"Wake-Up Call & Recruits"
The morning sun filtered through the curtains as Shoguichi lay deep in sleep, his face scrunched in reluctant peace. Soft pokes began jabbing at his cheek. Then again. And again.
Annoyingly gentle but persistent. He groaned, mumbling incoherently, refusing to wake—until he cracked open one eye.
Sakiko's face was inches from his, grinning wildly.
Startled, Shoguichi jolted up—and crack!—their heads collided. Both recoiled in opposite directions with a yelp.
"Ouch!"
"What the—what are you doing here?!" he blurted, rubbing his forehead.
Sakiko, unfazed and proud, replied, "Grandma let me in. Today's the day!"
Shoguichi blinked. "What day?"
"The first day of recruit training, duh!" she declared, arms folded triumphantly.
"And... why are you here?"
"I'm recruiting you," she said with full confidence. "Grandma Tan told me everything. Kinda." She clearly hadn't heard the full story, but she was convinced he was fit for this.
Shoguichi, trying to back out, launched into a fake excuse about having too much to do. But Grandma Tan's voice floated in from the kitchen, casually dismantling his alibi piece by piece.
Caught in the lie, Shoguichi sighed.
Sakiko smirked. "Alright, fine. But Remember the name Team Sakiko, soon we are going to be the next big thing around here so if you change your mind —" she winked. "I'll be waiting."
She thanked Grandma Tan and stepped out to where James and Korie.
"Let me guess, he said he was not going to come," korie said.
"No way, he totally loved the idea, said he was going to think about it, Now Lets go do some practice, young recruits!"
Sakiko marched up and barked orders like a miniature general. "James, you'll clean my room, brush my hair, do my dishes, and maybe save the world if I let you."
James saluted. "My first real training, this is a dream come true! Yes, commander!"
Korie blinked. "Wait a minute, that sounds—"
"Shhhh," Sakiko cut her off with a finger to the lips and a cheeky smile. The trio laughed as James sprinted off, pumped for "duty."
Sakiko and Korie slowed their pace, sharing a quiet moment as they walked.
"You think he is going to come around, really?" Korie asked.
Sakiko nodded. "Yeah, you can bet on it!"
Korie smiled. "Okay then, Let's see if I can keep up."
The two broke into a light jog, their laughter echoing behind them—while back inside, Shoguichi stared out the window.