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She took a position near the entry way, folding her arms and leaning against the wall. The icy woman watched everyone bustle about with the barest of smiles. Good morning, Lynae-san. I presume that you're doing fine?" Lynae bowed her head in response, "That I am. Thank you for inquiring Hiroku." She continued to watch the group, returning a small wave to Keiji as he entered. "Ah, looks like Cinderella's back from the ball~ Did you have fun doing whatever it is you do when you're not with us?" The comment was a bit irksome but Lynae maintained her good mood with the presence of food.

"Was it so hard to tell?" In saying that her smile was a bit more prominent. Finally taking a seat at the table Lynae, unlike Keiji, slowly ate her breakfast to enjoy it. "Your food isn't going anywhere Keiji." This morning was one of the few mornings in which Lynae revealed her softer side.

Lynae's sharp eyes flickered over to Akane with mused her thoughts aloud about college. It would seem that question was to spur a brief talk about it. "Keiji was pretty much the only one of us who got a chance to study all the way to college, so just let him enjoy it while he can." Lynae nodded in agreement. "That is true. I was unable to complete junior high due to family troubles." She stared into the palm of her hands. It would seem her time spent with her siblings had made her a bit soft, revealing the fact that she did not continue her education past the eighth grade. Of course that did not mean she was any less intelligent than the others, she simply did not receive a professional education.

"But yes it does depend on what he is studying. If it's medicine I'm sure it'd be of great help to the team to know we've one more medic. Of course I'm not sure what Keiji is studying but hopefully it is something he can use." Lynae was quick to move the topic from her, giving her two cents on what Hana had said. "Everyone got any plans for today? I don't think that there's going to be any missions in the time being, but you never know."

She thought a bit on what she could do. She had already spent her early morning with her family but if they weren't going to do anything she was sure her siblings would love the idea of her returning. I wonder what I could bring with me. I already brought them hot chocolate this morning, maybe a game for us to play. Pondering what could be done in her free time, she didn't take much notice of Hana's behavior. "I wouldn't mind going shopping but a quick sparring session sounds fun as well." A cool glint flashed in her eyes. The one person she wouldn't have minded sparring with wasn't present but that didn't mean she couldn't exchange blows with any of the others.

---

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Being an overly observant person as usual, Akane was quick to notice the change in Hana's behavior, however slight it was. The younger girl said she was going to gather the things she needed and Akane watched her leave, the smallest hint of worry in on her face. "Well, it looks like the two of us will be taking a trip into town. If either of you would like to tag along, feel free, I doubt Hana would mind. And if we have time later, Lynae, I'd love to spar with you~" Akane smirked a bit, then excused herself and stood, walking towards the bedroom she and Hana both shared. The room was small and neat since they never spent time in there except to sleep. Maybe I should spend more time in here with Hana...

She leaned in the frame of the door and crossed her arms over her chest. "So, what's bothering you? Don't bother trying to hide it. If you're doubting your abilities, just know that you wouldn't be here on this team if you weren't capable." Akane gave Hana what she hoped was a reassuring smile and turned to her own area of the room, securing her Katana in its carrier and slipping the straps over her shoulder. She couldn't think of the last time she'd been without it. Akane also found her wallet and put it in her back pocket, cell phone in the other, before positioning both hands on her hips and turning towards her cousin. "Besides, you've got other things to worry about than your performance, like where we're going to spend the rest of our day~" Akane hoped she was upping the mood instead of being annoying, though she doubted Hana would mind.

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Hiroku listened to his teammates planning what they are going to do for the day and nodded. Hana said that she was going to go go around the city and find a few shops, as well as buying a couple of things while fighting off any Shades if it's possible, but apparently she still has doubt about her abilities as she spoke. "Please don't worry, Hana-san. You're capable in your own ways and we'll definitely in a lot of troubles without you so you don't have to doubt yourself. We always stand strong as a team, right?"

