Chapter 194 - A Lot To Think About

"Okay, this should work...what do you guys think?" I inquired, as I let out a quiet sigh. 

"Works for me, dude," Responded Mitchell affirmatively, as the others voiced their agreement too.

"Okay, good. Mitchell, go relay this to that bastard over there. Oh, and tell him not to get in our way," I instructed with a grimace. 

It was Friday, the end of the week, and we had just finished up our Academy classes for the day. Tomorrow, we'll be going on the Mission assigned to us, of which we're supposed to get the corresponding details of the assignment...any minute now. 

All we knew so far was that it was going to be an escort Mission, but absolutely nothing beyond that. I suppose that this is their way of getting us used to being assigned last-minute Missions and stuff, huh. Which I can't really argue against since it's pretty valid, we're not always going to have time to fully prepare for every situation. 

"You, uh, really don't wanna talk to him, huh?" Responded Mitchell wryly, before walking over towards him. 

Just like he did on Monday, Yugi Suzuki never once bothered to actually do his job and train us, so for the past week, I've been the one leading the teamwork training sessions for my team. And naturally, I didn't hold back, though I did ease up a little bit today, since the Mission is tomorrow. 

"Do you think he'll really agree to this formation though? He seems too narcissistic for that," Said Grey, as Mitchell began to explain the plan to Yugi. 

"Yeah, well, he's not the one in charge, I am. If he refuses to cooperate, that's on him, not us. And objectively speaking, it's the best formation I can come up with, especially considering the fact that he hasn't trained with us at all, so we can't have him in a crucial role," I stated logically. 

As always, the formation had me at the back, though with more people to take into account, I was going to have to use my Jetback to hover a few meters in the air, in order to give myself a better vantage point. 

In addition to Grey and Yugi, there's also whoever the client is to take into consideration, with that many people, I won't get many clear shots if I'm on the ground. 

We planned to have the client in the middle of the formation, with Seila and Katie wide on either side of them, at a mid-ranged position in the formation. Further up front would be Grey and Suri, with less space in between them than with Seila and Katie. 

I planned to have the vanguard focus on the front, and have Seila and Katie cover their sides, while I defend the two of them with my guns. Mitchell is the scout as usual, and will be hovering high up directly above the client. 

And as for Yugi, I was gonna have him standing right behind the client at close range, as the last line of defense if any Mutants manage to get through the formation...that, or if any Mutants pop up from underground. 

"He looks displeased, but I don't think he's arguing against it," Noticed Seila, as he clicked his tongue at Mitchell, but didn't say anything.

"He's probably been commanded to cooperate with us without putting up a fuss," Replied Katie, as Mitchell began to head back towards us. 

"Let's just hope he doesn't get in our way tomorrow. Anyway, I'm gonna go now, I'm kinda tired so I want to get as much rest as possible before tomorrow," Sighed Suri, as she stretched her arms up. 

"Yeah, that sounds good, I think I'll head home too," Agreed Grey, following suit as she walked over to pick up her water bottle. 

"We should all do the same, this is our first real Mission that isn't just a 'go outside for a couple of hours and then come back' type assignment, so we should all try to be at our best tomorrow," Remarked Seila, as she wiped her neck with a towel. 

Mitchell changed course and headed for where we'd kept our bags, following those three as they began to get ready to leave. 

"I hate this...we were supposed to go on our second date tomorrow," Said Katie, her tone blank but her eyebrows slightly furrowed, a hint of annoyance on her face. 

"Right, yeah...well, hopefully we'll finish the Mission as early as possible and then go out on Sunday," I suggested, trying to cheer her up. 

"Hm...I hope so," She responded wistfully. 

I felt a gaze on me, coming from where the others were, and as I glanced over...none of them were looking at me. Did they look away when they saw that I noticed? Or am I just imagining things? It kinda felt like someone was glaring daggers at me though. 

Eh, whatever, must have just been my imagination. Anyway, I should get ready to leave too, we're supposed to meet up at the X-Warrior Zone tomorrow at 8 AM in the morning, so I need to go to sleep a bit earlier than usual today. 

Before long, we all gathered our things and headed out, after I decided that we'll discuss the Mission in our team's instant messaging group, since we still hadn't received the information on it. 

We then left the Academy, before taking a bus to the nearest Teleportation Point and then teleporting to each of our respective Quadrants. Suri and I teleported to the North Quadrant's Residential District, before heading for the nearby bus stop and sitting down. 

Okay, so, uh...is it just my imagination, or is she being unusually quiet? This tension feels very real, so I don't think I'm imagining it, but...I can't think of a reason as to why. Still about five minutes before the next bus is scheduled to arrive, and there's no one else around in sight...I'm starting to feel really awkward. 

"Hey, uh...something wrong? You're being awfully quiet," I remarked, desperate to break the silent tension. 

"Hm...oh, I was just thinking," She responded with a frown. 

She seems kinda pissed off about something... 

"Oh, uh...what were you thinking about?" I asked her, feeling a bit nervous for some reason. 

"Nothing, really...it might just be my imagination, but it sure seems like you and Katie have gotten a whole lot closer lately," She replied as she narrowed her eyes at me. 

"Okay...and?" I responded uncertainly. 

"Be honest...is there something going on between the two of you?" She inquired suspiciously. 

Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut... 

"I mean, uh..."

"You can stop, I think that answers my question. So, then I wasn't imagining it," She sighed to herself, before going quiet and seeming to be deep in thought. 

I had no idea what to say, so...I didn't say anything. And neither did she. So, by trying to end the awkward silence...I ended up creating an even more awkward silence. This is unbearable, how much longer till the bus gets here!? 

Is it on me to address this? Should I say something? Or is it on her? We've hooked up a number of times, but not so much in the last couple of months...for a while, we were getting along better and better, but after a certain point, she started to get kinda quiet around me. 

And since then, it's been slight, but I think we've drifted apart just a little bit. We still talk pretty often in the Academy and all, but outside of classes, we're interacting less than we did about a couple of months ago. 

I didn't really notice it till just now, which kinda makes me feel bad. She's the first friend I made, after all, someone who I genuinely enjoy spending time with. Sure, hooking up with her was pretty awesome in its own right, but that's far from the main reason why I enjoy her company.

"Hey, uh...I was thinking, it's been a while since we went on a dessert run together. What do say we meet up at Delectables sometime and stuff ourselves with as much sugar as humanly possible?" I suggested, in my second attempt to try and break the awkward silence. 

She didn't respond for a moment, before meeting my gaze, her expression a lot less frowny than before, and her eyes gleaming brightly...

"Sure...that sounds good."

And just like that, I could feel the tension slowly melting away, as her mood seemed to drastically improve in the blink of an eye. 

"You, uh...almost look like you were waiting for that. If you wanted to hang out, all you had to do was ask me, you know," I grinned, as a slight smile appeared on her face. 

She quickly straightened out her expression, trying to play it cool. 

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about," She huffed in response, as the bus finally came into view in the distance. 

"Uh-huh, I'm sure you don't."

"I'll say this much though...I'm not gonna lose to Katie without putting up a fight," She declared with a look of determination.

"O-oh, I, uh...that's-...mfph," I stuttered, uncertain as to how to reply to that, before she cut me off with a kiss, wrapping her arms around me and kissing me passionately, her tongue intertwining with mine as she let out a slow, content exhale through her nose, before pulling away as her face turned red.

"It's been a few weeks since I got to do that, why'd I wait so long? Anyway, that was just a little something for you to think about...," She whispered with a seductive smirk, sending chills down my spine as I felt my face heat up...yeah, uh, that's definitely given me a lot to think about... 

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