Entering the living room, Agami takes a seat between Olya and Danzo. Sora is busy with Maria and Vito, whilst Imino is going over plans with Danzo. Gearfried walks in from the main door with a waiter in tow, pushing a trolley with lavish-looking meals. As they are placing the meals, everyone watches and plans their strategy of attack. During the first couple of days, Danzo helped him get some food from the family's battle royale-esque way of grabbing food, but yesterday was the last time. Danzo was getting visibly tired of having only the scraps.

  As everyone watched, Agami's mind was still fixated on figuring out how to deal with the Ascenders. Maybe a sword? Could be good, I guess? While his mind was elsewhere, the storm was occurring in front of him, and Agami was too lost in his own thoughts to notice. A gun…guns?...no, could hit someone, and ammo would be tricky to carry.

  Sora notices Agami's plate is empty and turns to Danzo, “Hey, I thought you were going to catch him up to our breakfast tradition?”

  Danzo puts his plate in front of him, brimming with a variety of food and desserts, “I did.” He looks over to his younger brother, who is unaware that he is going to go hungry. He quickly nudges him with his shoulder, pulling him back to reality.

  Agami suddenly looks at him, surprised, “Hm? Did something happen, Danzo?” He looks toward the table and notices he missed his chance at grabbing breakfast. He sighs and disappointingly says, “And I really wanted to try those waffles…I even had a name…”

  Feeling pity for him, Olya asks, “Out of curiosity, what was the name?”

  “Waffles with a chance of syrup.”

  “Ohhhh, that's pretty good!” Vito says in excitement as he takes a bite of the waffles.

  Agami excitedly perks his head and asks, “Oh, so can I have one, then?!”

  “When you are fast enough, yes.” Hearing Vito's words, Agami felt a slight jab at his pride, prompting him to slump back down in disappointment.

  Drinking his coffee, Gearfried asks, “So what got you so distracted this morning?”

  Agami perks himself back up and reaches for an apple as he answers, “I was busy figuring out a weapon to learn.” Upon hearing that, Imino immediately stops eating from her king's share of the breakfast and excitedly turns toward him.

  “Oh, that's a twist,” Olya says, “what are you thinking?”

  “Well, I was thinking about different weapons, and so far I have thought about swords, poles. The issue is, I don't know many other types of weapons.”

  Olya puts a finger on her chin in thought, “Interesting, what about guns?”

  “No go, I'll be too paranoid with them.”

  “Makes sense. Oh, maybe you could go with a long sword. That would be awesome.”

  An image of Agami being unable to hold the sword and instead being crushed by it flashes across his mind. Without a second thought, he bluntly says, “Hard pass.”

  Olya looks surprised and says, “What were you imagining?”

  Sora wipes off some sauce that caught on Maria’s cheek, “Slow down there. The food isn’t going to run away.” Without looking, he asks, “Why do you want to learn a weapon?”

  “I was just thinking of what I can do to help against the benefactors. So after speaking with Tenmei, I thought I could start learning a weapon in the meantime.”

  Sora turns his attention back to the table, and an unusual tone of seriousness comes from him, “I see, I see. Oh?” He quickly turns to Imino and smirks, “What are you thinking, Imino?”

  Imino suddenly turns to him and gasps in surprise. She quickly composes herself and answers, “I already have some ideas.”

  “This should be good,” Sora says with a smile. Turning to Agami, he continues, “Your mother is a genius with weapons. If she wasn't in the field herself, she would be in the armory half the time.”

  Imino's face turns red upon hearing Sora, “I-I told you to stop saying that stuff in public!”

  Sora's smile turns into a grin, as if he found something amusing, “but what's wrong with sharing the truth? I just want to share with the world how great you are.”

  She becomes more embarrassed as he continues, “Pl-please stop. You're embarrassing me.”

  Sora takes her reprehension as a sign to go further, standing up as if on a mission, “Oh, but my heart can barely hold this. Even if I profess my love a billion times, it is still not enough!”

  Agami leans over to Olya, “Are we supposed to be here for this?”