And right after that, the white-haired girl excused herself and retreated back to her room. Hiroku shook his head, it took quite some while for a person to come out of their shells and be confident in their abilities. He trusts his comrades and believe that as long as they're together, there's nothing they could not get through. However, confidence is something one has to built up for themselves and Hana needed to know that she's strong, in her own way, no matter what.

That's left Lynae and Akane the only ones still presented in the kitchen. Of course, Lynae was the quick one to offer a sparring session and Akane immediately went on with it. And it seemed that the ladies are going shopping for the day if there's nothign else for them to do around the apartment. When Hiroku finished putting the clothes into the basket, he held them up, "Well, sparring with you sounds fun, Lynae-san. I'll finish any work that needed to be done first then I'll join you ladies later, 'kay?" He said with his usual calm expression.

As Hiroku carried the basket to the balcony, as he was hanging the clothes up, the News program is on the television and a piece of news managed to caught his attention. "Today, the Prime Minister of China, Ms. Liu Mei Feng is paying a visit to Japan to strike up a co-operative negotiation. She's just arrived at Haneda Airport at 9:00 this morning and the negotiation is currently taking place at..." The presenter on the television said.

Hiroku couldn't help but raised his eyebrow upon hearing the news. He's well-aware that aside from being the current Prime Minister of China, Liu Mei Feng is also the Archmagister of Asia Branch and a Counselor of the Council that governs the whole organization. He never personally met her, but from what he heard back in training time, aside from being a very influential individual, she's also a Sorcerer with incredible power herself.

Those who once saw her actual strength in combat said that she's at least as equally strong as five SS+ class Sorcerers, a feat of strength that Hiroku himself never dream to ever reach. And there are still five other Archmagisters on the same term with her whose feats of strength are looked up by every Sorcerer in the world.

The Whirlwind Valkyrie, huh? Hiroku thought. He secretly wondered if she's here not just for a peace negotiation but for something else related to the Japan Division of the organization. However, he couldn't really come up with anything so serious that an Archmagister has to be here personally. Shaking his head, perhaps he's being a bit overthinking about this. After finishing with the clothes hanging, he headed to his room and started his computer.

There wasn't any missions and the scanner on his computer didn't detect any possible threatening Shades around the city, so at least he can rest assure a bit that they're free for the moment. Other than two guitar classes he will be teaching this afternoon, there isn't anything else important that Hiroku got to do today. He was thinking of taking up a job or two. Asuka is still persistently telling him to work as a waiter for him though so perhaps he should take the idea into consideration. If he really does then he could only imagine how overjoyed the Merchant can be.

Suddenly, his phone rang as he received a message text from someone. Taking out his phone from his pocket, he swept the locked screen and saw that it was from Asuka, coincidentally.
.
From: Asuka
To: Hiroku
Subject: Need you here ~

Hey, Hiro-chan. Come to Kannazuki this instance. Miyu-chan's here and it seems she got something to tell you. Tag your leaders along if they're around ~
.
Hiroku raised his eyebrow. Miyuki-san is here? First is the arrival of the Archmagister herself, now the Magister is also ringing for them to meet her. Something's definitely going on. Making his way back to the kitchen, Hiroku saw that Lynae was still there, while Akane is probably retreated back to her and Hana's room. Approaching the blue-haired woman, he went straight to the point, "Lynae-san, Miyuki-san's just arrived here from Nagano and she wanted to see us at Asuka-san's place. I don't know when will Takeru-san return so should just we go and see her?"

It had only been about half an hour since the conversation had gone dead. The room was left silent, except for the small sound of turbulent wind as it blew into the room from the window, causing the curtains to flutter softly as the air grew colder as it was aerated. Sakura was staring out of the window, as usual, watching the shades float by as they feasted on the negative feelings of the people of Tokyo. Takeru, on the other hand, continued his stare down with the large shade, attempting to push it away with fear itself, but it didn't budge. It just stared back, moving side to side every now and then before quickly looking at Sakura as she broke the silence.

