Kazuki's prospects in the program rose significantly. He was now 2-3. The same was true for Ryuga. Minato and Eiji were already qualified as pilots now. It was a perfect streak of 5 synchronizations in a row. That was a really impressive feat. The drill instructors threw a big party to celebrate. Every single of the 24 recruits were made to attend. The closest recruit still only had 3 successes so far. Minato got the blue pant legs to attack to his very tan training suit. Eiji got red sleeves. They still had time to get the other set. If they could get 3 more successful synchronizations as the opposite role, they could get the other half of the suit and be recognized as Switch Glowies by the program. It did not seem like Minato was interested. He wanted to be a Bottom and he was now a Bottom. Eiji was seemingly considering it. That would probably mean that they would need to split from this point. The head of the program then addressed us. He said "You guys are halfway through the program. Keep up all the hard work and don't be afraid to switch partners. Try new things. You might be surprised."
Since Kazuki had 1 success as a Top and 1 as a Bottom with Ryuga, it was possible both of them could become Switches. They would just have to alternate. Since their record was not going to be anywhere near as impressive as Minato's, Kazuki wanted to show a diversity of partners. He went to Aito and offered to partner with him. He immediately took it. They worked together during the exercises and mental conditioning. He refused to Top. "It's not the time to try new things. I'm still on 0. I need to go with what works and pray that my partners can accommodate me at my best." he explained. Kazuki could understand it. Using Aito, he could grind out the remaining Top synchronizations he would need to prove himself. They did not come anywhere close to forming a friendship. Aito was busy trying to play games in the break room. That was not what Kazuki like to spend free time on. He liked to watch anime. Ryuga liked both hobbies so he was often able to bridge the gaps between them by having them do both activities. Ryuga was going to Bottom for Jiro. Kazuki wished him luck.
During the first attempt to synchronize, Kazuki was back to a sub 50 performance as a Top. It was a bit frustrating as Ryuga got him to a nice 57. Aito was luckily able to compensate with his natural growth and emitted a nice pulse as a Bottom. The recorded maximum output was 56. Combined with a White Pulse of 47, they just barely managed to get a stable connection. To reach the required pulse average of 51, they had to add to at least 102. It was at a total of 103 at the moment. They were able to hold it until the 3 minute mark which was good enough. As it was Aito's first successful synchronization, he was over the moon with happiness. Kazuki knew he could do a bit better so he offered to do it again with him the next week. Aito obviously agreed to it. By his own logic, leaning into what worked was needed if he was going to be a pilot. The second time they entered the simulation saw marked improvement. Kazuki emitted a White Pulse of 52. The Black Pulse was 59. Jiro just grabbed Kazuki and demanded they work together. "I will even Bottom for you this time." Kazuki agreed.
