As another day passed, Nagisa was seen in a guest room inside the Sixth Unit's dorm. In all honesty, the room itself wasn't bad at all. The bed was comfortable, there were video games inside. He could really relax here when the day was over.
"I actually managed to defeat Shuuki the other day......."
As Nagisa thought back on the day Sahara and himself defeated the creatures that attacked them, he could be help but feel a little bit of pride in himself. A man with zero powers managed to defeat those monstrosities with nothing but his hard work and a sword.
"I'll definitely reunite with Yuuki and find out the truth behind Mato and the Shu-"
"Hey Janitor, get the hell up."
Nagisa jumped in shock as Yachiho suddenly barged into the room. Seeing her, Nagisa let an exasperated sigh escape from his lips as he didn't want to deal with her. Truth be told, out of everyone he's met in the Sixth Unit so far, Yachiho was the most difficult one for him to get along with.
"What do you want, Azuma-san?"
"We're going out together on patrol."
".....................no."
"Just shut up, please."
~10 minutes later~
"Can you believe the nerve of him?! I'm from the Azuma family!!! Doesn't he know how important we are?!"
"Ummm.....Yachiho.....how would he know since men have no reason to learn about your family since they can't join the corps?"
After Nagisa rejected Yachiho's approach, the Azuma was currently sitting in a break room as she was drinking tea and talking to Sahara about the incident. However, Sahara was barely listening as she was still sleepy.
"Yachiho, don't you think you're being a little to rough on Nagi-chan?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you haven't even called him by his name. Plus not everyone will get use to how you act when they only met you just recently."
As Sahara said this, she began to lie her head down on the table. Meanwhile, Yachiho merely finished her tea as she walked outside of the room. However, as she did, she didn't notice the sight of her chief around the corner as the young woman looked a bit concerned.
"I had a feeling this would happen. It doesn't help that Tomioka-san is a bit socially awkward. Guess I need to give them a little bit of a push so they can at least talk to each other. Welp, it's times like these when a Chief needs to do her job."
~Nighttime~
"You want us to do what, Chief?!"
Yachiho screamed in shock after hearing what her chief just suggested. As for Nagisa, he simply sat at the table with a blank expression on his face. While doing so, he was seen patting Sahara's head as the girl was sleeping peacefully.
"I want you and Tomioka-san to patrol the area tonight to see if there are any active Shuuki out. After the patrol, you two will report back here. Are you okay with this, Tomioka-san?"
As Tenka turned around to see how Nagisa would react, he was simply eating a creme puff as he gave her a light nod. Meanwhile, Yachiho looked at Nagisa with an irritated look on her face before a sigh escaped from her lips. The young lady simply nods her head as she began to walk out the base.
"Hurry up, Janitor!!!!!"
".......I really don't like her."
As Nagisa got up to follow Yachiho, Tenka sat down at the table with Sahara. As the chief looked at two of her companions walk off, she felt someone poking at her. When she turned to look at Sahara, Tenka merely smiled at the young woman.
"What is it, Sahara?"
"Did you put Yachiho with Nagi-chan together on purpose?"
"Well, there's obviously tension when the two of them interact. Hopefully providing them with an outlet will help ease the tension a little bit."
~With Nagisa~
As he grabbed his sword and walked out the base, Nagisa did a quick stretch as he was waiting for Yachiho. While he did this, he began to think on what Yuuki might be doing right now since he was positive his friend was still in Mato as well. Though his thoughts were interrupted the moment Yachiho arrived and walked by him.
"Oi, Janitor, hurry up."
".........."
"At least speak up when I talk to you!"
"Either I speak or I shut up, make up your mind."
As Nagisa said this, he looked forward and saw what looked to be two large Shuuki. Seeing this, Nagisa put his right hand on the hilt of his sword. Just as he was about to draw his sword, he noticed that the two Shuuki were already dead on the ground as they each had a bullet hole in their head.
"What just happen?! They were towering over us just a second ago and now they're dead on the ground."
"Impressed yet, Janitor.....this is my magnificent ability, Golden Hour."
While Yachiho said this, Nagisa noticed two things about the young woman. The slight pause in her sentence along with a small amount of sweat on her face and the fact she was doing a strange pose that reminded him of an anime.
"That's cool, I guess. Well then, since you took care of the Shuuki, I guess we can g-"
Nagisa didn't finish his sentence as a sharp pain registered in his body. Suddenly blood began to escape his mouth as he felt nothing but extreme pain. When the boy looked down, he saw spikes were emerging from where he stood. The spikes went through his neck, spinal cord, and his solar plexus. Yachiho's eyes widen with horror as she saw this, and quickly posed as she activated her ability.
"Golden Hour:5-Second Time Rewind!!!!"
~5 Seconds ago~
"That's cool, I guess. Well then, since you took care of the-"
"Jump out of the way, Tomioka!!!"
Upon hearing Yachiho scream, Nagisa suddenly jumped backwards as he narrowly escaped being impaled by several spikes. When Nagisa looked forward, he saw a Shuuki emerging from the ground that had several spikes protruding from its back. Seeing this, Nagisa quickly unsheathed his sword.
"How do you want to do this, Azu-......"
The moment Nagisa looked towards Yachiho, he noticed that the young woman was sweating as she was out of breath. That's when he began to think about everything that happened. The name of her ability, the way she was one step ahead of the Shuuki, and the way the Shuuki from earlier died. Soon a sigh escaped from his lips as he was slowly starting to realize something.
"Golden Hour. I guess that ability allows you to control time. You must have used it a lot to be this exhausted. Geez, guess I owe you one. You just stand there, i'll handle this Shuuki."
"What are you crazy? There's no way you can handle this thing on your own. Just head back to base and report to the Chie-"
Before Yachiho could finish her sentence, the Shuuki that emerged from the ground suddenly launched several of its spikes towards herself and Nagisa. Seeing this, Nagisa took a deep breath as he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. Honestly, he would've preferred to keep this move a secret, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form:Dead Calm."
Yachiho couldn't believe what she was witnessing. In her eyes, it didn't even look like Nagisa was moving an inch. Yet everytime spikes were heading towards the boy and herself, they were suddenly reduced to small pieces before they could even touch them. As Nagisa looked at the Shuuki, he had one thing to say.
"Think you can keep up with me for a little while, Azuma?"
"Heh. Don't go underestimating me, Tomioka!!!!"