It was as if she was left on repeat, every week, every visit, like it was scripted. The same words, the same timing, the same conversation, the same book; "Wow, Nii-san, it's gotten late now. Don't you need to work today?"
Takeru looked back at his little sister, still troubled as he attempted to find his words. It didn't matter though, because either way, he would say the same. As if he was being controlled, like he was also part of this scripted visit. "Oh yeah, time seems to fly when I'm with my cute little sister." He replied as he stood from the chair, a fake smile of pity and sadness ripped across his face towards Sakura. Even the little sister could tell what he was feeling, an emotion no one else seems to ever see. She looked down to her book, her face dropped into a strange expression, something you'd see in major depression patients. She was suffering.

With one more glare towards the shade, Takeru left without a word. It pained him too much to bid her farewell for the week, he never did. He just left, just like before, just like back at home. Leaving the last of his family behind as he returned to his job, the same painful past tattooed in his mind. Like a hallucination, he could see the rice fields, the single road, the small house left behind as he headed off on his own way... To hell.

---

Once he had left the hospital, Takeru was filled with anger. The aura his already menacing body gave off pushed shades even further away as he walked off. Searching for a derelict area, somewhere full of shades for him to release his anger. Although, a different kind of punching bad seemed to appear before him, perfect timing. Kinda.

A handful of street thugs, they jumped out in an ambush around Takeru. All of them wielded their own improvised weapons such as metal pipes and wooden slabs, ready to attack. One of them, the leader -apparently-, shouted insults towards Takeru, ordering him to give up his valuables or else... This wasn't really a good idea.



Takeru raised his head, revealing his face of anger to the group. He had already gained his killing intent which quickly forced fear into the thugs' hearts. Any sane man would respond to their fight-or-flight instinct with 'flight'. But these idiots didn't...
Without a word, Takeru defended himself. His hands were still in his pockets as he effortlessly incapacitated every single thug which swung at him with a single kick. It wasn't even two minutes until the group were all left on the ground unconscious, leaving Takeru to stand above them with a refreshed sigh. "Well, I should head home then. I have some questions for Hiroku." He spoke to himself as he lit up a cigarette, turning around and heading home...

---

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Upon arrival to her room Hana was quick to glide across and hurry over to her drawers, taking possession of her white hat and hugging it tightly into her chest. It was a reassuring hold and one that the girl was really in need of; before setting the hat atop her head and pulling down until it reached just over her forehead. A snug fit, Hana couldn’t hold back a smile as she turned on her heel; noticing just then her cousin who stood by the door and almost nearly gave the girl a fright.

”O-Oh Akane,” she softly stammered and quickly found her balance, ”I didn’t see you standing there.” Towards the initial questioning Hana merely offered a somewhat dubious glance at first; quickly looking elsewhere for a moment, while her hands toyed with some loose strands of hair that hung over her shoulder in the meantime. ”Maybe I do doubt my abilities,” she piped up afterwards quietly, though only just before catching the particular smile that Akane shot in her direction as the black-haired girl went about the room collecting bits and pieces, and preparing her Katana for the outing. ”But I also rely on people a lot more than anyone else in the group I feel...”

Silencing herself suddenly, Hana figured she was being silly. With a light shake of her head and forcing a smile of her own, she listened to what her cousin said and offered a simple nod in response. ”I suppose you know best.” Hana sighed, knowing it to be true. If there was anyone in the world who she believed knew what was for the best, then that person could only be Akane, above all else. Taking a moment she hurried about the room and gathered her own little things to take; mostly her purse and spare change, which she kept safely in her coat pockets. ”You’re right Akane, everything you… and even Hiroku said. I guess I was just being silly about something over nothing.” Running over to the girl, Hana wrapped both arms around her cousin and pulled the girl into a tight hug for a quick, brief moment.

