"Hey, you want a drink?" Niragi leans over to you so you can hear him clearly through the music, wearing that familiar sneer on his face that now finally appears friendly rather than arrogant. Normally, it would be inappropriate for two co-workers to drink while on the task; however, you weren't in the world you used to live in. No structure, no rules, and no police, so people had either to forget about them completely or create their own, as Hatter and his buddies did. So was built the Beach and the militants within its order, which you have joined just recently.

At first, being the asshole that Niragi is, he was rather unwelcoming when you were accepted to be a part of the militants. It seems as if he doesn't hold any respect for anyone but Aguni and 'The Last Boss', which could be understandable considering their high-ranking position and overall reputation that they deserved through blood and sweat—literally. It can be applied to anyone who finds themselves in Borderlands. Here, the living returns to survival, and in survival, the animalistic part of humans fully flourishes. Forget about being a lawyer or a good mathematician unless you're facing a corresponding Diamond game. Now, you have to use all the skills you have, from physical to psychological abilities, and fight with all your might. That causes a trigger to be pulled—natural selection. The strongest, most capable ones continue being. Those who are weak perish. It was simple, simple to read in the biology book, yet it wasn't anything of sorts in practice. For most, at least.

The game you were sent with Niragi, luckily for you, turned out to be Spades, aka, based on pure strength, force, and agility. You proved your worth and did it so brilliantly that it even melted the tough guy's heart. Platonically. In a way, a man feeling a spark of admiration and attraction towards another man...as 'bros'.

That was the tricky part—he was utterly oblivious to you being a woman. Why did it turn out like that? Just look in the mirror. Although nowadays there are various gender identities and less judgment, people can express themselves in any way they want. It was great. But it wasn't like that in all parts of the world. Japan was known for its duality—freakiness in the contrast of conservatism, so although you can find there maid cafes, cute girl wrestling, femboys, and many other media stuff, in real life, there were many taboos and norms, so, naturally, even while being a rebel among average japanese men, Niragi did not assume someone tall, muscular, and with a deep voice, could be a girl. All women now could be seen walking around in a swimsuit with all their curves prominent, and even those who still wore normal clothes were either petite and weak or still had a screaming sense of femininity to them. Or maybe it's Niragi whose eyes got too accustomed to bikinis and high-pitched screaming.

"C'mon, man, I'm pretty sure no one will bring problems today. They're all bite, no bark." It is true that most trouble comes from militants themselves, not from the main 'herd'.

'Man'. A guy like Niragi would never talk so casually to a woman (especially with his values of a mindless predator) and not playfully shove one with an elbow as he did now.

Did he really not realize it? And was it for the better?