Kyouka POV
Staring blankly at the screen, the rest of us and I remained quiet, allowing the Supreme Commander and Yakumo to carry most of the discussion. It was not as though we had nothing to say, but with the gravity of the situation, it felt more appropriate to listen than to interrupt.
The mention of the Kamen Rider, coupled with this newly emerging threat, cast a subtle tension over the meeting. When the Commander addressed Yakumo directly, the implication was clear. From this point forward, every unit would be expected to operate under heightened alert.
If we wanted to avoid a repeat of what happened to Bell's squad, then this level of vigilance was the bare minimum. There was no room for compromise and no space for hesitation. That much did not need to be said twice.
As the conversation continued, my thoughts drifted on their own, piecing together information of what little we knew.
It might have been nothing more than speculation, but the idea refused to leave me. If these so called Thunder Gods truly had the ability to command the Shuuki at will, then it was not unreasonable to assume they understood more about Mato than we did, perhaps even its origin.
Whether they were simply connected to it or directly responsible for its existence, either possibility carried implications.
"Oh, right. You guys."
Yakumo's voice cut cleanly through my thoughts, as though she had just remembered something important.
"I managed to catch a glimpse of the Kamen Rider's physical features beneath the suit."
At that, I felt a faint twitch in my ear. It was subtle, barely noticeable, but enough to betray a flicker of interest. I was not the only one. Even without looking, I could tell Tenka had reacted as well, if only slightly.
"Hold on a minute. I forgot where I saved the file of that sketch," Yakumo muttered, her attention shifting to her screen as she searched through her files.
For a brief moment, the meeting fell into a quiet lull, broken only by the faint sounds of typing and the occasional click.
Then her expression lit up.
"Jackpot."
Without delay, she pulled up the file and presented it to all of us, the image appearing across our screens at the same time.
A perfectly realistic drawing of a black haired man appeared on the screen, clad entirely in black from head to toe. His coat draped neatly over his frame, matched seamlessly with his shirt, pants, and even his boots, leaving no break in the color.
A mask concealed his face, adding to the already deliberate obscurity of his appearance. He stood with his hands tucked casually into his pockets, giving off an air that felt both composed and distant.
Rather than blending into the background, his presence stood out in a way that felt almost intentional, like someone cosplaying an edgy main character straight out of a manga or light novel.
"His fashion sense sure is something," Mira remarked, her lips curling into a wry smile as her eyebrows twitched in mild amusement.
"Ara ara, he does look quite young," Fubuki said with an elegant giggle, lightly covering her mouth. Despite her gentle tone, her eyes remained sharp as they studied the image. "Even with the mask, I can tell he is not even in his thirties."
"Yeah, younger than I expected," Riu-san added, letting out a relaxed, carefree laugh.
How in the world did those two come to that conclusion? His face was not even visible.
Mother's instinct or something along those lines, I guess.
To be fair, having heard him myself, his voice did sound like someone around my age.
"One step closer, and another clue," Ren chuckled, narrowing her eyes at the picture. "Ahh, too bad it will take some time before I return to Mato. Otherwise, I would have poached this guy myself."
A faint shiver ran down my spine as I glanced at the Commander's smiling face.
It was that look.
The one she wore whenever something caught her interest.
At this point, it was already too late. She was far too invested. I could not even begin to predict what would happen if those two ever met.
"And that concludes Yakumo-chan's report." Yakumo gave a crisp salute before winking playfully, even going as far as to blow a flying kiss toward the screen.
"Yeah, thanks for that," Ren replied in an appreciative tone.
Following that, she moved on to the remaining matters.
"You all heard it," Ren began, her tone steady. "There are threats hiding in plain sight, and they have been there this entire time."
We all nodded in unison, the weight of her words settling in without the need for further explanation.
"And you already know what to do, so I will leave it in your hands." A confident, almost cocky smile formed on her lips. "Gods or not, we are the Defense Force. It is our job to eradicate this pest."
Mira let out a small snort.
"You do not have to tell me," she said, cracking her knuckles with a sharp sound. "I will make them pay for what they did to our comrades."
