The chatter of the children clustered together in the classroom filled the ears of every passerby. As the teachers awaited the ringing of the bell, students discussed various topics among themselves. With all the conversations exceeding the inside voice, it made it frustrating for anyone, such as Matoi, to concentrate.

Matoi roamed around the classroom, shoving desks and squeezing past flocks of students. She eventually caught sight of a pink ponytail and she immediately proceeded towards it. Yukino hovered over a desk, ravaging through her backpack. Matoi approached her cautiously and whispered in her ear.

"Hey, can we... talk for a minute?" She mumbled.

Matoi and Yukino stared at each other intently as they stood against the hallway wall. Yukino dug through her briefcase and pulled out the disinfectant.

"I was really sorry to ask you this. I figure you would have some since you're usually pretty clean. Thanks for letting me use it." Matoi expressed her gratitude as she kneeled to the floor and rubbed the alcohol wipe on her shin.

Yukino smiled blissfully. "It's nothing. My mom buys a lot for Yuki 'cause she has a tendency to hurt herself a lot."

"Is Yuki your sister?"

Yukino nodded.

Matoi chuckled while she balled the wrapper and alcohol wipe in her fist. "That's cute, you two have similar names."

"Yeah." Yukino offered out her hand for Matoi to deposit her trash into. "You need to stop beating yourself up, also. I can't offer these up all the time." Matoi climbed back to her feet. "You can't fight like an Omega when you aren't one," she giggled.

Matoi's eyes widened, shocked. Yukino raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

"What? I was just kidding. You're not telling me you're actually trying to be like one of those girls in those magazines, are you?" Yukino held back laughter.

Matoi's face lit up with embarrassment. "Wah- no! I'm not training as hard as them, but... I can't help but admire them a little, heh." She rubbed the nervous sweat off her nape. "You know how things have been going in the neighboring districts, I think. I should at least know how to protect myself."

Yukino smirked, her cheek creasing into a dimple. "That's not it, is it? You're trying to stand your ground against Makina, huh?"

Matoi's eyes lit up with frustration. "That's not it at all!"

The brunette looked into the classroom towards the cluster of students surrounding the desks. Among the shuffling bodies, she caught sight of the fierce red eyes glaring back at her. Matoi stared back territorially until their gaze was interrupted.

"Akino shouldn't be hanging around agitators," Matoi said pragmatically, "he's digging himself into a hole he can't get himself out of and he doesn't even know it." She locked eyes with Yukino, who seemed taken-aback by the sudden switch of tone. "I'm going out in the South East District, they're going to call me out of school soon. So when I'm gone, please keep Akino busy and away from Makina."

Yukino looked back at her with a courteous smile. "Sure thing. But I don't know why you're so obsessed with Makina. Sure, she's a little scary, but it isn't like shes going to do anything."

Matoi looked to the side apathetically.

Taking a few steps forward, Yukino placed her hand upon Matoi's shoulder. "But, a girl will always keep a promise," she assured her.

The corners of Matoi's lips uplifted into an endearing smile. As she stepped back and returned into the classroom, she stumbled into Mrs. Mikami. Nearly tripping over her own feet before finding balance against a desk, Matoi squealed in surprise and shock. She made eye contact with the teacher as her face filled with color.

"I'm sorry," she said with a bow.

"Matoi," Mrs. Mikami began, "I-"

"Yes, teacher?" Matoi interrupted.

The teacher coughed before she continued. "The office gave me a call just now. Someone is here to pick you up."

Matoi's face lit up with excitement. She gripped the handle of her briefcase and squeezed through the door past Mrs. Mikami. As she said her goodbyes to Yukino and the teacher, she heard a familiar voice from behind call to her. She turned around, seeing the blue haired, yellow-eyed friend approaching her.

"What're you doing?" Akino asked, curious.

She nodded sporadically as she walked around him. "I'm visiting someone in the South East, I'll see you tomorrow, I have to go!"

Akino's eyes trailed behind her as she darted down the hallway. "What? Oh, okay, bye then!"

Akino continued into the classroom, giving a nod of acknowledgement to his teacher and fellow friend in the hallway as he passed. He sat down behind Makina just as the bell rang. The teacher followed behind Yukino, closing the door after her and silencing the students with her presence. She approached her podium and flipped through her binder.

"Before we start class today, I have a warmup activity for you to do. It's only five questions so you don't have to moan and groan about it. They're all multiple choice also, so you should get this done fairly quickly." Mrs. Mikami strolled down the isles of desks as she passed out the assignment to her students.

Akino looked at the paper placed atop his desk. Scanning the questions, he groaned to himself about an assignment that early into the day. Nonetheless, he grabbed a pencil from his pocket and began the work.

Something caught his eye.

Akino read the question over and over, ten times over, confused.

What was the reason why humanity came to Division-A?

A: War. B: Technological Advancements. C: Intercontinental Trade. D: Vacation.

To Akino's dismay, the correct answer, storm, wasn't an option. He shrugged his shoulders and circled A as an answer.

