Oni trailed behind Sen and Dev, feeling smaller with each step as Sen boasted about his designated domain. He literally referred to it as a domain. Oni had to force himself to pay attention to the new setup and living arrangements and not the feeling of dread welling up inside him.

"Call me a junior overseer if you will," Sen bragged, both hands behind his back. "I run three wings officially. But unofficially, six."

"Wings?" Oni asked himself.

When they came to a stop, he spun in all directions. Hallways. Now they stood at the very center. Each corridor led to an all-white area, doors indicating each bunk.

"Wings. Each hall is a wing and unofficially, unofficially," Sen said, turning to face him. "I run it all."

The sharpness of his words had Oni taking a step back.

Dev nudged her cousin, impressed. "That's pretty good. Let me see how many I manage." A quick examination of her matrix had her lowering it, silent.

It was Sen who leaned close to see. "One. Really? Only one?"

The awe in his voice was palpable but when he focused on Dev's face, reddened in humiliation, he tried with little success to sound cheerful. "Well, that'll make it easy to have a perfect wing."

Dev didn't take her eyes off the matrix for some time. "My father managed four wings in his time."

Sen looked from the matrix to her then held her shoulder and said, "You're not your father. And it's not reflective of performance. You're given what you can manage. You've got only seven recruits—"

"And you have one," she said, meeting his gaze.

Surprisingly, Sen backed down from the challenge. "We all know why I have three wings. Hell, why I have them all. So let's not say it. Instead, come look at my bunk, I took the biggest one."

Dev resisted but allowed him to pull her on. At the top of the first wing, the door slid open upon their approach. Unlike the girls' rooms where the frosted glass doors ended at eye level, the boys started at chest level and ended at the ankles. It was always possible to see who was inside at all times.

The room...was humongous. And...empty.

Other than the bunkbeds, there was nothing more. No one would think it with how Sen took hold of Dev's shoulder and led her to a shelf with one object atop it.

He beamed, "And I even started keeping memorabilia. Look."

Dev watched him in sympathy then reached out to take the small button up and tap it. A holo-picture jutted forward. It was of the two of them as kids holding hands.

The care she used when putting it down spoke volumes. "You're supposed to keep it on. That's the whole point of it."

"Oh," Sen said. He hesitated then muttered, "Would it be strange to get one of me and brother?"

Dev shook her head then answered, "I think that would be a good idea. It will give you an excuse to get more shelves."

"Good point."

But while Sen moved to tap the wall across from the bunk-beds and a shelf unfolded, Dev continued to stare at the picture.

Oni risked going closer in an effort to see why.

She ran her fingers along the hologram but didn't care when it distorted. To Oni's amazement, when she extended her fingers, the image changed, revealing a man standing at their backs. He was huge. His hair was cropped low, both hands on each child's shoulder. The Volunteer's uniform stood proud and the numbers six-six-six stood out on his chest. Six hundreds. Anything above the fives were designated for heavy combat. The man had triple numbers. He also wore a proud smile.

A woman's body stood beside him, off to the side but Dev did nothing to extend the image so that she'd come into view. Her uniform read five-five-six.

Amazing. One number off from that legendary Volunteer. And a five hundred block.

Oni swallowed down his panic. He'd imagined somehow that her father might have been from the four hundred block as they served as bodyguards for politicians. But both parents were combat Volunteers and of high ranking.

Sen had since found a chair from somewhere but slowed in putting it down before approaching.

He held her shoulder. "Hey. It does no good to look at it." A tap of the hologram had the image cropping again. "That's why I keep it this way."

Dev didn't move for some time. "Why am I so bad at this? I can't recruit. I can't even lead seven people. They won't listen to me."

Sen squeezed her shoulder and said, "Because you're just not a leader, Dev. You never were. Your father never was, and surely your mother never was either. I'd say try to combine with another crew and take a secondary position, but I know you won't, but that'd suit you best. You don't have the head for giving orders. You...." He patted her shoulder one last time. "You take them."

The silence after that had her turning to make her way out.

Oni watched after her. He wasn't the only one.

Now, with just the two of them here, the silence felt different.

Still holding his boots before him, Oni waited.

It was perhaps ill-advised to speak but he finally asked, "Which...which bunk is mine?"

Sen made his way to the desk and flopped down. Right elbow on the gray surface, cheek against his palm, he stared at the door. Oni took that to mean neither bunk belonged to him.

That was fine; he was used to sleeping on the floor. In fact, the little spot where he stood now was cleaner than what he was used to back in the hideout.

Oni took in his new home and would have continued to do so if a clicking sound didn't draw his focus. He took it for his imagination, but Sen called out, "Enter."'