  “I don't know, but it's pretty romantic, right?” Olya responds, clearly enjoying the show.

  Looking around the table, Danzo looks unsure how to react while the twins casually eat their meal, unbothered by the situation. Turning to Gearfried, he looks as if someone had shot his pet.

  “What's with him?” He asks Danzo as he points to Gearfried.

  Danzo looks at where Agami was pointing and gives a slight chuckle as he answers, “Him? Right, he kind of had to be a witness to this during his war days. Probably remembering the second-hand embarrassment.”

  Gearfried looks away and bitterly says, “Just put me out of my misery, now.”

  After a surprisingly awkward breakfast, Agami travels with Imino, Gearfried, and Olya. Danzo and Sora were busy with their own tasks. This time, the twins were left with their father.

  Using the same car from last time, they drove out of the city again. During the ride, Imino was busy on a phone call. Although, from the sounds of it, it seems the person on the other end was doing most of the talking.

  While on the drive, Agami spoke to Olya and Gearfried about different weapon options.

  “But a gun just seems risky,” Agami argues.

  Not taking his eyes off the road, Gearfried bluntly retorts, “It is, but only if you don't have proper gun handling and discipline.”

  “I guess, but I think swords are better. They just give better control and are easier.”

  Olya interrupts, “But a lot of the guys we are going to go up against are more dangerous up close and use guns. Do you really want to risk going headfirst into that?”

  “Maybe if I can become skilled enough,” Agami responds. He remembers Danzo's skill from the previous night as he answers, “Maybe I could get to the same skill Danzo is at. He looked fine dodging those bullets earlier.”

  Gearfried gives a monotone response, “That's different. Danzo has foresight, unlike you. If you try to copy him, you will fall to the first shot.”

  “Okay, but what about speed? If I can get as fast as you guys, I can easily dodge the bullets,” Agami retorts.

  Gearfried gives a quick glance at his sister before returning his focus to the road, “No, we are… special cases. Imino has her own story, and I am just built differently.”

  Before Agami can argue further, a strange aircraft flies over them.

  Gearfried is unfazed by it and complains, “Honestly, they could be more subtle.”

  Imino puts down her phone and points toward a flat piece of land in the distance. “They will meet us around there,” Imino calmly says.

  As Gearfried makes a turn to the location, he asks her, “Please tell me Helga is still in Biar North.”

  As he slows down in front of the strange aircraft that is landing, Imino confusingly responds, “Why, I thought you guys were a couple?”

  Gearfried turns off the car engine and responds, “It was a one-time thing.” A hint of frustration in his voice.

  “That's not how Sora tells it,” she bluntly responds.

  “I'm gonna have a talk with that bastard!” He angrily vows as he steps out of the car.

  After the aircraft lands, the group slowly approaches the door behind it and waits. After a couple of seconds, the door ramp lowered, and a figure stood on top. The figure that walked down would have turned heads in most circles. What caught Agami, however, wasn’t the curves others might linger on, but the sculpted lines of her abs; she wore her strength openly, unafraid to show it.

  The three of them immediately turned to face Gearfried, who was doing his best to hide his embarrassment. As she got closer, Agami noticed her blonde hair neatly tied up. Her complexion was that of a graceful model, further emphasised by the beauty spot under her left eye.

  Standing in front of Gearfried, her graceful demeanor instantly disappears as she quickly grabs and hugs Gearfried, the latter clearly uncomfortable. “AHHH, MY SWEET GEARFRY! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!”

  She squeals.

  Imino, reading the situation, then tries to take the two back to the car, saying, “We'll wait by the car.”

  But before she can get too far, Gearfried manages to catch her shoulder and painfully says, “Don't you dare!”

  Looking up for a quick second, she notices the others, “Oh, is this your nephew Sora told me about?! I'm so glad you found him,” she says with tears, Gearfried being further crushed by her hug.

  After calming down and Gearfried regaining his composure, she introduces herself to Agami and Olya, “Hi, nice to meet you all! I am Helga Ognyova. The Slayers' exclusive armory Smith. And I welcome you to The Sonic!” It seems that was the name of the aircraft.