Soon after and releasing Akane, Hana stepped back and headed for the door. ”Yeah, yeah. There’s loads of places to go, and you’ll just have to wait and find out where we’re going,” she remarked in a slightly teasing way when gesturing for the other girl to follow. ”Besides… we don’t really get to spend much time together so it’ll be nice to just have some quality time,” Running both her hands through her hair, the girl stepped out from the room altogether and quickly spun round to face her. ”Sometimes this room can get lonely at night, so it is nice that we can hang out like this; not that I'm complaining of course. I know sleeping isn't really your thing and all,” She forced a smile and simply finished with, ”Anyway... you got everything? If so, we can get moving in that case ~”

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Seeing that his second-in-command has already got something else to do, Hiroku figured that it seemed he'll have to go and meet Miyuki - the Magister of Japan Division, alone. Well, it's his job to receive information and inform his team of all the news they needed to know, as well as carry out missions coming from the higher-ups. He also well-acquainted with many other Sorcerers in the division during his trainee time, so it's not surprised that he'd be the one to in charge of this job,

"Well, if you're currently busy with something else then I will go there by myself. I will report everything Miyuki-san said when everyone is fully gathered." Hiroku said as he went into his room to get changing into his working attire. The feeling that something serious is going on keep swirling around his mind. It's not like that they haven't been assigned to a dangerous mission before, but to attract the attention of the Archmagister herself means that if something really goes on, it won't be easy to deal with.

After excusing himself with everyone presented in the apartment, Hiroku made his way to Shibuya ward, where Asuka's bar situated. Travelling all the way from the apartment to the bar with his Mach 2 speed would only takes merely seconds, but Hiroku didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention from the Shades so it's better that he travel like a normal person would. It wasn't that far if going by bus or taxi so he arrived at his destination in about 10 minutes. Making his way into the alley, he went into the bar.

"It's about time, Kazeshima-kun." A rather husky voice of a woman spoke up, "Looks like it's still only you this time, I see. Your bosses aren't very interested in conversing with people, huh?"

Sitting at a bench at the counter of the bar was a tall woman with flowing blonde hair, the seriousness and intimidation emitted from her purple eyes seemed to scared away most of the Shades swirling around them. She was holding a glass of whiskey while resting her arms casually against the counter. Meanwhile, Asuka was cleaning the glasses and rearranging the bottles of wine on the shelf behind. A meeting between Sorcerers seemed to be as simple as that.

Hiroku smiled and nodded in greeting to Miyuki, "It's been a while, Miyuki-san. It seems you're still doing fine." He said while taking a seat next to the Magister, "And yeah, they're busy with their own businesses at the moment. It's really not a problem since it's my duty to be the information receiver after all."

"Hiro-chan and his team still lived up to their reputation and not a single Level 4 could escape their grasp, so I don't think you got anything to be worried about in Tokyo, Miyu-chan." Asuka chuckled.

"You don't have to flatter us that much, Asuka-san." Hiroku smiled in return, before turning to Miyuki and going straight into their business, "So, is there anything so serious that required the presence of the Magister here? And does it have anything to do with the arrival of the Archmagister in our country today?"

"I had hoped that it wouldn't, but alas, things are going to get real serious here soon." Miyuki said, one could easily sensed the seriousness in her voice, "You know that a phenomenon is going to took place the day after tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, the total lunar eclipse. It's a really rare event indeed. The strengths and vileness of the Shades would be strengthen whenever eclipses happened, right?" Hiroku replied.

"It's not just a normal eclipse." The blonde woman began to induce, "The event that is going to happened is acknowledged by the Archmagisters from ancient time to be 'The Awakening Eclipse'. The legend said that 'during the eclipse that happened when 'constellations began to stir, stars began to wash away and the planets set in path, the Shade that once brought wars and bloodshed will awaken once again to bring demise to humanity.' And from what has been depicted, the date it happened is exactly the same day."

"Which means?" Asuka raised the question.

"A peruersum calamitas of destructive powers and hostility that we've never seen before will appear. There hasn't been any cases of a Level 5's occurrence in the past 20 years anywhere in Asia, so I suppose that this is a reason explaining the presence of Ms. Mei Feng here in Japan." Miyuki said.

