"He really ended up using the design I gave him," Yuki murmured, looking at the medium-sized, high-altitude chopper he had proposed upgrades for.
"Yuki! You doing well?" an African man in pilot gear called out with a wide smile.
"Oh, Ali! How are the new tweaks?" Yuki asked, sharing a hand bump, his eyes roaming the aircraft's body.
"You're joking? I have the best drop precision in the whole rank thanks to it!" Ali said, smiling even wider.
As an A+ Ranker, Ali got there solely by taking drop missions for other Rankers and organizations. Thanks to some additional parts and systems Yuki added for him, Ali had a chance to advance his years of frozen rank.
"So, I hear you're in on this mission?" Ali asked, putting his arm around Yuki and leading him to the gathering team.
"Well, you tell me. I just got notice an hour ago," Yuki answered, observing the people. Most were in heavy tactical suits. Yuki recognized only two of them, in addition to Anna and Wanda.
The first was a man of Chinese origin, Ji Long, an A+ Ranker at the age of 34, with top lethality as a sniper. Despite being only an ETA-type of metal attribute, he smartly used it to control the range and curve of the bullets, raising his bullseye rate to 98%. The second was a friend of his, Mark, an A Ranker aged 22 and a personal disciple of John, and one hell of a short sword user. With a BETA-type and water attribute, he was a nasty enemy to fight.
Yuki nodded at the others, joining them around the table.
"Okay, since all the personnel are here, and since it's an A-mission, let's start the sealing," Anna said, nodding at Yuki and opening a case beside her.
She handed out some kind of stickers of the Guild symbol, or what was called 'The Beacon'—the latest invention of the mystic department, along with Yuki's help (of course).
She passed one to Yuki, but he refused, confusing everyone except Anna and Wanda.
"I have a fixed one," Yuki said, showing them his side neck, tattooed with the same symbol, just more aesthetic.
Of course, as a new general rule, everyone knew the use of this tattoo as a monitoring and detecting tool for the use of superpower. They also knew the sticker form was for easy regulation outside, as the tattoo was usually a condition only for S-Rankers or higher, as the sticker burned the moment it was stuck in place on them.
Getting back from their shock, they stuck the mark.
"Now, get ready for the mission. Yuki, stay behind," Anna said, signaling to Wanda and leading the others to the plan.
"So, after the mission, I have something for you," Anna said, then acted as if forcing the words out. "After the mission, you will go back to the mainland. I'm officially kicking you from the cliff."
"It hurts me to see you leave," she said, feigning a sniff, "but it's time for you to spread your wings and make something for yourself."
Looking at Yuki with half-closed eyes, she was surprised when he gave her an unamused face.
"Well, worth the try," Anna murmured, dropping the act, seeing he wasn't buying it—not that she was trying very hard.
"But seriously," she added, "you will really start to live outside. I've made the needed preparations."
"Can I know why, at least?" Yuki sighed, giving up on understanding. "You know I'm working on a lot of projects lately? And it's something we need in the future?"
"That's why!" Anna answered, pointing her finger as if he were voicing a fact. "Tell me, when was the last time you did something for yourself?"
"Huh? Well, every time?" Yuki said, not understanding. "I don't remember doing anything unwillingly?"
Sigh. "You know you're starting to think like a Guild Leader more than I do?" Anna said with a defeated tone, understanding that he was acting unconsciously. "Before the accident, you would jump from interest to interest. Sometimes you'd come up with a technique or technology just for the fun of it. But all we saw you create seeped from your pure curiosity."
"Well, I still do the same," Yuki mumbled.
"Give me one thing you did in the last year because it was fun," Anna asked.
"I enjoy training, and I got a blast in the last satellite upgrade," Yuki said, and after thinking, "And I got to see, ride, and tweak all types of vehicles?"
"No. You enjoy training, yeah, but last time I checked, you didn't even use your abilities in training except to control them," Anna shook her head. "And your so-called vehicles are now war-machine level. The upgrade of the satellite was around monitoring energy spikes and ability detection."
"So? It was fun," he said, not getting her point.
"Okay, I'll tell it to you straight." Anna ruffled her hair in frustration. "You're becoming like an old man, not a teenager: no friends, no social life, and a mountain of anxiety and self-imposed responsibility."
"Uh…" Yuki was about to comment but stopped mid-sentence as Anna glared at him to shut up.
"Zip it! I'm talking!" Anna commanded. "A man older than you by 20 years doesn't count as a friend, even if you count John and the others. And you're not even 18, for God's sake! It's not your job to worry about global dangers!"
Surprised by her snapping attitude, Yuki opened his eyes wide.
"I know we're far from normal people," Anna said with another sigh, dragging his head and resting it on her shoulder. "But that doesn't mean we can't live normally. That's why the 'Mask On' protocol is for."
Yuki smiled wryly at her. Honestly, something like that was far away from his thinking; with his background, he tended to dive more into the unique aspects of the world, and for him, it was normal. But from a parent's perspective, not having an interest in social life at his age—that makes him a downright antisocial teenager.
And adding how he started to research some space-related things probably rang the alarm bells for Anna. The reason for their disagreement, however, was still not the same for the two of them. For Yuki, it was just Anna worrying about his future, but for Anna, she was scared that he might lose control if he kept taking everything on alone. Sadly, as a parent, she knew that children, no matter how good their relationship was with their parents, will never be $100\%$ honest with them; after all, they're teenagers for a reason.
"Okay, I get it, but there's no need to go back to the mainland, right?" Yuki asked, getting her point of view.
"Because here, you're Yuke Alexander and everyone knows that. So yeah, try to live as a normal teenager here."
"Point taken." Not only was he the son of the Guild Master, but with all the stunts he pulled, he knew for sure he already burned his teenager picture long ago.
"And as a side note, I got you the permission and capital to start your own division," Anna said with a puffed chest. "And not only that, I got you a property to start with. I know you will love it."
She handed a file to him, containing all the 'normal paper' he needed: ID, passport, driving license…
"Okay, thanks, I guess, but I expect you to drop by from time to time," Yuki said, hugging her tightly, having noticed the bubbly way she talked with a sigh, knowing it was her way to hide emotion.
"That's my boy," she said, hugging him before letting go with a smile. "Go get them, Black Feather."
"Aye, ma'am," Yuki saluted playfully and got inside the airplane.