  Olya politely bows and excitedly greets, “It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Ognyova. I am Olya Vetrova. I have heard about all your feats and must say I am a massive fan.”

  Helga blushes upon hearing that, she smilingly responds, “Oh, you embarrass me. They weren't that great.”

  She then looks over to Agami, waiting for him to introduce himself to her. Noticing the atmosphere, he quickly greets, “I am Agami Yamamoto! I have no clue who you are, but it is a pleasure to meet you!”

  Helga's smile slightly falters as she confusedly says, “Thanks…I guess I can tell you really are their kid,” she finishes as she shoots a glance at Imino. “So I understand you are looking for some upgrades and restocking.”

  “Yes. Over the past couple of days, we have encountered some opposition. We plan to launch a full-out attack in four days, so some last-minute shopping is in order,” Gearfried answers.

  “I see… Alright then. Let’s see what we can help you with,” Helga responds as she walks into the Sonic, the rest following her.

  As they follow Helga, Gearfried quickly looks over to Agami and remembers something, “Oh, right. Agami is also looking for a weapon. I was hoping you and Imino could assist him.”

  “No problem, then. I will just put it on your tab,” she answers happily as she gives an okay sign.

  “Tab? No leeway for Ashes?” Gearfried questions as they stop in front of a door.

  “No way. It was the commander's orders. Besides, after operation Tidal, you're on the watchlist.” Upon hearing that, Gearfried has an annoyed yet solemn expression, but remains silent. Ignoring it, Helga continues, “You know, if you want, maybe I can forget some numbers if you, I don’t know, settle down with me,” she says unexpectedly with a shy smile.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Gearfried remains silent, and Imino looks at him, shocked, “Don't tell me you’re considering it.”

  Gearfried blushes and looks away, “Tch, not worth it!” I guess even he has his own weaknesses.

  Helga slumps her shoulders upon being rejected; she sighs, “Guess I’ll get him next time.” Within a couple of seconds, she regains her composure and unlocks the door behind her, revealing a room lined with various weapons and ammunition. However, the floor was littered with papers alongside bits and pieces of some fancy tech, albeit none one which was from the same thing. In the center, two people are standing around a table, analysing and breaking apart one of the weapons, unaware of their presence.

  Gearfried, Imino, and Helga casually approach the table. Upon getting closer, Gearfried says, “Greetings, Gale and Dusk.”

  The two look at him in surprise, the one in grey lowers their notepad and says, “Grey twins! What can we do for you today?” From his voice, he sounded around the same age as Agami, maybe younger.

  Helga steps and answers, “Our esteemed guests would like to restock and get a new weapon or two!”

  “Interesting,” the one in grey says. He then looks toward the person in blue by the table and says, “Dusk, get the shop ready.”

  Dusk looks up and then around the shop. After, they immediately say, “What are you talking about? We are already set up.” Their voice was feminine, leading Agami to assume Dusk was a woman. Furthermore, she sounded slightly younger than Olya and Gale.

  “Was the mobile shop always this shoddy?!” He answers in surprise.

  Helga claps and irritably says, “Enough, lollygagging, you two! Clean up your toys and get ready to take queries!” The two immediately salute and run around the room, clearing the space. After a couple of moments, the room was spotless and all the papers were neatly stacked. Helga stands by the table, between a bowing Gale and Dusk, and looks back. She then smiles and says, “Alright, let's get started!”

  Gearfried looks towards Imino and says, “You first.”

  Imino gives a slight nod while Dusk and Gale pull out their tablets. Imino answers, “I need to resupply my medication and want to do a health check on me and Void.”

  Void?

  Dusk types on her tablet, and after a few seconds, finally replies, “Alright. We will get the medication ready for you. In the meantime, please leave your weapons here and follow me for your check-up.” Imino gives a slight nod and places her sword on the table. She follows Dusk out of the room to get screened.

  “Next,” Helga announces.

