"You can call me Kagura-san. I'm from Group 2."
Takeru could sense that this guy was strong. He had a certain presence to him and that made Takeru nervous.
Hikari looked at Takeru with pity. "Oh you poor kid... I heard you awakened yesterday and became a SOMA member. You're easily the youngest here."
Takeru kept quiet. Hikari felt terrible for him. "Kid, I know its rough but you'll get used to it. I can tell there's something special about you, you'll do just fine out there." Takeru's soul was currently buried in fear and regrets but those words did reassure him, even just a little bit.
"Thanks, Kagura-san..."
"No problem. Well anyways, The Chairman is busy today. Heard he's investigating Koenji of all places. You won't get any contact from him today, you'll get it from me. If an alternate pops up in your patrol area, I'll be the one to inform you about it and tell its exact location. Tell your group members this so they pick up my calls."
"Huh? Do they not usually pick up calls from you?"
"Uh... Well, not really..."
Yuko and Rento had been victims of Hikari's prank calls countless times before.
"I understand, Kagura-san. I'll tell them." Hikari nodded at Takeru and walked off.
"He seems like a nice guy but he still sends shivers down my spine. I can sense it. There's something dark lurking within him, maybe it comes with being an alternate-user."
Takeru went to Rento and Yuko to tell them about what Hikari said.
"Kagura-san? I can't trust him one bit, he'll probably just give us the wrong location for fun.", Rento said. Yuko replied, "Takahashi-kun, he wouldn't do that all. He has only every done silly little pranks. You don't have to worry."
"If you say so, Ikari-san."
After wrapping up their breakfast session, the 3 headed out to their patrol area. They had walk there as Group 5 had still not received a driver and a car.
All Groups of SOMA's Tokyo Team had specific wards of Tokyo where they patrolled. When an alternate appears, the map of Tokyo in The Chairman's office gives the location of the it. Whichever Group is patrolling the area where the alternate appeared is then given the order to go to its location and exterminate it.
"So... Ichino-kun, What kind of person were you?"
"were..."
"I was just a regular kid, Ikari-san. There was nothing that special about me. I liked to read manga and stuff, I guess."
Yuko's eyes started to glow with excitement. "Manga!? Our Takahashi-kun over here also loves manga! You guys can talk about it together!"
"I'm good, Ikari-san.", Rento said. Yuko began glaring at him. "Uh... fine... What's your favorite manga, kid?" Rento was trying to sound tough by calling Takeru "kid" even though he was also a kid.
"Its hard to decide but Pain Machine, I guess."
"Really? I like Pain Machine too."
Yuko looked at both of them cheering on their blossoming friendship.
"So, who's your favorite character?", Takeru asked.
"Its definitely Rameno for me.", Rento replied.
"WHATTTTTT!!!!!????"
"Huh? What the hell is wrong with liking Rameno!?"
"You're a larper! A larper! Rameno is a the corniest shittiest character in the whole series! You probably just saw him in a Dikdok edit!"
"Woah woah woah! Don't you dare call me a fucking larper! I've been reading Pain Machine since 2018, the year it began. I was fan when it was still niche and before it even got an anime adaptation so don't you dare throw around that word when it comes to me and Pain Machine, kid!"
The 2 began glaring at each other with an intense anger bubbling inside them.
"So this guy really has read Pain Machine and still likes Rameno!?"
"So this guy is just accuse me of being a larper when I have an opinion that differs from his!?"
"I can't get along with you after all.", They both said.
Yuko looked confused. "What the hell was that, guys!? Just get along, you two!"
"This is the first time I can't listen to you, Ikari-san. This guy just sucks."
"At least I'm not a Rameno fan."
"At least I'm not a loser otaku."
"That doesn't even make any sense, you literally like manga too!?"
"Shut your bitch ass up, ma-"
Yuko began laughing hysterically. Takeru and Rento were weirded out. "What is it, Ikari-san!?"
"It's nothing. You guys just seemed like brothers arguing just now."
"Brothers!?", They both said in a shocked voice.
"I guess the conversation I just had with him does kinda remind me of Hiroki. That fucking jackass, I wonder what he's doing right now.
Ever since that one time I got caught riding a slightly weird manga called Poopy Times 3000 and he saved me from those bullies, I've seen him as an older brother.
He always used to try and make me confess to Aiko-chan already but I was too nervous every single time. I could've been with him and Kaito right now but instead..."
Rento looked over at Takeru and said, "This guy's such a loser. He'd never be my brother."
"Hey! That's mean, Takahashi-kun!"
"Oh... I'm sorry, senpai!", Rento replied in a shameful voice.
Takeru was stunned. "You calling me a loser is so ironic, dude. You're literally the guy that does anything a girl says." Takeru would also do anything Aiko said but that doesn't matter right now.
Rento was even more stunned. "Not just any girl, dumbass. This is our amazing, respectable and beautiful senpai, Ikari Yuko!"
"Yup! That's me!", Yuko said while smirking.
"That's weird as shit, man.", Takeru replied. Yuko began laughing again and Rento looked enraged.
"YOU DISRESPECTING OUR SENPAI, HUH!?"
After a bit more walking, they had made it into their patrol area. The wards Group 5 patrolled were Shibuya, Shinjuku, Bunkyo and Arakawa. They just kept on walking around more, looking at restaurants and buying some tasty food here and there. Alternates weren't that common of an occurrence so a lot of the times, the groups would just walk around having fun. The job wasn't all that after all.
"Is this really what I'll be doing for the rest of my life...?", Takeru said in a disheartened voice.
"If our scientists don't figure out how to stop alternates from awakening once and for all within our lifetimes, yes.", Rento replied.
"That's depressing, ain't it?"
"No, it isn't. Ichino-kun, there are people out there that can't even get food. Compared to that, we're living good lives. Be grateful, okay?", Yuko said.
"Grateful? I guess..."
brrring! brrring!
Yuko looked over at her phone and said, "Get ready, you two. Its a call from Kagura-san."
An alternate had awakened in Kagurazaka, Shinjuku and was currently eating the bodies of a dead family.