A purple flash glistened over Akino's vision and his head went numb and clouded. Suddenly, words of a man pierced through his eardrums. A sense of familiarity pulsed through him as the voice spoke. "The world as we know it has been ruined by our own hands. Wherever you find yourself, you must find the truth, no matter who befriends you or stands in your way! Return us to our birth place, otherwise we may never know the feeling of humanity ever again! Akino!"

And with a purple flash, Akino released his pent up breath of air in a relieved sigh. His forehead became crowded with thought and pain as a headache overwhelmed him. He laid his head in his hands as he caught his breath, confused.

'Why,' he thought, 'why does this always happen to me? Can't he just be quiet!'

The tables overfilled with students scooted around as people and their trays of food stumbled past. The loud voices of those conversing echoed through the entirety of the campus, dismissing silence as if it were a joke. Akino listened carefully to Miki's ramblings as he pushed his spoon into his mouth.

"So they're basically these females anywhere between the ages of a child to a teen nearing adulthood, right? They're supposedly modified, genetically or physically, to perform well in battle against these creatures that lurk around in the middle of the night in search for human flesh," he humored. "There has been a few videos leaked onto the internet of either one of these things, but none of the battle footage has ever been seen. Nobody really knew which side is the better one until a popular conspiracy theorist claimed that the monster things actually ate us. So now mainstream belief is that Omegas are the good ones, even though some still fear them."

Akino nodded, intrigued at the idea. "You know, you really are dumb till you go on about these things."

Yukino giggled, nudging him. "Tell me about it. He sounds like a total douche most of the time. What's got you all into these Omega girls, anyway, huh?" She teased.

He blushed, laughing back at her. "They're awesome, that's why! Stuff like this makes this place less boring."

"Mhm," Yukino mumbled. "Anyway, have you ever talked to Matoi about you and Makina yet, Akino?"

Akino blinked, surprised at the sudden notion. He swallowed before wiping his mouth with his sleeve and glancing at her. "Oh, no, why?"

"I'm worried about her and Makina. I'm starting to think she's getting a little mad that you two are hanging out. If it was me, I'd stop hanging out with Makina. The least you could do is explain it to her," Yukino advised. "She doesn't want you two hanging out, basically."

Akino scowled, disappointed. "Matoi has been acting weird in every aspect, so that doesn't really surprise me. She's made it very clear that she doesn't like Makina, and Makina has done the same. I talk to Makina for personal reasons, she doesn't need to know." He stood up from his seat and picked up his tray. "Anyway, I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be right back." Yukino and Miki watched as he disappeared into the crowd of people surrounding them.

As he made his way to the crates of dirty and used trays, he encountered the Omega herself, Makina, who was leaning against a wall impatiently. "You're late. You told me to meet up ten minutes before the bell during class, not five."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Akino admitted. He put his tray on the crate along with the other hundreds. He started towards the hallway doors, signaling with a hand gesture for Makina to follow.

The two of them walked through the hallway. To the left of them were a long row of reflective windows exposing the greenery of the courtyard. To the right of the couple were groups of lockers and classroom doors. Akino persisted further into the hallway before the chattering from the cafeteria became as faint as it possibly could have.

"I'm starting to wonder how Miki knows so much about you guys, the Omegas, I mean," Akino confessed.

"How so?"

"I asked him about what he knows about them so maybe he could help fill in the blanks about what I know about you, no offense. He's getting all his information online, I think," Akino vented to her.

"Thanks for the information. I'll be sure to tell the Grand Hall's Division of Human Knowledge and Preservation Bureau. They'll probably delete whatever websites or forums he's getting his information from," Makina added insensitively.

"What?!" Akino whipped his head around to face her. "I need as much info as I can get! You can't do that!"

"Listen," Makina scolded, "you don't need to know about what I am either. I'll admit that I was partially at fault for letting my cover down that night, but you were the one violating the law. I refuse to reward you with information when you've done nothing but be a pain in my ass."

Akino sped his pace and positioned himself in front of her. With determination in his eyes, he continued. "Makina, if you want your secret to remain as such, a secret, then you need to let me in on this. If you don't, Matoi will find out before I do and you don't want that. The only way I can make sure that she doesn't find out about you and the Grand Hall's secret is if I'm two, three steps ahead of her."

Makina pushed past him, annoyed. "Matoi has secrets of her own. Exposing the entire city wouldn't be in her best interest. I assure you that she isn't in the position to do anything but complain."

Akino stepped back, locking his gaze on her. "Secrets? I knew she knew something."

Makina looked over her shoulder at him, smirking. "She never told you? Well, then I'm not in the position to either." She began walking away before Akino called her.

"Makina!" He said, raising his voice ever so slightly. "I'm not asking for much. What do you know about Matoi?!"

She paused, her hair hiding her face. "I came across her every now and then in my trainee days. Every few days she'd walk past me in the Grand Hall. For what reason, I don't know, but she obviously has some input on the 'secret' that she won't admit. The rest is up to you to find out, Akino."