Welcome to the Team, Anojin

Anojin and I lay on the floor. We were forced to watch the bright blue sky as our bodies ached from head to toe. We were breathing heavily as our energy drained away. We were too exhausted to keep going.

Anojin taunted me, while catching his breath desperately, “I…haven’t… lost...yet!”

“Me… neither!” I responded with each breath I took, hurting.

Amada stood over me, blocking my gorgeous view of the moving clouds. The corners of her mouth lowered as she stared at me with disappointment. “…Are you two finished?”

Our nostrils flared as we shouted, synchronized, “Not until he admits defeat!”

We traded glances, side-eyeing one another because we timed the sentence perfectly. We acted like little brats, fighting over the TV remote. Hinabe couldn’t help but giggle secretly behind Amada.

“Look at you, guys.” Amada sighed, shaking her head. “None of you looks like you have any energy left. Let’s call this a draw.”

She went on, “Anojin. You didn’t need to fight with Takumi over something stupid. And Takumi, you didn’t need to entertain his stupidity.”

We let the silence in the air speak for us. The way she talked to me reminded me of my mother. I guessed Anojin had the same thought.

“While you guys were fighting, Hinabe and I stayed inside, thinking about Anojin joining. We agreed. We would love for you to join our group.” Amada notified Anojin.

A heartfelt smile rose from Anojin’s face. However, before he could respond, Amada clarified, “But we would need Takumi’s input since he is also on the team.”

All eyes were on me. The pressure I felt was crushing. However, I already had my answer before we had our brawl. I took a deep breath and answered the question.

“You’re definitely an annoying bulk of metal, that won’t change. When you headed to face Astra alone, I thought to myself… that was extremely stupid. What was someone who gets paralyzed after blocking an attack gonna do?”

Anojin ground his teeth in anger. “Why you little-!”

“…However, you did play a huge role against Astra,” I interjected, finishing my thought. “I can’t look past your bravery and confidence as a crusader. As long as you don’t piss me off, you’re welcome to join us.”

Amada crouched and socked me right to my head.

“That’s not how you welcome someone!” she exclaimed.

I immediately rubbed my head with my hands. “Ouch! What was that for? You useless mage!”

I couldn’t lie and say I liked the guy. Amada had never felt welcome in any other team, so I assumed she felt offended by my poor attempt at inviting the crusader to the team. But that didn’t mean hit me while I’m already bruised!

“When I recovered, prepare yourself,” I suggested, threatening her to get revenge.

Anojin paused for a moment, unable to find the right words. Soon after, he replied to us. “Thank you, Miss Amada and Miss Hinabe… and Takumi, for accepting me in your team. I’ll do everything in my power, as the greatest crusader, to protect you guys!”

He had no reason to mumble my name, but at least he was grateful for joining us. Regardless of whether he’s likable, he was valuable to the team.

Amada responded to Anojin's statement with a pleased grin. She picked herself up on her feet, feeling relieved by their agreement. “Now with that out of the way, let’s go complete some more quests!”

She turned her neck behind her, focusing her attention on Hinabe. “By the way, Hinabe, don’t bother healing them. Let them get up by themselves.”

“What!” Anojin’s and my eyes popped out of our sockets simultaneously from Amada's command. What a cold-hearted girl.

“But…” Hinabe tried to talk to Amada to rethink her decision, but her soft-spoken voice was too low to hear.

“Come on, let’s go!” Amada happily said, wasting no time as she headed in the opposite direction from us. Hinabe followed behind her, her steps weighed with slight regret. Doubt crept behind her. She constantly kept looking back at our motionless bodies. They walked a great distance from us.

We desperately wanted her to heal us. We tried to send signals to Hinabe by using the sad baby eyes and pouting expressions to persuade her to come back for us. We practically begged her to come back.

After watching our desperate attempt, she gave in and returned for us. Thank goodness for Hinabe having a good heart! Amada must have noticed Hinabe coming back for us, but she didn’t care.