Nothing happened.

"I know you're there," Sen said, "so just enter already. Or do you want someone to see you?"

The door slid open and one of Dev's crewmen walked in. She looked a mess. Pleasant.

Despite her unruly hair, she had a nice enough face. Oni assumed as much, if not for her unyielding scowl.

"You act like you knew I was coming," she said.

Sen flicked his hand and a bottle landed on the desk before him. "I've got your medicine, so yes, I assumed."

Her eyes drifted from the medicine bottle back to his face and she finally asked, "And what do you want in exchange for it."

Sen shrugged. "What do you usually give?"

Silence fell between them until her eyes drifted to Oni then back to Sen again.

Oni puzzled over her reaction for some time.

Finally, Pleasant said, "Just two then? Will it always be just two?"

Until now, Sen's expression was casual. Her words had his brows furrowing. They stared each other down until he shrugged. "I have no idea what the meng you mean but you're going to explain it."

Pleasant took a step back. She had a darker complexion to her sisters, but that blush was unmistakable. He'd embarrassed her.

"And I don't care about your usual terms, but we're going to make some guidelines."

With this, she stood defiant. "Just give me the terms for the medicine."

"After I make some things clear." Sen's posture didn't change when he said, "You are not to retaliate against your head cadet."

Oni bit back a gasp.

The way Pleasant stared Sen down, it was more than clear she'd considered it.

"The way you hang on her, I get that you want to save your girlfriend. But you have no business—"

"I'm trying to save you."

When she fell silent, he sat up and propped his elbows on his knees finally.

"I don't know what you see when you look at her. But I know what other people see. Tentative, second-guessing girl with the most decorations. So newbies nearly always think that means she's been gifted her badges. Let me assure you, and it's the only time I'll say it, you—even all seven of you—cannot beat her in a fair fight or otherwise. Even if you suffocate her in her sleep, she's going to off you lot. I swear. And once you betray her, she doesn't forgive it. So if you think you've got a penchant for vengeance, you haven't seen anything the likes of this. You want to make it to the end of this program in one piece, she'll take you. You want to leave here in a small box, she'll accommodate you, too. And even I can't win against her because I'd never raise my hand to her. So let me spell it out, leave your petty sense of pride at the door and let this one slide."

Pleasant stared through him with each passing word. Finally, she returned his glare.

Perhaps there was some unspoken fight because they stared each other down.

"Are you done now?" she asked. "Or does the speech come with part of the service?"

That furrowed brow deepened again. In more ways than one, Sen studied her like a riddle he tried to solve.

"You only get one tablet a day."

Disappointed, she considered his words and nodded. "Fine."

"That you take in my presence."

Her glare shot to his. "What? What business is it of yours what I do with it?"

Sen sat up with a knowing nod. "So I guessed right. You do have a heart condition, too. Not just her."

Fear creased in the girl's face as her lips parted.

"Were you hoping to share it between you two?"

Pleasant's usual scowl returned. "Must I listen to this or will we just get down to business?"

"Business." Sen rubbed his chin and stood. "You take one here, I watch you, and then after ten minutes has passed and I know you haven't thrown it up, I'll give you one for your sister and we continue on like that until the end of the line where you lot eventually wash out. After that, you're welcomed to all of them for all I care."

Oni wasn't sure what he was witnessing, not when the girl, on the brink of tears, waited for him to shake out a yellow pill.

When Sen handed it over, she begged, "It would be of better use if she had two."

He narrowed his eyes and ordered, "Open."

But her mouth remained shut for some time. Finally, she broke from his gaze and gaped her lips.

After that, Sen unhooked his matrix and started the timer. But instead of ten minutes as promised, they stood there for a good thirty.

"There. It's officially dissolved by now." He held out his hand to give her the second pill as promised but she didn't move, instead, she shivered. It was then that he lowered his hand, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. "I know how it feels to be responsible for a sibling, but that doesn't have to come at your expense. It's okay to take care of yourself, too."

Tears in her eyes, she held out her palm, shivering in her defiance.

But Sen hovered his hand above her shoulder. Oni stood at the ready; he'd defend this poor viper if he had to. Yes, she was dangerous, but nobody deserved to be taken advantage of like that.

Instead, Sen took his hand back and offered the promised pill which she snatched away.

Pleasant was out the door before he had time to give her any words.

That left the two of them once more. Something about what Oni'd witnessed troubled him. And it troubled him for reasons he couldn't say. There was one takeaway and he risked saying, "That was very big of you, sir, making sure she got medicine, too."

"Shut up."