Kill The Dragons 31 Squad 13 10

"Han, so you stab me in the back in this way."

"This isn't betrayal."

"I don't care if you leave, but don't think of taking Kuro from our squad."

Kuro made a lot of mistakes, but his psychic talent was undeniable. He was an irreplaceable member of the seventh squad.

'I started my plan with Kuro and Jose in my squad. I won't back down.'

Han sternly looked to Kato. The two held their glares for awhile. The hostile air grew heavy between the two.

"Kato, you're not able to put Kuro to practical use. Kuro's unable to display his full potential under you. I guarantee you I can."

"Stop pretending you know. Just because you scored as a good squad leader candidate, doesn't mean you will be. He will learn from his mistakes and become an admirable seventh squad member."

"That's possible. However, if war breaks out immediately, will you ask our enemies to wait until Kuro is able to master his skills? I have the confidence to pull out all of Kuro's talent immediately. The enemy won't wait until we're strong enough. Following commands is a soldier's duty. It's a commander's duty to obtain victory with a troop of imperfect soldiers. Blaming others for a lost battle doesn't solve anything."

Kato grasped Han's collar, and slammed him against the wall. Kato looked furious.

"This b*****d."

Kato and Han remained awkward and disagreeable with each other all this time. Han had always been a figure that shook his authority in the squad.

'You should have noticed by now, that I'm a much more suitable commander than you. You might not wish to admit to it, but it's the truth.'

Han was confident in himself.

There were many youths better at close combat than Han. Han would not be able to win against Dimitri seven times out of ten.

There were numerous students with better psychic talent than Han. Han had only one thing going for him.

'There is only one way I'll be able to survive in Ark. If I can't get stronger, I just have to recruit strong peers into my team. I must show others that I will bring them victory.'

Han looked on with cold eyes.

"Kato Souki, I will take Kuro with me. He's too good to be wasted on the likes of you."

"Kuro will remain with the seventh squad. I won't let him go."

"Kuro will be the one to make that decision."

"If Kuro agrees, I'll personally kill him."

Kato responded radically.  Han snickered. He knew what 'kill' of this statement meant.

He won't be able to really kill him. Real killing intent had more madness to it. Han had grew up amongst such madness all of his life.

"You're nothing but talk. When you fall in water, you'll be able to do nothing but talk."

Kato's face flushed red like he would explode. His fist was slowly rising.

"Shut up!"

He smashed his fist against Han's face. Han fell to the ground and spit out some blood before getting  up.

"I'll let you go this time. Kato. I don't wish to be called by the drill instructors while I'm in the middle of forming my squad."

Kato huffed while glaring at Han. Han stood in front of Kuro's room. Kuro had been listening from the beginning.

'Why would Han form his own squad…? What should I do?'

Cold sweat fell from Kuro's body. He bit his nails and his eyes trembled.

'If I tell Kato I'm leaving the seventh squad, I'll be killed. I won't be let off easily. The thirteenth squad will become everyone's public enemy. But still, Han is my friend.'

Han didn't bother to open Kuro's door. He spoke short words in front of the door.

"Kuro, do you remember what happened in the deserted island? You and I took care of Karl's gang single handedly, even though they had three times more people than us. The instructors had said you need me to support you. However, that goes for me as well. Kuro, I need your strength. You have abilities that I don't. We can provide what we don't have for each other, but Kato can't do anything for you."

Kato grabbed Han and threw him outside.

"Get lost, Han."

The seventh squad gathered outside. They looked to Han with contemptuous eyes.

They felt deeply betrayed. The squad members that had seen Han in a good light felt deeper anger.

'Things are flowing as planned by the instructors. Everyone is beginning to hate me. The formation of the thirteenth squad would probably be known as the squad of traitors.'

Han smiled bitterly. Everyone didn't seem to realize that the instructors had purposely set up the situation in this way.

The instructors could have allowed Han to plainly form a new squad. They could have personally picked out the new members, or they could have formed a new squad with the new transfers as the core members.

'They left all the responsibilities to me, they made fellow squad leaders feel spiteful. Try if you got the guts; only by overcoming this would I have the true qualifications to form a new squad.'

Han dodged everyone's hateful glare and hid himself in his room. It was harder to gather new members than he originally thought.

'This isn't easy at all. All the squad leaders are keeping their guard up against the thirteenth squad. They dislike the idea of having one of their members stolen from them.'

Han read through the second year directory and picked out the members he could possibly recruit. He read through the directory many times over, but he had already asked all of them.

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on his door. Han opened his door to see who it was. A curly brown haired youth was there.

Jose and Canute Meyer. Han had also talked with Canute before.

"Canute?"

"I heard the thirteenth squad is recruiting. Are tryouts still open?"

Canute smiled brightly. He scratched his head and sat down on his chair.

"Of course. But, you didn't seem that interested in joining. What changed your mind?"

"After listening to everyone, I felt the thirteenth squad would be the most enjoyable. Everyone views you as a traitor."

