was Yuna.

She had been staring at the display the entire time, silent. Her eyes, usually sharp with analysis, were distant. Like she had just seen something she wasn’t supposed to.

Hikaru nudged her lightly. “Oi. You good?”

She blinked, snapping out of it. “…Yeah.”

Liar.