Kaede Tsukiko 4

"Oh, Kaede, there you are!" Maya exclaimed, wrapping her brother in a tight hug.

"Hi Maya-nee," Kaede said. He noticed another girl standing with Eri and Shana.

Noticing the younger boy's glance, Gabe waved. "Hi. I'm Gabe Ryder. I just joined your sister's team."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kaede."

"Guys, can we sit down and eat already? I'm starving!" Shana complained.

Eri added, "And Maya, you might want to let go of Kaede."

The redhead reluctantly pulled away from her brother.

"Thanks, Eri-senpai," Kaede said.

The four girls plus Kaede took a seat at one of the tables in the cafeteria. As the others picked at their lunch, Kaede asked, "Don't you have a B Rank Wars match coming up?"

"We do. We're against Kakizaki Squad and Nasu Squad," Eri replied.

"You faced both of them last year, right?"
"Yep," Maya said. "And we're gonna win it this year!"

"How are your lessons with Takato-san?" Eri asked Kaede.

"Good! I'm learning a lot, Mei-san is a good teacher and she's really good at what she does," he replied.

"Didn't you run a practice battle for Kotowari Squad a couple days ago? I heard good things about you from Toby," Shana said.

"Takeshi also talked highly of you," Eri added.

Kaede looked surprised. "Really?"

Maya wrapped her brother in another hug. "Everyone else is just realizing how awesome you are." Kaede flushed and smiled sheepishly.

Meanwhile, Shana, not wanting to interrupt the siblings' moment, was trying to quietly wave over Kuni. She couldn't get the operator's attention though, so Shana resorted to her usual method. "Kuni!" she shouted.

The teal-haired operator finally noticed her teammate and made her way over to the table. Suddenly, Kuni is on the ground, laughing with a yellow caution sign next to her.

Shana jumped up and ran over, but Kuni had already gotten back to her feet. "Are you okay?" the American asked.

Kuni brushed herself off and replied, "I'm fine, just a slip." She laughed. "I should really pay more attention!"

When Kuni and Shana had taken their seats at the table, Gabe asked, "What were you in such a hurry about?"

"I got caught up talking with some of the other operators after the meeting, and I almost forgot we had a slot at Training Room C! I didn't want to be late!" Kuni replied.

"We have a slot at Training Room C?" Eri said.

"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you guys about that too, sorry!"

The other girls made various disgruntled sighs and groans. "Kuni…"

"Sorry Kaede, looks like we've gotta go," Maya said. "I'll see you after your lessons with Mei."

"See you then, Maya-nee." Kaede added, "And nice to meet you, Gabe."

"Yeah, you too, kid," Gabe replied.

Eri looked at Kuni. "We're going to be late, aren't we."

The operator awkwardly touched the back of her neck. "Yeah…"

Eri sighed. "Come on, let's try to be as punctual as possible."

As Tsukiko Squad left, Kuni protested, "I said I'm sorry!"

Kaede smiled to himself. It was never a dull day with his sister and her friends. He hoped to find a group of friends like them someday. He pulled out his phone and started playing a game to occupy himself until Mei met him for his lessons.

Just then, Kaede saw a scene flash in his mind, with a dark-haired girl slipping next to a fallen yellow caution sign. Wait, that's where Kuni fell! he realized. Almost instinctively, Kaede jumped up and ran over, just in time for the weight of a small person to land in his arms.

It was a dark-haired girl with sideswept bangs and amber eyes. She stared at Kaede for a moment. He momentarily thought, It's a good thing Suzume isn't here…

The girl jolted upright and turned away from Kaede, blushing wildly. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed.

"Um, are you okay?" Kaede asked hesitantly. His face felt hot. He tapped her shoulder and she jumped.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "Th-thanks for catching me."

"O-of course, you're welcome." Silence hung in the air for a moment. "Um, I'm Kaede Tsukiko. You are?"

"Hana Toshiro," she said. "Are you a C Rank?"

"Kind of. I'm an operator trainee," Kaede replied. "Are you?"

"Yeah."

"Then maybe I'll see you around? Hopefully under better circumstances next time."

She nodded. "Yeah, hopefully."

"Hana!" a female voice shouted from across the cafeteria. A woman with the same dark hair and amber eyes as the girl across from Kaede came over to them and rested her elbow on Hana's shoulder. Having one himself, Kaede could always recognize someone's older sister.

"There you are," Hana's sister said.

Hana sighed. "But you're the late one, Rina."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry!"

The two sisters began walking away, but Kaede saw Hana look back towards him, a soft smile on her face.

"Huh." Kaede sat back down and went to pull out his phone, but another person sat across from him.

Ever perceptive, Mei remarked, "Something happened."

Kaede felt a rush of embarrassment once more. "Ah, it was nothing! I, uh, caught a girl who fell."

"How chivalrous."

"It was, um, just sort of instinctive," Kaede said. "I mean, I saw it happening, so I couldn't just let her fall."

"You saw it happening?" Mei questioned. She noted that the slick patch by the fallen caution sign and Kaede's table were at least a few paces away.

"Yeah, I, uh, just kind of knew?" As he said it out loud, something occurred to Kaede. "It was kind of like yesterday, actually. During the practice battle, when I knew there was someone behind Kotowari-senpai?"

"Do you remember what I told you yesterday, about Side Effects?" Mei said.

"Yeah?"

"I think what happened was a manifestation of your Side Effect."

"Really?" Kaede said. "I don't think I'd have a Side Effect. I mean, I'm just an operator."

"You don't have to be a combatant to have a Side Effect. All you need is a high Trion level and some fortunate circumstances," Mei explained. "And according to your enlistment tests and what I've seen, you have both."

If there was one thing Mei Takato was known for, it was her intelligence. Kaede knew that if she was sure about something, it was probably right.

"I know you're still a little unsure, so how about you walk me through what happened earlier? Perhaps I can help clarify some things," she said.

"Um, okay. I was just sitting here, since my sister and her team had just left for a training thing. And then I saw in my head a girl slipping and falling, right at the same spot where Kuni-senpai had fallen before. So I got up and it worked out that I caught her?" Kaede sighed. "It makes less sense when I say it out loud…"

"I don't think so," Mei said. "I think it makes perfect sense."

"Really?"

"Yes. It's your Side Effect. After seeing an event occur, you know when it will happen again."

"Huh." Kaede smiled slightly. "That's… pretty cool, actually."

Mei smiled too. "Yes, it is, and you'll be able to experiment with it soon," she said. "But for today, how about we stick to something more comfortable? I have a game for today I think you'll like."

"Sounds good to me."