"I second that," I added, lifting my hand and dragging my thumb across my neck in a casual, decisive gesture, a confident smile forming on my face. "There is no way I am letting them run around and do whatever they want."
I would crush them.
With my goal of eliminating every Shuuki and one day standing as the next Supreme Commander, these so-called gods were nothing more than obstacles in my path.
"Perfect timing for my return. We will hold another assembly within the same week, so make sure you remember that," Ren said, snapping her fingers lightly. "It would be better for us to meet in person to properly discuss our next course of action."
"I concur with the Supreme Commander," Fubuki added with a composed nod.
"Yeah, this online meeting just does not feel the same as our usual face-to-face," Mira chuckled, glancing at me with a mischievous look. "What other way can I make fun of that?"
"You got something to say?" I returned her smile, though my eyes told a different story.
"Yeah, but I will not. You would probably cry yourself to sleep," Mira shot back, laughing.
"Alright, that is enough, you two," Riu-san sighed, looking at us like we were a pair of children.
Ren let out a careless, amused chuckle.
"Well then, I will conclude our incident report," she said smoothly. "Yamashiro Ren, signing off."
As soon as she left the meeting, the others followed one by one.
"First Unit, signing off," Riu-san said.
"Second Unit, signing off," Mira added.
"Fifth Unit, signing off. Yey, yey," Yakumo chimed in with her usual cheerfulness.
"Sixth Unit, signing off," Tenka said with a small smile.
"Seventh Unit, signing off," I followed.
"Eighth Unit, also signing off," Varvara said, casually brushing her hair back.
"Ninth Unit, signing off," Azuma Fubuki concluded, her voice calm and composed.
With that, the meeting ended.
Leaning back in my chair, I stretched my body, letting out a quiet breath as the tension from earlier slowly eased.
"Time to sleep," I muttered, a yawn slipping out as I stood up.
I made my way to the bed and dropped onto it without much thought. It did not take long before my body gave in to exhaustion. Even with the incident being laid out so suddenly in front of us, rest was still something I needed just as much as training.
Within moments, I drifted off into sleep.
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Tenka POV
Closing my laptop, I leaned back for a moment, letting the darkness of my room wrap around me. I shut my eyes, letting the quiet settle, but my mind refused to follow suit.
That humanoid Shuuki during the meeting had caught me off guard, no doubt about it. Relief and worry tangled together as I thought about the soldiers who had survived. And with the sudden appearance of the Thunder Gods, I knew I would have to remain on high alert from now on.
But none of that held my attention like the sketch of the Kamen Rider's features when he was out of his suit. I had stayed mostly silent during the discussion, letting others talk, but inside my head, noise was in motion.
My brain churned like a machine, trying to digest every detail, trying to reconstruct the face behind that mask. My eyes weren't even on the right thing—they were wandering and distracted
And then my heart skipped a beat.
It was subtle at first, a faint jolt, something that had only ever happened slightly before when it came to the Kamen Rider but now it felt sharper, stronger, harder to ignore. It was as if the sketch had unlocked something that had been quietly simmering inside me, something that was only growing.
"It's too bad I don't see him here in my jurisdiction," I muttered to myself.
Kyou-chin had already met him multiple times, and now Yakumo had seen him in person as well.
I couldn't deny the pang of envy.
As I let my thoughts wander, a small, private smile spread across my face. "I swear, we will meet soon enough," I whispered.
Stepping out of my room, I moved to the bathroom and turned on the shower, letting the warm water hit my face. The steam curled around me, masking the flush rising in my skin. I stared at my reflection, my thoughts consumed by him.
"Maybe… just a little," I murmured, letting my hands linger a moment longer than necessary. The tension inside me had reached its peak, a tight coil of desire and frustration that begged for release. It wasn't something I did often, but when I did, it quieted the frustration inside, letting my mind drift into private, forbidden places.
Beneath the water, I let myself indulge, lost in the heat of my own thoughts, imagining him and the moment I might finally be able to close the distance. By the time I stepped out, a sense of calm had washed over me, leaving me both flushed and strangely satisfied.