Souta rested his hands behind his neck. "Yeah, why?"

"Hello?! The strongest and most influential capital of the three remaining grand kingdoms?" Kaito exclaimed as he slammed his hands on the table, leaning closer in excitement. 

"There he goes again." Elena rolled her eyes, scoffing. 

Kaito rested his hand on his hip, squinting at his sister. "Hey now, you're just as much of a nerd." 

The two lightly chuckled, agreeing with one another in their tone.

"I don't think it's all that amazing." Souta stretched his hands across the table, taking an annoyed sigh.

Turning their attention to him momentarily, the siblings glared at him with narrow, disappointed eyes.

"Say what you want, but it's more than just the coolest place on earth." Resting a hand on the other like an instructor, Kaito commented. "It's a chance to learn more about my parents, one I might not get again."

Elena turned to him at the mention of their parents, lowering her hands by her waist.

"What about our parents?" She asked, finishing her cheeseburger with delight as if she hadn’t had one in a while.

In response, he massaged his forehead with his finger, searching through his thoughts.

"If I remember correctly, Mom and Dad were allies with their rulers.” His eyes shut for more focus. “Also, I think one of them was their friend.”

"Auntie Naomi?" Elena tilted her head, half uncertain.

Kaito’s eyes widened in relief, waving his finger up and down. "Yes, her!" 

Listening in to the conversation deeply, Aki couldn’t keep shut anymore and stood up.

"Wait, Kaito, how do you know so much?" He blurted out, sweating nervously. 

Elena groaned as she glanced at the ceiling, annoyingly tired from being interrupted.

Kaito reached for his pocket and took out a photo. "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you." 

Handing it over to him, he took the last bite of his chicken sandwich in his other hand.

“Where did you find it?” Aki asked, glancing between the four people in the photo. 

Next to Ava was a joyful woman with her hand over her shoulder, her blond hair dancing with the retro beat. However, on the other side, next to Kazai, was a gloomy man with barely a smile; each time he glanced between them sent another shiver down Aki’s spine.

 “I came across it in the attic yesterday, and I’ve held onto it since,” Kaito added before slowly turning around to the door.

Aki took some deep breaths behind the photo of them in front of a castle, twitching every time the man’s eyes stared at him.

“Whoa, it’s Mom and Dad!” Elena scurried to Aki’s side, pointing at Ava and Kazai in the middle. “But I don’t see Auntie Naomi anywhere.” 

He recovered just in time, avoiding Elena and Souta’s glances.

“Yeah, but it’s still Lunar Province. That’s why I’ve always wanted to go there.” Kaito redirected his attention back to his squad, scratching his head. 

“It wouldn’t be your first time,” Aki whispered under his breath, noticing that Kaito turned to the door again, hearing a faint sound himself, too.

“Did you say something?” Kaito asked, cautiously walking over to the door as Souta and Elena paused in place, catching a glimpse of a headlight. 

The engine’s whispers turn into grumbles, bringing Kaito and Elena a little closer.

Elena tried to take a peek but retreated when the engine went silent. "No way, could it be?!" 

Aki quickly glanced between them, pressing his finger against the photo. The image vanished before his pressured aura, disappearing off the white sheet of paper.

"Wait, is that what I think it is?" Souta got up from his chair towards the others.

Aki covered where the picture used to be, slipping the photo back into Kaito’s pocket. He followed it with a pat on his shoulder, redirecting his attention away from the photo.

"Okay, listen up, everyone. Be on your best behavior, and I know this all too sudden, but opportunity has finally shone its light on us." He spoke without consideration for sense, glad they arrived.

Just as the motor’s sound came to an end with a faint shut of a door, a spiral of currents came from above.

“But aren’t we only returning the loot?” Kaito momentarily placed his hand over his pocket, smiling in relief when he felt the photo’s slim edge. 

Aki turned to him and shrugged as Elena and Souta peeked from the window, looking above.

"The real question is, why a convoy and a helicopter?" She commented, turning back at them.

"Good point." Aki put his hand under his chin, tilting his head. 

