Shadow Angel: Volume 1

Hangout

The next day, Cody contacted Gus' number to tell him that he couldn't accept his apprenticeship offer. As bummed as Gus was, he understood and told him he hoped that Cody and Tilly would be great friends. After the phone call, he went on with his day and the days after that and even reminded himself every morning to take his pills. As time passed, Cody would spend his time studying and training to the point where he got good enough grades. He would even help Milo or his classmates whenever they struggled with a topic in Mr. Kim's class. Because of his reliability, Cody became popular among his classmates, even though the attention continued to make him uncomfortable.

Cody would also spend his free time with Milo, whether watching a movie or jogging with Evan. But if Milo wasn't available, he would hang out with Squad Nanami. By hanging out with his squad members, Cody discovered more about them. He learned that Lynn's father, who she hadn't seen in years after being scouted by DEA, owned a bakery and she had memorized his chocolate chip cookie recipe. He discovered this when he helped her bake a batch of cookies for Tilly when they were going to see her.

"Lynn, do you miss your dad?" Cody asked as the brunette looked up from her mixing bowl.

"I do think about him a lot, yes," Lynn replied. "During my early days of training, there were moments when I felt homesick."

"Homesick?" Cody raised an eyebrow, unsure of what she meant.

"I wanted to go home," she explained. "A part of me desired to be back in my dad's arms, but I was constantly told that my place was within DEA's custody."

"You must have been sad to hear that." He furrowed his eyebrows as he felt sorry for her.

"I was." Lynn looked back down at her mixing bowl with a face of sorrow.

After a brief pause, Cody asked, "I'm sorry for changing the subject, but what's your ability?"

"Huh?" Lynn looked back at the dark-haired boy before she grinned again and answered, "Oh, my ability allows me to see the near future. That was how I knew Hawk Tower was going to collapse that day.

"I see." Cody nodded, for he understood. "But I didn't see you fighting one of those Worm Eldritch with Pearl and Tilly. What was that about?" he asked.

"Uh, how do I explain this?" she muttered to herself before replying, "My power doesn't give me any combat abilities, so I'm required to keep my distance from battle so I could fight from afar instead. For that, I was trained to be a sniper."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Lynn nodded. But then, she pepped up and said, "Anyway, let's get back to work! We got cookies to make for Tilly!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Cody did a salute.

Speaking of Tilly, when Cody visited her at the hospital again, he found out that she loves collecting stuffed animals, which explains why she got excited when her father gave her that stuffed bunny. He even learned what her ability was, which was to jump at extraordinary heights. Tilly also told Cody that she was in an amateur all-female rock band called Bubblegum Devil, in which she is the lead singer. When she wasn't training and had too much free time, she would go to band practice and hang out with her fellow band members. Cody was even shown a video of Tilly practicing with her band in what appeared to be the interior of a shed. As he watched, he smiled and nodded, impressed and in awe at what he saw.

"Hey, Cody," Tilly said as soon as the video ended. "Can I tell you something?"

"What is it?" Cody asked, tilting his head.

"When the war between humans and Eldritch finally ends, I want to become a rock star."

"Oh?"

Tilly chuckled, "Yeah, you heard right! Being a Slayer is cool and all, but I want to pursue a music career in the future. When the battle ends and DEA is no longer needed, I will get Pink Devil out there! My band will perform at many music fests, gain plenty of fans, and if we get popular enough, we will get our first concert! Pink Devil will be as big as every superstar in the world!"