Day 818 - April 01, 2032, 09:16.

  Hawk, who was supervising the cadets, stretched, bored out of his mind as he lay on the ground slovenly. His wife wasn’t there so he didn’t even bother acting like a diligent mentor.

  “…It’s been awhile since I’ve last seen you slack off.” Rhino stood beside him.

  Hawk pouted, “Goldie isn’t here.”

  “Just pick a personality and stick with it. Goldie would still love you.” Rhino rolled his eyes as he looked through the files of each new cadet.

  “… Don’t bother looking through them.” Hawk scratched behind his ear as he sighed, “I’ve been training them for the last couple of months and they don’t have the drive nor talent as 4-17’s squad.”

  “I see, but regardless, in a few years time, they’ll be our allies. It doesn’t hurt to teach them as much as possible so that they can at least survive.”

  Hawk hummed contemplatively as he looked at Taeseok and the original gang sparring each other, “They’re graduating soon, aren’t they?”

  “In 3 months. Why?”

  “Just, for some reason, I feel like I won’t be seeing them in a long, long time…”

  “…” Rhino glanced up at the 6 cadets they had taught since almost 2 years ago and whispered softly, “…They’ve grown. We can pretty much call them equals now.”

  “You’re wrong…” Hawk chuckled, “They’ve far surpassed us.”

  “Isn’t that something?” Rhino smiled warmly before thinking of an idea, “Since they’re pretty much Agents, maybe we should start having them think of their code names and practise with it during simulation matches.”

  “Good idea. And we’ll have a barbeque for their graduation party.” Hawk rose up, “I’ll get Ox’s permiss—!”

  “No, he’ll reject it coming from you, I’ll go. You tell the kids to think of their code names.”

  “Now why would he reject it from me?” Hawk pouted, feeling offended but soon saw Rhino’s glare that pretty much summarised the amount of chaos he made over the years.

  “Riiight… maybe you should.” Hawk coughed to ease the awkwardness, “…I’ll tell the kids.”

  ***

  09:20

  “Code names?” Jiho was baffled. Everyone glanced at each other wondering if there was something wrong with Hawk.

  Hawk’s brows twitched at the fact this is how little they think of him.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Seohwa then asked, “I thought we were getting our code names when we graduate?”

  “Officially, yes. But ultimately, you decide your code name and you can train with it before the ceremony.” Hawk explained, “Aaaand, just so you know, this was Rhino’s idea.”

  “Oh if it’s Sir Rhino’s then, I guess it’s ok.” Yerin sighed in relief as the rest nodded.

  Hawk’s mouth twitched as he wondered…

  Why is there such a difference in behaviour between him and me?

  Hawk sighed, rubbing his temples, “Oh, and you need to decide on a squad name as well.”

  Taeseok perked up and offered, “Then~ how ‘bout the Chewies?” He was holding a Chewies packet.

  “NO!” Both Yerin and Minggu yelled.

  “Eh?” Taeseok pouted, “Boo~”

  Jiho pondered and excitedly suggested, “How about Lightning Squad?”

  “That sounds stupid.” Yerin scoffed.

  “HUH? WHY NOT? It’s cool!” Jiho huffed.

  Hwayeon intervened before their argument escalated, “Jiho, Yerin, calm down. And Jiho… that name frankly sounds like everyone has lightning powers… it is very Jiho but I don’t think it fits us as a team.”

  Jiho pouted as he understood her point.

  As they all argued over the name, Seohwa asked Hawk, “Sir Hawk?”

  “Yes, 8-33?”

  “…You’re in a or were in a squad, right? What did you call yourselves?”

  Hawk chuckled, “It’s been a while since I thought of my squad… You see Goldie led it and I was its Vice Leader. We called it Golden Wild. There were many animal type awakeners in the group hence the name.”

  Seohwa hummed, “It’s a good name. Who thought of it?”

  “Oh I did.” Hawk smiled, nostalgically, “Those were the good times…”

  Before they realised it, everyone was looking at him. Hawk raised his brows at the sudden attention, “What?”

  Taeseok munched on some chips as he murmured, “Why don’t you decide our squad name for us?”

  “Me? Why? It’s your squad.” Hawk rejected the idea.

  Yerin huffed, “Then when you look at us, what’s the first thing we remind you of?”

  Hawk rubbed the back of his head as he looked at each person, “…you guys…” Hawk paused, “…you remind me of a cartoon movie I liked as a kid.”

  Minggu went pale, “Please tell me it’s nothing childish.”

  “…” Hawk laughed as he shook his head before thinking of an idea, “How about the Furies?”

  “The Furies?” Hwayeon tilted her head as she whispered the name before smiling.

  “Not bad.” Taeseok hummed nonchalantly as he stuffed chips in his mouth.

  Yerin and Minggu glanced at each other and breathed a sigh of relief, they weren’t named after some food as they both liked the name.

  Jiho smiled, “Sounds cool too!”

  Seohwa then asked, “Why the Furies?”

  “It's based on the team from the movie I liked as a kid and they had characters in it that reminded me of you all.” Hawk smiled.

  He then pointed to Hwayeon, “Tigress, for your loving heart.”

  Then to Minggu, “Mantis, for quick hands.”

  To Yerin, “Crane for elegance.” Yerin smirked.

  To Seohwa, “Viper, for your battle style which is like a snake’s.”

  To Jiho, “Monkey, for obvious reasons.”

  “HEY!” Everyone laughed as Jiho protested.

  Lastly, to Taeseok, “Bear.”

  “Shouldn’t it be a Panda?” Rhino snorted as he came in secretly after getting the approval from Ox.

  “We’ll get copyrighted then.” Hawk shook her head.

  Rhino rolled his eyes, “You and your nonsense.”

  “Did you get it?” Hawk changed the subject.

  Rhino raised the signed approval forms, “Yep. We’ll be having a barbecue next month.”

  “YES!” Everyone cheered.

  Seohwa smiled warmly as she declared, “It seems we’ve decided.”

  Taeseok nodded, “Chewies, it is.”

  “NO!” Minggu and Yerin yelled as Hwayeon giggled, “You mean, the Furies, Taeseok.”

  Jiho pouted as he complained, “Monkey, really?”

  Hawk smiled, “Well, Monkey was this really cool action figure in the movie.”

  Jiho’s ears perked up as his lips twitched in excitement.

  Rhino sighed, whispering, “You’re not mentioning he was also a comedian.”

  “Relax, let the little guy have his moment.”

  Hawk then watched all of them train using only their code names with a proud smirk, “It’s disgusting how diligent they are.”