  Olya steps forward and nervously replies, “I-I don’t need anything, but maybe I can view some armour options for my upper body?”

  Gale and Helga exchange a look before Helga speaks, “No problem, but on whose budget are you going to cover it?”

  Olya suddenly tenses up, surprised by the question. Before she could answer, Gearfried interrupts, “It’s fine, use my budget. Just nothing too expensive.”

  A smile suddenly appears on Helga’s face and she singingly says, “That’s my Gearfry! So sweet and selfless!” Upon hearing that, his face suddenly becomes depressed. No break for him, huh?

  Gale puts his tablet away and presses some buttons on the table behind them. In a couple of seconds, the right wall moves around to reveal various armour sets. Gale walks towards it and says, “Please feel free to browse our female selection of armours. If you have any queries, please feel free to ask me.”

  Olya makes her way to the armour sets, leaving only Gearfried and Agami. Helga announces, “Next.”

  Gearfried places his hand on Agami’s shoulder and says to him, “Your mother is excited about helping you find a weapon, so for now, wait for us to complete our requests, then we will turn our full focus on you. Understood?” Agami gives a nod, and Gearfried continues, “Alright. For now, think about what weapon you want, and we will take it from there.” He quickly glances at Helga, who is awaiting their response, “And pray for my health. If I am gone for longer than thirty minutes, send help.”

  Huh? Where did that come from?

  Agami watches Gearfried approach Helga. Gearfried takes a deep sigh in defeat and says, “I want maintenance on all of my weapons and to do a full-systems check on myself.”

  Helga’s eyes suddenly light up and she excitedly says, “HELL YEAH! TIME FOR SOME ACTION!” As she says that, Agami watches the colour leave his uncle's face. She quickly picks him up and carries him out of the room. Gale and Olya witnessed the storm that had just occurred and stood there dumbstruck for a few seconds.

  Will he-…Will he be alright?

  While waiting for everyone to finish up, Agami contemplates his weapon choice. “Hey, Tenmei.What do you think?”

  The flame suddenly appears from his arm and floats in front of him. Tenmei flickers slightly before answering, “I think Gearfried is old enough to care for himself. Besides, he could use a woman in his life.”

  Agami waves his hand before him, saying, “No, not that. I’m referring to my weapon.”

  “That. There is value in Olya and Gearfried's words. With your current experience, fighting up close would be a bad idea. It would be best to leave the fighting to the others.”

  “I know, but I don't want to be protected by them all the time. I need to be able to stand on my own.”

  “Are we back on this conversation again?” Tenmei says impatiently.

  Agami crosses his arms and says, “No, it’s nothing like that. I just want to be able to take care of myself. I shouldn’t need to rely on everyone.” Upon saying that, Tenmei chuckles. “Is something wrong with that?” Agami asks.

  “No, there is nothing wrong. It is just that you remind me of someone I used to know.” Tenmei’s laughter fades after a couple of seconds, and he continues, “So you seek a whole new path. What brought this sudden change?”

  “I remembered a bit about my past last night.” Before continuing, Agami smiles slightly, “I decided that after this, I want to travel to Ner Tolier. My family and Rosa are there.”

  “Interesting. Make sure to let the others know. Maybe after dealing with Baltro, we can make a stop there. By the way, who is Rosa?”

  Agami blushes and looks away, “From what I can tell so far, I think she’s my girlfriend.”

  “Oh, so I may have grandchildren already,” Tenmei chuckles.

  Agami sighs, “Well, from the last memory, it seems I confessed and she accepted. I don’t know what happened after.”

  As he finishes, Dusk and Imino walk back into the room. Tenmei continues, “So your memories are coming back. Seems your mental fortitude is getting stronger.”

  “I guess so.”

  Receiving her sword from Dusk, Imino walks over to Olya, trying on a new armour set for herself. From the looks of it, she is interested in getting it.

  Agami looks back at Tenmei and asks, “Will anything else come from me regaining my memories?”

  “I do not believe so. Maybe it will bring you peace within yourself?”