Both Hiroku and Asuka were surprised to hear the tale, "A Level 5 is going to be brought to pass here?" True enough, Hiroku has never seen a Warped Calamity before and all he knows about them is what he learnt back in training time. But he knows that this isn't something that should be taken lightly. From what he heard, it takes at least 3 teams like his team just to defeat a single Level 5 alone, or else the consequences are unimaginable.

"There hasn't been any signs amongst the regular Shades yet, but both of our teams must figure out a way to deal with it when it turned up. I will contact Ms. Mei Feng soon to see if she knows anything else. Currently, my team is searching high and low for any distortion around Tokyo. When you go back, inform this news to your leaders. We will meet up again to discuss this problem with Ms. Mei Feng." Miyuki ordered.

A while later, Hiroku excused the two and made his way back to the apartment when their talk is done. It's still a surprise knowing that a phenomenon which has never took place in the last few decades is going to happen here, in Tokyo. We must prepare for it. He thought to himself.

As he made his way inside, he saw that Takeru is already back from his business, though he looked somewhat troubled. "Oh, hello, Takeru-san. Is everything okay?"

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Akane kept her smirk as the two exited the room, and as they headed toward the front door, her attention was captured by the announcement on the television.Liu Mei Feng? What the heck is the Archmagister doing here in Japan? Judging from Hiroku's surprised expression, she figured he probably didn't know anything about it yet either, and decided not to ask. Instead she simply waved goodbye and followed her cousin out the door.

Just like every other time they went 'out on the town', Akane let Hana lead the way and choose where they went, especially since Akane didn't have many interests to begin with. She indulged herself in the conversations they didn't have around the other members of the team, showing emotion as if it were nothing abnormal. Akane also kept her eye on the Shades that surrounded them, shooting harsh glares at any who dared come too close.

"Hana, did you hear the news report of the Liu Mei Feng arriving in Japan this morning?" Akane tried to keep the question casual, but the topic of Archmagisters was rarely something to be taken lightly. "If an Archmagister's here in Japan, I bet something big's gonna happen."

With a sigh, Akane smiled down at Hana and changed the subject, making sure not to dwell on negative thoughts during their oh-so-rare time off.

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Hana allowed her mind to wonder briefly, the pair of females casually vacating the area and departing from their home as they headed out into the town. As per usual though it was left to her to lead the way around, which Hana never minded; it only made it easier to guide Akane to wherever she desired to go, without any questions asked. As if, like a child filled with wonder, she thrived in the opportunity to have some time-off, to do as she wished. It was certainly not often either of the pair got a chance to really do whatever they wanted, so they might as well make the most of it while they could.

Of course the presence of shades was ever present, a firm reminder that they were never far from trouble. However, pushing the thought to the back of her mind Hana tried to ignore them as much as she possibly could, if it were possible to do. Then after, towards her cousins question she simply replied, ”Vaguely,” rolling her head back slightly to face the other girl, ”Something big will happen, though I can’t help but think that it’ll be something bad. Why else would they visit?” She rhetorically asked, not intentionally meaning to sound doubtful; but whenever someone important visited, especially one such as an Archmagister, it was always bound to be something serious. ”Anyway, if it involves us I’m sure we’ll be told about it later, so we’ll worry about it then, huh?”

Shrugging it off, Hana thought nothing more of it and continued leading the way forward. As expected the shops were busy and bustling as normal, people crowding them and going about their business. A pleasant sight and a much welcomed one, the girl suddenly gave a gentle slap to her cousin's shoulder, before bouncing off somewhat eagerly, with a light skip in her step. ”Come on Akane,” she called a bit teasingly, ”Maybe if you can catch me and keep up, I'll treat you to something later,” with that, the girl suddenly ran ahead without care. Taking a sharp turn at a corner she hurried down the connecting street; just managing to avoid hurling into the shades that lingered, as well as the people who strolled along the pathway. However, soon after and when losing her balance, Hana quickly stumbled after a few steps and dropped to her knees with a thud; the young woman raising a hand and ensuring her hat hadn't fallen off in the process. ”Owe.”