Hinabe proceeded to heal our bruises, and we soon recovered our strength. Who knows how long we would have been on the floor? We thanked her massively for basically saving us by repeatedly lifting her up and down, while giving tight hugs and excessive handshakes. She felt relieved by how thankful we were, but was uncomfortable by us rattling her body like a maraca.

Once we had fully recovered, Anojin picked up his shield, and we eventually caught up with Amada.

…

Our team was complete. The missions we were going to take were about to get easier. For the next couple of days, we planned to go quest-hunting. And that’s exactly what we did!

We grabbed lost animal quests. Then some bodyguarding quests. Pretty much, any odd jobs we could get our hands on. Even after completing our missions, our team still lacked teamwork.

Hinabe almost always managed to fall asleep during the worst moments possible. Amada's attacks had the potential to deal damage, but she wasn’t the brightest of the bunch. If I’m not around her, she would lose focus and get distracted.

The chemistry between Anojin and I still needed improvement during our quests. Sometimes our bickering would make the quest harder.

For example, one of our quests involved hunting down a missing exotic cat in a forest. I realized how competitive he was and how much he wanted to impress the girls.

Every time we spotted the cat, we wanted to catch it before the other did. As a result, our bickering scared it away several times.

…

When the quantity of quests depleted, we decided to retry the Grande Warthogs. They’re active at this time of year, so they returned again, wreaking havoc on the capital.

We returned to the forest where we first fought them. I came into that quest thinking we would stand a better chance. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Amada quickly became hypnotized by her claim of the warthogs being “called.” She was quickly thrown in the distance, landing hard on the ground again. Anojin, trying to be her knight in armor, came to her rescue from the warthog’s next attack.

So, he instantly used his block spell to protect her, paralyzing his body. While those two idiots wasted my time, Hinabe remained unconscious on the ground again, with drool leaking from her lips.

With my liabilities as teammates, I wondered if they would have survived this entire time if I hadn't been there? Even with them, we managed to defeat the Grande Warthogs a second time.

…

After a ruthless day of quest hunting, we all returned to my apartment. At the end of our first day, completing quests as a team, Anojin disliked the idea of me living with the girls.

I told him that it was my apartment, not theirs. However, he refused to hear me out and was blinded by his love for the girls.

Amada suggested he should live with us so we could have another boy to accompany me. Obviously, I refused her. I grew tired of her constant nagging and gave in.

At night, Anojin would rest in the living room. We made another makeshift bed using another comforter and separated our beds as far as possible. We made sure to avoid eye contact while we slept.

More people began recognizing me as Mr. Satori, the more we completed the quests. I wasn’t a fan of the attention.

I didn’t hate the idea of being compared to Mr. Satori, but that’s a lot of pressure for me. I would have preferred just to be known as Takumi Hitaro.

Most people would love to be in my position. I had no choice but to deal with it. This was my new life. But who said I couldn’t have a say in the matter?

…

The next morning, I was disturbed by a loud knock at the door. I rubbed my eyes to wake myself up. I glanced over at Anojin, who slept in a unique position. He fell off his pillow and kicked the cover away from him. His snoring was extremely obnoxious, like a car engine constantly revving.

The pounding on the door continued. The birds hadn’t chirped yet, but the sun rays were shining through the window in the apartment.

“Who is knocking at my door this early in the morning?” I asked myself. I forced myself to get up and sluggishly dragged myself to the door. I imagined it was the old elderly woman downstairs or her son.

“I unlocked the door and slowly creaked it open. “What do you want? I’m trying to sleep!” I sleepily asked.

To my surprise, a man and a woman stood in front of me. The formal man replied with a question of his own, “Are you Takumi Hitaro?” His tone sounded clear and authoritative.

“Yeah…”

The woman reached into her pockets and pulled out a wallet. She opened the flap and exposed a gold badge.

The man politely addressed his reasoning for disturbing me. “Mr. Takumi, you’re under arrest for the crime of impersonating the late hero, Mr. Satori Zanta!”

His words brought me back to life, instantly waking me from my drowsiness. His accusation of me shocked me.

Under arrest?! … This was great! I already had to deal with that idiot moving in with me. Now, I’m being taken away?

I feared my good days were over.

…