  “I see.” Agami turns his attention back to Imino and Olya, who are done with finding armour. Gale walks with them over to the center table, presumably to complete the payment or order. Noticing them, Olya gives a slight wave to Agami, to which he responds in kind.

  “She seems to like you,” Tenmei says aloud.

  “No, she just noticed us watching. It would be weird to ignore it,” Agami responds.

  Several moments later, the two joined Agami and Tenmei, who were waiting. Imino looks around and asks, “Did Gearfried go for a check-up?”

  “I think so? He didn't seem too excited about it,” Agami responds, remembering Helga kidnapping the poor man.

  She pauses for a moment before continuing, suddenly asking, “Have you decided on a weapon yet?”

  Agami scratches his head as he answers, “Not really. I have an idea, but no clear direction.”

  Tenmei interrupts and says, “He is seeking independence. Maybe something that will keep him away from the fight until he gets more experience, but something for close-range encounters as well.”

  Imino pauses again, mumbling to herself as she thinks. Agami looks over to Olya as she stands happily with her new armour in her bag. He gives a slight smile and says to her, “One step closer to becoming a Slayer.”

  She smiles back and says, “Yep. According to Gale, it can block incoming bullets and sharp weapons. He even threw in a helmet for free!”

  “That isn't such a bad idea,” Agami remembers the escape from The Milton Recreational Club. He vividly remembers her agility and decisiveness when handling the guards. And the power of her kicks astounded him. “By the way, when we were escaping the Ascenders last night. That fighting style was awesome.”

  “Oh, thank you. I thought I was a little sloppy, but I'm glad you liked it!”

  “It was far from sloppy. In fact, it was insanely cool. I am kind of jealous of that decisiveness and capability.”

  “Oh, uhhhh…thanks. I think you're reading a bit too much into it.” She nervously says. The conversation seems to have taken an unexpected direction for Olya, as she was surprised by his words.

  “Reel it in, Agami,” Tenmei telepathically tells Agami.

  “I don't think so. I am just voicing my wish to get there. Nothing more, nothing less. Tell me, how did you get so good with your legs and-”

  Before he can finish, Olya suddenly blushes, and Imino slaps the back of his head. “Don't say that to a woman, dumbass!”

  Rubbing the spot where he was hit, he retorts, “What was that for! I just wanted to know how she got good with her leg armaments and Soul Power!”

  Upon hearing that, Imino says, “Oh. My bad.” She looks at Olya and says, “Are you alright?” Olya gives an embarrassed nod. Imino turns back to Agami and scoldingly tells him, “Watch your words next time.” After which, Agami gives a confused expression.

  A few moments later, Imino takes a deep breath and speaks, “Alright, before your advances, I came up with some ideas for a weapon.” Noticing her son’s intense focus on her words, she can’t help but feel embarrassed. After a moment to regain herself, she continues, “I was thinking maybe a rifle for far-range and a blade for close encounters.”

  Agami can’t hide his confusion toward her answer, saying, “A rifle and a blade…why?”

  “Because you have more options and they are the quickest to teach,” she answers as if it were common knowledge, “But we will have to wait for Helga to see if she can help.”

  Hearing her name, Agami looks at the clock on the wall and sees that thirty minutes have passed. He interrupts the conversation and says, “Oh, Gearfried said that we should send help after thirty minutes.”

  “What about it?” Imino asks.

  Agami squints his eyes and says, “It’s been around, thirty-two.” Upon immediately hearing that, Dusk and Gale give each other a scared look and run out of the armoury in the direction Helga took Gearfried.

  Several minutes later, Gale and Dusk return with a disgruntled Helga and exhausted Gearfried. He approaches Agami and places his hand on his shoulder. Although it was covered with a glove, Agami could feel the heavy armour underneath it. With a grateful look on his face, he says, “Thank you.”

  Helga returns to the main table, getting a stern scolding from her co-workers. After a couple of moments, Imino approaches her and says, “There is one more thing we need. I’m looking for a rifle and a blade for Agami. Think you can help?”

