Akira did not plan on wasting time after leaving Mountain Ridge. She wanted to begin her search for Kaito as soon as possible to prevent the trail he left from running cold. However, when she got to the Immortal Sword Valley, she was exhausted and mentally drained.

She decided to take a short nap in her suite to clear her mind before doing anything.

Unfortunately, she underestimated her level of tiredness. When she woke up again, it was already morning. She felt disoriented at first because of the familiar yet unfamiliar environment. And then, the events of the previous day hit her.

She groaned as she stood up from the bed and headed to the bathroom for a shower. The cold morning reminded her of the days when she lived in the valley as a trainee and an agent when she was not out for missions. The only difference was that she did not have to go through morning drills or follow a timetable.

When she completed her shower and dressed in a black combat-style uniform, she headed to the cafeteria for breakfast. It was still early, so the rowdy trainees were still not back from the training field. The hall was quiet except for early risers like herself.

Most of them waved and greeted her enthusiastically after not seeing her for a while.

In truth, she wanted to have a quick meal before finding the Chief and Raiden so that they could begin looking into the trail left by Kaito. She did not trust herself to handle the task herself without some external help. Her emotional involvement would probably cloud her judgement.

Just as she thought she was done with the meaningless greetings, she saw her former team members from the old days.

When she was an active agent, she preferred carrying out solo missions. She found it efficient and convenient. She would only have a liaison or handler for contact with the valley. However, it was unavoidable that she would join a team at some point.

The team to which she was assigned by the Chief consisted of older agents. It was unavoidable because she finished her training earlier than everyone else in her cohort. For this reason, she had a bit of a hard time adapting to working with other people at first.

But after a few life and death missions, she formed an alright relationship with the team members.

Still, it could not be considered too good. There were too many hidden tensions related to the relationships in the team. Also, Akira was too young to be considered one of them. Additionally, it was hard to maintain the bond after she was promoted far beyond any of their positions.

The complicated past made interacting with them a little difficult. In truth, Akira would have preferred to ignore them and eat her food, but she was still a member of the Immortal Sword Brigade. She had to be a team player, as the Chief always told her.

"Little Akira, I see you are still an early riser like always." Rin waved to her as soon as she saw her.

Akira smiled a little stiffly as she walked over to the table.

She did not dislike Rin per se. The woman was a little rough, but she did not have a bad heart. Still, Akira's first impression of the woman was not good. Rin constantly complained about her when she first joined the team behind her back.

It was not until they went for a few missions together, and Akira saved her life that she stopped badmouthing her. Even though their relationship improved, Akira could not be tight with her. She did not like backbiters.

"Yeah, I have some work to do." She responded before turning to the other people. "Good morning."

The entire team was made up of seven members. Apart from Rin and herself, there was one other girl known as Miki. The other four members were Hiro, Gofu, Ryou and Fuji. The only person missing at the table was Fuji.

"Good morning." The group responded.

"Are you taking a break in the valley?" Akira asked politely.

"Yeah. We just finished a mission. We will be taking a breather before going out again." Gofu responded enthusiastically.

"You should not be sharing information with her. She is not a member of the team anymore." Hiro glared at Gofu.

"What information? This is called small talk. I think she can figure out what I just said with half a brain cell." Gofu retorted.

"Don't start it, you two." Ryou barked out.

Ryou was the team leader with a hard face and a hard mouth, but he was a reliable guy. If not for his guidance, the small team would not be standing strong. Even Akira had some respect for the man after working with him.

"Akira, I heard that you got into some trouble," Miki spoke up after the boys settled down.

Miki did not look like she belonged on the field. Unlike Rin, she did not embody the expected appearance of a girl taking on dangerous missions. Rin had a little bit of a masculine appearance, and she enhanced that tough girl appearance with a choppy mohawk.

Miki looked even less unsuited for rough work than Akira. She had a tall and graceful figure belonging to a delicate girl, and she reinforced it by wearing long dresses where possible. Also, her hair was unusually long for the harsh conditions, including onsite training, and she liked leaving it loose.

Even Akira kept her hair short to minimise discomfort. All these things could be overlooked, but Miki's soft and fragile demeanour could not be overlooked. She was the type who asked to be carried on someone's back if the team was crossing a river without a modern bridge.

The only thing that kept her in the team was her exceptional abilities in gathering information. She was good with computers and people, making her indispensable among the other rough people. Her position became firmer after Akira left.

"Are you a child? Just say it like it is. She got knocked up." A new voice joined in.

Akira turned to look at Fuji. Among all the people in her old team, she could not stand this man the most. He always tried to go against her, regardless of what she did. Perhaps it was because he was an all-rounder than her.

Under normal circumstances, he should have been promoted to team leader instead of the brawny but less intelligent Ryou. However, the Chief had let it slip that he had failed his psychological tests, so he could not be promoted, at least, not yet.

"Don't be uncouth, Fuji." Miki rebuked gently. "Akira, if you need help, we are here for you. Right, guys?"

There were murmurs of something which could have been assent or complaint. Akira rolled her eyes. She had not sunk so low that she would need the help of these plebeians. She did not need their sympathy or pity.

"Oh, I will keep that in mind." She said. "Let me get my food. I am quite hungry. I need all the energy I can get, seeing that I am knocked up."

She threw another glance at Fuji before walking away, leaving the group staring.

"Let her keep pretending to be fine." Hiro scoffed. "She always behaved like the queen bee. Now, she is just some rich man's discarded toy."

"How do you know that? Maybe she is in a normal relationship." Gofu said.

"It is a simple deduction, idiot. Rumour has it she found her biological parents. They are rich and live in Mountain Ridge. She would not be back here in her condition if things had worked out. So, she must have been shunned by both her biological family and whoever knocked her up." Fuji explained.

Miki nodded, and even Ryou did not oppose the explanation.

"What a shame! She should have stayed in the valley." Rin said as she watched Akira carrying her tray of food to a lone table.