Knock! An impatient bundle of knocks came from their door, scattering the squad around the space, yet a bit symmetrical. 

"Okay, manners, everyone," Aki exclaimed, swallowing his nerves.

Almost hitting the wall with the door, a lady opened the door harshly, entering the house as if she owned it.

"Recently registered team on the paradigm network, I see." The lady looked at her large tablet before taking a glance at each of them. "Basically, baby birds, how interesting."

Another lady came in, politely placing her hands behind her back, standing beside her. 

"Hello, squad 178. I'm Akira, and this is my lovely wife, Amari.” Akira smiled, placing her hand around her shoulders. 

Amari looked the other way in embarrassment, avoiding eye contact. "What did I say about involving our personal life with work?" 

"Our personal life is work, dear." She giggled, shaking her head in disagreement. 

 She brushed off her hand, exiting the house. "Never mind, I'll just go load the capsules." 

Behind them were a few masked soldiers, hidden under black tactical wear that contrasted against their silver hair. In fact, all of them had the same shade, only varying in style and length.

"Be careful, dear, they might be heavy." She turned towards her momentarily, waving happily. 

The soldiers continued with their tasks in such an organized manner, swiftly taking large cylinder capsules out of the cases and into the helicopter’s back. 

She raised her hand dismissively, approaching the helicopter’s pilot. "You have until I finish loading to wrap it up." 

The faint glow, a shade similar to the moon with a hint of blue, that emitted from the capsules caught Kaito’s attention. 

"So, squad 178, before I register you all for the mission. I'll ask that the squad reconfirm their leader, and by the looks of it," She cleared her throat and reached for her tablet, hooked with a handle on her shoulder. "Your guardian, too." 

She glanced at Aki before returning to her hefty tablet, scrolling through their profiles.

"What mission? I thought you only came to retrieve the containers." Aki asked, frightened by such a request.

Kaito and Elena’s eyes lit up with joy as Souta stepped back in shock.

"We thought it'd be most effective if we were able to hit two birds with one stone, so we ask that you come with us." She pushed her dark green hair away, pressing a few more buttons on her tablet. "We can do all the paperwork once we get on our way."

"Absolutely!" Kaito shouted in joy, raising his hands in celebration.

"Okay, hold on a second, we can't take a kingdom's request as our first official mission. For goodness' sake, we still struggle against plain old humans." Aki waved his hands in rejection, stepping back.

"Oh, cmon, Aki, we might never get a chance like this again," Elena exclaimed, resting her hand on Kaito’s shoulder.

"You said so yourself that opportunities would shine on us." He commented, smirking proudly.

Aki shook his head in disagreement, smiling nervously. "I didn't mean something so bright, we’ll go blind."

"He's right, Akira," Amari returned, crossing her arms. "This squad is only E rank and has no official records." 

Akira leaned in closer to her, showing her Kaito and Elena’s paradigm profiles. 

"Look, not only do they have two Kijomi on their squad, but I'll bet if they had records or statistics, they'd already be at least B rank." She whispered to Amari’s ear, making sure none of the squad heard her. 

Amari glanced at the profiles, noticing that Kaito and Elena were related to Kazai Kijomi, despite their different appearances. 

"But that's hypothetical, not factual. I mean, they don’t even look related." She sighed, looking into her passionate eyes.

"Look, I'm ninety-nine percent sure he's the one. Additionally, his husk is unusually vibrant, almost as much as Luna’s." She shrugged against her shoulders, winking flirtatiously. 

"I'm sorry, but I think we'll stay here. We humbly apologize for any inconvenience." Aki interrupted, gently waving his hand. 

"We're in!" Kaito blurted, scurrying towards the couple in excitement, with Elena right behind. 

Souta followed not too far behind, making his way past Aki and beside them.

Aki looked at them with worry, reaching his hand out. "Wait, guys." 

The siblings waved their hands at him to come over, slowly following Amari outside.

"Five against one, sir.” Akira turned her hands outward, hoping to convince him. “So please reconsider and come with us." 

She bowed slightly before turning around and guiding the three past the door.