  Helga nods her head and thinks for a moment, repeating the words, “Rifle and blades, rifle and blades…” Suddenly, she smiles and snaps her fingers, shouting, “Oh, yes! I have just the thing!” She quickly takes one of the tablets and types excitedly on it. After various boops and beeps from the device, the left side of the room suddenly shifted, and after different shelves were cycled through, it stopped with a display containing weird equipment and weapons.

  From what he could make out, Agami saw a damaged giant sword with a hollow center, as if it were meant to hold other swords, a glove with a singular spike, a half-made gun, and other oddities. Helga suddenly takes a rifle off the rack that was attached to a sword and places it in front of them.

  She gives a proud smile as she proudly announces, “Behold, The Sharpshooter!” The four of them lean over to take a look. Imino tries to reach for it with her right hand, but is stopped by Helga, “Careful there! The under part of it is extremely sharp.”

  “This looks pretty cool, right, O-.” As Agami says that, he stops as he looks to his left and notices Olya admiring the craftsmanship as well, but she is standing on the opposite end of the table. Probably not over the earlier misunderstanding.

  Gearfried looks at the weapon and then to Helga, confusedly asking, “What is this?”

  She smiles and answers, “It’s a personal invention of mine, it combines the utility and simplicity of the sword with the insane power of a sniper rifle!” She then scratches the back of her head and embarrassingly says, “I thought it would be popular, but there were lots of complaints about it. The main one is that it often injures people due to the blade. Another issue is that even if I were successful, it’s hard to get the materials.” She nervously chuckles.

  Gearfried sighs and says, “Honestly, sometimes I wonder what goes on in your head.”

  Heeding her advice, Imino picks up the weapon with her left hand. She steps back and gives it a couple of swings. The rest watch quietly. After doing various swings, she says, “Good balance. A bit heavy but manageable for short durations. Good reach as well. “ She turns to Helga and asks, “The rifle?”

  Helga smiles and says, “Oh, you swap by unlocking and sliding the hilt.”

  Imino looks at the hilt of the weapon and finds a small switch. Flicking it, the hilt is no longer fixed, and she slides it up, the blade moving with it. Eventually, it clicks into place, and a slot for the magazine is visible. “I see,” she says to herself. She aims with the gun, holding the barrel with her left hand while her right hand is on the trigger. “Helga, tell me. Was the main issue with the rifle part the stabilization?”

  “Yes, why?” Helga responds confusedly.

  “The main issue is if you use it on the field as a rifle, a shot would effectively cut your fingers off. In addition, without proper protection, you are forced to commit to using it either as a sword or a rifle. If you were to be in a hostile situation using it, you could easily misplace your hand and injure yourself. Highly impractical,” She says to Helga.

  As Imino continued to critique the weapon, Agami couldn’t help but notice Imino’s change in attitude. Usually, she is quiet, reserved, and awkward when speaking. But here, she was calm, assertive, and blunt, showing her experience and wealth of knowledge with her actions. She didn’t falter once when she critiqued the weapons, and, although subtle, she is doing her best to help him. Agami couldn’t help but see her in a new light. Maybe I should make the effort to get to know his mother.

  Imino concludes after a couple more tests, “This will do fine. Helga, we'll be taking this.”

  Helga looks at her, surprised, and says, “Oh, you're going to take it? Well, alright then.” After discussing the price, she puts it on Imino’s tab. After paying for it, Imino hands it to Agami, nearly falling back due to its weight. How strong is she if she considered this ‘a bit’ heavy?!

  After that, they didn’t spend too long on the aircraft. As they leave with their new gear, Helga gives Gearfried a flirtatious wave, while he himself shudders upon seeing it.

  The four watch from a safe distance as The Sonic floats and flies off. Once it has left, Gearfried heads to the back of the car to get something, followed by Imino.

  Agami looks toward Gearfried. “So what now?”

  Olya walks past him toward Imino and Gearfried, saying, “We start with today’s training and practice.”

  Agami watches as Olya makes her way to them. Looking at his new weapon and back at them, he says, “Right, I nearly forgot."