"That's it? Curiosity?"

"We were in cla.s.s B together. You're great. You've proved yourself many times in cla.s.s B. Rather than becoming a subordinate to someone I've never met before, I felt it would be best to stick with you. That's a good enough reason, right?"

Han and Canute shook hands.

"Welcome. Canute Meyer."

"If I'm not satisfied, I'll be applying for a transfer. Squad leader."

This was the lucky break that he needed. He had hoped to recruit Canute into his crew. He felt favorable wind blowing his direction.
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The next morning, there was a celebration ceremony for the new formation of the thirteenth squad in the military training grounds. It was a simple ceremony with only a few instructors.

The thirteenth squad had finally recruited the minimum member count and had formally become an official squad.

"Squad 13.  Squad leader Han Lee. Squad members Jose Batista, Canute Meyer… and was it Kuro? What's wrong with your face?"

The instructor asked. Kuro's face was a complete mess. His face had swollen completely and his eyes wouldn't properly open.

"I fell down the stairs."

In Ark, people used this statement to imply that they have no intentions to tell.

The instructors never took it in their own hands to delve deeper into situations when the person themselves remained quiet.

"Hmn, be more careful."

The instructor nodded.

Kuro let out a faint smile. He had told the seventh squad leader, Kato, that he would quit. Kato had become furious and beat up Kuro without holding back.

'He really didn't kill me.'

Kuro's shoulders shook as he laughed quietly to himself. He felt refreshed in his heart after getting beat up.

His guilt and reluctance of the seventh squad had completely disappeared.

"The thirteenth squad will use the D building dormitories. Move out. Detailed instructions will be sent to you at at 20:00. Squad leader Han, you're to turn in the squad training plans by 16:00."

"Understood."

Han and the squad members saluted and made their way to the dorms. They moved all their personal belongings into their new room. The instructors that had completed the ceremony organized the finis.h.i.+ng data into their data bracelets. Much new data were required to be entered into the system with the creation of a new squad. Their workload had increased exponentially.

"You've succeeded with the minimum amount."

The instructor said.

"Did you see Kuro's face? He seemed to have had a hard time with the seventh squad."

"Well, it would have been hard for the seventh squad leader to send Kuro."

"However, if Kuro couldn't successfully adjust himself with Squad 7, you would have transferred him into squad 13, right?"

The instructors looked toward the thirteenth squad.

"Would they be able to show their abilities in real battle? Han Lee."

n.o.body had any positive things to say about the formation of the thirteenth squad.

This was especially the case for the seventh squad who had their core member taken away. Overall, the opinion of the thirteenth squad wasn't high.

'They only have 4 members. Two of them are new transfers.'

There was one thing obvious about the thirteenth squad. It would be hard for them to gain points to raise their personal scores. They didn't have any veterans to lead them forward.

"Hey, we have our own building for year 2. This is awesome."

Jose said while jumping on his bed.

"You're going to break your bed."

Han said.

The thirteenth squad had all gathered in Jose's room. Jose had the least baggage and had the most s.p.a.ce for people to relax.

The four youths all sat in a spot they found comfortable.

"Four people. Is this enough? I'm disappointed, Han."

Canute complained. Han laughed and shook his head.

"We will gain more members in the future. That's if we win, of course. We must win with just the four of us first. Thankfully, the number of squad members to battle is based on the smaller squad. We're only got a disadvantage because we don't have numerous members to switch around. There should be no disadvantages when it comes to battle tactics. It could be we have the advantage. Especially you Kuro, you're one of the top 5 strongest psyker within the second year."

Kuro laughed embarra.s.sed. Han continued to speak.

"Kuro will be in charge of Jose and Canute's basic training. Kuro is your senior and had trained the second year curriculum longer than the two of you. We will probably have around 3 weeks to adjust. We have to start battling after that period."

"What if we can't obtain favorable results?"

Jose asked.

"We will become the laughing stock of everyone, in the worst case the thirteenth squad will be disbanded. You all understand what kind of treatment we will receive by the others after we are disbanded, right?"

Everyone nodded. They would not be treated with kindness.

"I came here with at least that much resolution."

"That goes for me as well."

Kuro said firmly. He had made a firm decision as he left the seventh squad.

Han looked into each of his member's eyes.

"Jose and Canute, I'm sorry, but you're too weak compared to the second years. Please focus on strengthening yourselves stronger than everyone else within these three weeks. It's difficult for us to beat everyone head on by ourselves. Kuro and I have many weaknesses. To win, we must move together as a squad. We won't win through our individual strengths, but through our squad's strength. We will grab our victory by covering for each other."

Han's voice didn't shake at all. His tenacious intention of victory was relayed to them. Han felt a heavy burden on his shoulders. He held these three youths' futures on his shoulders.

He didn't feel shaken by this kind of pressure at all. Rather, he felt empowered and he had more focus the more pressure he received. Han felt cold sweat fall down his body, but he smiled with confidence.