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Ever since he had "recovered" from his illness, Harumasa had so many questions he couldn't voice. He didn't know how to feel when he learned that his master had made a cure for him. Sure it had been incomplete, but his master had been working on a special cure specifically tailored to him. Perhaps if his master had not become an ethereal, it could have been completed. However, that did not happen.
He should be happy to know that his master cared about him until the very end, but his master had also betrayed him and left him behind. A part of him hated his master, but he also still loved him. It was a complicated feeling.
But Harumasa did not need to hide his illness anymore, not when everyone in Section 6 knew now. They had all learned when he had almost died, and they all accepted him for it. He was happy and relieved about it, but he was also afraid about it. It was a complicated feeling.
As more time went by, Harumasa wondered if he truly deserved his place in Section 6. He knew Miyabi had said she chose him because he was the most qualified, but he wondered if that was really true. Did he really belong there with them?
His doubts only grew when the president of the H.S.O. had sent a new recruit to Section 6's office. The young lady who appeared had long orange hair and dark green eyes.
"Hello! I am Amano Momoko, pleased to meet you! I look forward to working with all of you!" She introduces herself with a bow.
Harumasa remembers hearing about the Amano clan. They were a rich and influential family who had donated a fortune to different medical researches. However, he does not recall hearing them donate to research about Ether Aptitude Regression Syndrome
"Hoshimi Miyabi." Miyabi introduces herself. "I did not tell the president I was recruiting. Why are you here, Amano?"
"The president thought I should come help you given executive officer Asaba Harumasa's numerous absences related to health." Momoko quickly says. She keeps her gaze to the ground.
"That does not matter. Harumasa shows up when we need him to." Miyabi quickly waves it off.
"Um... the president said that you should at least try working with me before you decide to dismiss me." Momoko says.
"Please step outside for a little while we discuss this." Yanagi commands.
Momoko nods before quickly shuffling outside.
"I don't like this." Miyabi frowns.
"I don't either." Yanagi says. "What do you think, Asaba?"
"Hm?" Harumasa looks up from his desk. "Why are you asking me?"
"Well, she is supposed to be a sharpshooter." Yanagi states.
Harumasa sighs. "I don't know. Isn't this a choice up to you and Miyabi?"
"It is, but we want your opinion on this." Yanagi says.
"I said I don't know. I'll go with whatever you two pick." Harumasa looks away.
His opinion? Did they really want that? He wonders if they were only saying that to get his approval. He knows that he had a lot of absences since he skipped work a lot, but sometimes those really were due to medical emergencies. No one in Section 6 (except Yanagi) really complained about it, but Harumasa wondered if they were secretly annoyed with it. He couldn't blame them if they were.
But he could still feel their eyes on him, and he wanted them to look away. So he diverts their attention. "What do you think, little Soukaku?"
"Huh?! Um... she seems nice, but... I don't know." Soukaku pouts. "I like working with Harumasa more."
"Then we will tell her to leave." Miyabi says.
"But wouldn't the president get mad?" Soukaku asks.
"He probably would." Harumasa shrugs.
"Then why don't we work with her for a week before telling her no?" Soukaku says.
Harumasa hated that idea. "That's a great idea, little Soukaku!"
"Then that is what we will do." Miyabi says.
"I'll go let her know." Yanagi heads to the door.
Harumasa sighs, tuning it out as Yanagi talks to Momoko. He doesn't listen while Soukaku and Miyabi discuss something. Instead, he lets himself be lost in his thoughts. He was sure that if they worked with the new recruit, everyone else may actually like her more. Then they would rather work with her and he would have to leave Section 6. He would probably be transferred to another section away from them. But...
But if Section 6 was happy with it, what right would he have to complain? It wouldn't be the first time someone left him behind. And the worst part? Harumasa knows that deep down, he would never hate any of them if they did choose Momoko over him.
And that was the worst part. He knew he was a naïve fool for allowing himself to grow attached to other people because everyone ended up leaving him behind anyways. Then he would end up getting hurt. If the rest of Section chose to work with Momoko instead, he wouldn't blame them. He knew that he would still love and treasure them, even if he knew he no longer belonged with them.
"But I have no right to get in the way of their happiness."
While he was lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice that a certain void hunter was watching him closely.
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Six days had passed since then. Section 6's missions had gone quicker with an additional person accompanying them into the hollow. Momoko fought with a rifle and a pair of chakrams, but she was mostly using the rifle during the missions. She said it was because she wanted to be able to help from afar, but Harumasa did not believe her. With how much Momoko missed her shots, he wondered if she really earned her position in the H.S.O. or if Momoko's family bought her way to the position she had now.
Yet, it seemed like no one else noticed that. He doesn't know how they couldn't, but it wasn't like he could blame them. After the past few missions, Harumasa could see the way Soukaku, Yanagi, and Miyabi smiled with Momoko. He should be happy seeing them happy, but he wasn't. It felt like they were going to start liking her more than they liked him, and he hated that.
"Yay! We did it!" Soukaku cheers after she smashes through the last ethereal.
"It was hard to keep up with all of you." Momoko says as she tries to catch her breath.
"You did a good job." Yanagi pats her on the back.
"Yanagi is right. You have been able to keep up so far." Miyabi adds.
"But I am barely keeping up." Momoko says.
"Well we have been at this for awhile." Harumasa says as he disconnects Dormant Tide and returns the swords to their sheaths. "You're still new, so there are stuff you would still need to work on!~"
Momoko frowns. "At least I am trying."
"I mean, you did miss your shot a few times. You're not exactly doing a good job at having everyone's backs." Harumasa hums.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Momoko asks.
"I mean... When you missed, you almost hit Chief Miyabi." Harumasa says.
