Is he really up?

Ava stormed toward the Lieutenant colonel's office, walking past the numerous military personnel. The organization was quite huge, probably one of the biggest in all of Central Cathedral, and it always ranked the 5th strongest base in all of Japan.

While she was walking, Ava spotted her old friend and also a member of her squad Mira, standing at the entrance of an office door with a look of relief on her face.

"Mira?" Ava called out, stopping in front of the door, "What's the matter?" She asked.

"Oh, Special Lieutenant Ava, what are you doing here?" Mira raised her question, resting her back before subconsciously giving out another sigh.

"I thought you were supposed to be at District 5, helping the new private in the institute," Ava uttered.

"I was, but, The 2nd Lieutenant told me to come back, something about the blockage east of District 7 falling to the Xynoins."

Ava went silent for a while, "How come I wasn't informed about this… you are in my squad".

"Well… about that." Mira muttered nervously, "The higher-ups don't exactly like communicating with you directly".

"Don't like, what do you mean by that?" Ava asked curiously, her face slightly tilted to the side as she tried to understand what Mira meant.

"In other words, they hate your guts and would rather tell me so I can give the message to you myself." Mira explained, giving another sigh again, "Speaking to them is very scary though".

Ava smiled warmly, "It's my fault, but don't worry, You'll be fine." She said, placing her hand on Mira's head, "We'll discuss it when I get back".

Ava removed her hand from Mira's head and began walking away, continuing her approach toward the Lieutenant colonel's office.

Mira gave out yet another sigh again as she watched Ava walk away, "Maybe, seeing Yuichi will cheer me up".

And so, she went to check up on Yuichi, meanwhile, Ava was preparing to meet up with the Lieutenant Colonel.

Arriving at the doorstep, Ava knocked on the door and was immediately replied with a manly response, "Yes, do come in." The voice responded from the other side of the door.

Ava opened the door and walked in, immediately spotting three soldiers inside the room, two females and one male, standing behind the Lieutenant Colonel, each holding a weapon with them.

And from the badges they all had on them, Ava could guess that they were all Lieutenants.

"Ahh, Special Lieutenant Ava, glad to see you are looking undead, getting more Xynoins by the sword?" Shinra Takanase, the Lieutenant Colonel, spoke out as he stared at Ava.

Then Ava replied, "And I see you still haven't left that huge ego of yours, and yet always gets me to do your dirty works".

"Hey, watch your mind and show some respect!" One of the female Lieutenants In the room shouted, reaching for her sword.

Shinra snapped his finger, "Let it Go, Terra, you wouldn't stand a chance and you know it." He asserted.

"Lieutenant Shinra." Terra called with a disappointed look on her face.

Shinra smiled before he continued, "How is that boyfriend of yours doing?" He asked.

Glaring in response to what Shinra asked, Ava spoke out, "I know that's not why you called me here… Get to the point already".

"Smart girl".

Shinra stood up from his chair and walked to the front before sitting on his table, "I need you and your squad to take care of some rescue mission at District 7".

"Apparently, the intelligence department fall into a bit of a pinch, somewhere around the Eastern border… they've been sending distress signals ever since this morning, so I want you and your squad to follow Lieutenant Terra and rescue the princesses".

Ava stood still and didn't utter anything until Shinra finished explaining the mission. Once she understood, she asked, "When is the mission progressing?".

"Tomorrow,." Shinra responded, "We should have gone today, but a little mistake showed up and we had to reschedule our plans." He explained to Ava.

"I'll be ready then… if there's nothing more, I'll be on my way then." Ava walked out of the room.

As soon as she left, Jenifer, the 2nd lieutenant for the special unit groaned in anger, "I really hate that girl!" She vented, "She has a lower rank but still acts like she's the boss around here".

"That's because she is, Jenifer." Shinra uttered, walking to the side of the room to pick the wine in the drawer.

He brought it out and returned to his chair, once he was seated, he opened the wine and continued, "She is a Special Lieutenant for a reason, the only 1st grade in all of Japan… she's not your typical meta….nah she's way different, and that's what I like about her… she's mysterious".

Ava headed back to the lab, but as she moved she noticed that soldiers and workers were all running in the direction she was heading to.

"Quick, it's an emergency!"

"Get ready to open fire!"

"What's going on?" Ava asked, dragging one of the male workers back with his suit collar, "What's all the commotion about?".

The worker replied, breathing heavily since he had been running for a while, "T-The meta …. In Office 344, has woken up… and there's a distress signal coming from the room".

"Room 334?" Ava questioned, but it didn't take long for her eyes to widen in shock when she noticed that it was Himiko's lab and also where Yuichi was.

Ava pulled the worker back and began running toward the lab at full speed, 'Please… please let it be true.' She whispered to herself as she sprinted.

When she arrived at the hall, she could see a large number of people gathered in front of the office and they didn't look like they were going inside any time soon.

So Ava pushed her way in, shoving the people behind her one by one as she walked, until she was somehow able to arrive inside the room.

"Himiko, what happened?!" Ava called out as soon as she was in, but that was immediately subtle when she looked in front of her.

She saw Himiko, kneeling in the center of the lab room, with Yuichi resting his head on her chest while Himiko hugged him.