"Asaba." Yanagi warns.
"It was a mistake!" Momoko shouts. "I didn't mean to!"
"But you almost did it." Harumasa sighs. He shrugs and meets the Momoko's eyes. "I don't think you are a good fit. I wonder if you had your family pay your way into the H.S.O."
"I..." Momoko sobs before running away.
"Hey! Wait! It's dangerous to go alone!" Soukaku runs after her.
"Asaba, that was too far. We are going to have a talk about this later." Yanagi says before running after the young woman.
Miyabi stays by his side, standing in silence before she lets out a sigh. "That was not nice, Harumasa."
"Ah. I messed up." Harumasa huffs. He decides to just try and play it off by putting a smile on his face. "What do you mean?~"
"What you said was not very nice." Miyabi says, her frown grows deeper.
"I was only teasing her." Harumasa rolls his eyes.
"It did not sound like you were. You should apologize to her." Miyabi turns away. She starts walking in the direction Yanagi and Soukaku had gone.
"Wait! Where are you going, Miyabi?" Harumasa asks.
Miyabi pauses and looks back at him. "I am going to go talk to her. I think you need time to think about this on your own."
"Wait!" Haruamsa reaches for her, but Miyabi vanishes before he could grab her arm. His hand drops to his side and he squeezes his eyes shut. "You idiot... why did you go and say all of that? You really messed up..."
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When Harumasa had left the hollow, he did not see any of the other Section 6 members around. Not even Miyabi had stayed to wait for him, but he couldn't blame her for that. Yanagi was right that he had gone too far with the things he said, and he felt some regret.
He checks his phone and sees some messages from everyone, but he could not bring himself to read any of them. He was sure that he already knew what they were going to say. Yanagi was surely scolding him for what he said, Soukaku was probably telling him that he had been mean, and Miyabi was likely saying that he shouldn't have said any of that. They were probably going to end up choosing Momoko in the end, and could he really blame them?
It was his fault if that happened.
Harumasa called for a taxi to drive himself back home. He didn't feel like heading to the office where everyone was likely waiting now. He did not want to deal with their scolding and scrutinizing gazes. He knew they would be upset with him for everything. He couldn't blame them if they wanted to leave him now because it was his fault.
It was always his fault when people chose to leave him. He was foolish to think he belonged with them.
When he gets back to his home, he turns off his phone to stop the sound of notifications that would go off every few seconds now. He leaves his phone on the nightstand by his bed. He tosses his choker and headband onto the nightstand as well before he lays down. His cat, Yumi, joins him on the bed and curls up by his face, purring softly as if trying to comfort him.
"You're being really nice to me today." Harumasa mutters, pulling the cat close. "I don't mind that."
He had closed his eyes only for a few seconds. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but he had. A loud knocking on the door wakes him up and he quickly goes to answer it. Much to his surprise, Miyabi stands there.
"Miyabi?! What are you doing here?" He says.
Miyabi invites herself in. "I came to check on you."
"You can't just walk in without permission!" Harumasa shuts the door.
"You were not answering your phone, and you did not return to the office." Miyabi states. She kicks off her shoes and neatly places them by the door before she looks him in the eyes. "Yanagi and Soukaku were sending you messages too."
"Yeah, I know. I saw." Harumasa huffs.
"Why didn't you answer us then?" Miyabi asks.
"I know you're all upset with me for what I said." Harumasa looks away. "If you want to scold me that, can it wait till tomorrow? I'll apologize to Amano for what I said tomorrow too. You can go home now."
"You think we are angry with you?" Miyabi frowns.
"Of course you are. I was a fool and I messed up. I said things I shouldn't have. You're all probably happier with her anyways, and I am sure you would rather work with her anyways." Harumasa says bitterly. "At least she is nice and gets her work done on time unlike me. She probably belongs with all of you a lot better than I do. I'm a mistake and shouldn't have been chosen for Section 6."
Miyabi's frown deepens as she seems to process those words. She doesn't speak at all.
Harumasa is sure that Miyabi agrees with everything he had said. After all, it was all true wasn't it? He was a mistake for Section 6, and this should be enough for them to realize that. They would all understand, then they would leave him just like he deserved.
Miyabi raises her hand and Harumasa squeezes his eyes shut, preparing for her to slap him. But that doesn't happen. Instead, he feels a hand gently brush against the scars on his neck before it rests against his cheek.
"Huh?" He looks her in the eyes.
"You're not a mistake, Harumasa." Miyabi says gently. "Yanagi and Soukaku do not think you are. I never thought you were, and I never will think you are."
"But... But I messed up." Harumasa breaks his gaze.
"You did, but we will never see you as a mistake." Miyabi forces him to look at her.
"Wouldn't things be better for all of you if you worked with Momoko?" Harumasa says quietly.
"No. She isn't you. We like working with you more." Miyabi says. "I already let her know that we will not be working with her anymore. Section 6 will stick with you. You are enough for us."
Did he hear that right? "I am?"
"Yes, you are. You belong with us, Harumasa." Miyabi nods. She pulls him down and kisses him. "I will remind you as many times as I need to."
Harumasa does not know what to say to that, but he feels tears running down his cheeks. Miyabi reaches up and gently wipes them away as she guides him over to his bed. She helps him lay down before climbing in besides him, wrapping her arms around him.
"I love you, Harumasa." Miyabi hums.
"I... I love you too, Miyabi." Harumasa whispers. He felt more at ease now after hearing Miyabi's words.
He belonged somewhere. He had a place in someone's heart, and that made him happy. Harumasa decides that he was going to make sure he never lost this feeling. And he knows that if he were to lose his way, Miyabi would guide him back on the right path.