Saya nodded, Blackburn's fog refilling it with milk. Aimee thanked her and went back to Mia with Makoto.
"Here." chimed Aimee, handing it to Mia. "Um, if you want anything else, just let me know."
"…thank you." murmured Mia, still finding it difficult to talk. "I-I still need to call my mother."
"Sure thing." said Aimee as Makoto stood and left. "Revenant isn't active, so, um, sure."
"…er." Mia gestured awkwardly. "…I-I still need to call my mother. In private -"
" - oh! Sorry, um - sorry, I - yeah - um - sure thing." nodded Aimee quickly, trying not to stumble as she went out and closed the door -
" - you tried." grinned Makoto.
"T-This fucking sucks." winced Aimee, relevantly. "I don't even know if she's - or if she'll be - f-fuck."
"At least she's just as nervous of you. That's how you tell a chick likes you."
"Don't e-even." muttered Aimee, checking herself in her phone's reflection. "And I'm fucking looking like - this, too." It felt like the fantasy of seeing your ex on a day you were looking great, but as was really the case, it was on a day you looked your worst. "Hair is just - fuck."
Back in Mia's room, she hadn't called her mother yet. She didn't feel different yet, and her heart wasn't beating stronger. She reached over to the paper Hirogane had left, and remembering how she had reacted two years prior, felt excited, even nervous. She had felt empty of passion before; maybe this could fill her shoes with some.
She texted her mother to let her know she was safe and was going to rest, then got up and knocked at the door. Aimee opened it, Makoto gone.
"What's up?" she said.
"May I ask you about Urasaria?" said Mia, and Aimee nodded as she stepped inside & sat.
"Sure thing, yeah. Are you thinking about, um - staying? After?"
"I-I don't know yet." said Mia. "I-I simply, er, wanted to ask questions. What would - if I were to apply, what would happen?"
Aimee nodded. "Okay. So, u-uh, once your Revenant activated, they're gonna ask you what it does. They don't tell you, but they can check it if they think you're lying, so -"
" - er, who is they?"
"Staff. Sorry, um, yeah. They guy with the robe is Hirogane - he checks that staff. Head of infirmary."
"Alright."
"And then, um, so long as it's not - super useless - they give you a house on campus. Still not allowed to leave yet, and you start off with… a monthly salary." She tried not to let her tone show how little it was.
"I know it's low." said Mia, and Aimee nodded.
"…yeah. But once you hu- arrest more people with Revenants, it goes up, so -"
" - the rankings?"
Aimee laughed. "Yeah. Uh, guess I don't need to explain everything, right?"
"I - admittedly, I thought I recognized you when you first walked in." laughed Mia.
"Guess I'm kinda popular." chimed Aimee. "Um, hasn't - hasn't done anything with - with women but - y-yeah."
Mia nodded. "What happens after that?"
"R-Right." nodded Aimee. "You get a mentor assigned to you from second-years. Um, I'm a third-year, so. They'll help teach you how to use your Revenant, stuff like that, and… I'm sure they'll kinda repeat all this, but, um. They have a tablet that lets them get calls for where Revenants - hosts - are, and you go deal with them. If you get hurt, some people have stuff that can heal you, or come back to the infirmary and - yeah. Everything make sense?"
Mia shook her head affirmatively. "I-I believe so."
"Good." Aimee smiled. "Um, if you want - once you have your Revenant, we can… go out together and make sure you know what to do and everything? I-I can make you much more durable."
"Thank you. Er, perhaps." smiled Mia. "I - I really appreciate how understanding you're being."
"Y-Yeah. Um, sure." chimed Aimee. "Just want to make sure you're comfortable. Can always ask me anything."
"…er. One other thing, then. Most students kill, correct?"
Aimee nodded, but wondered what articles Mia had seen about her. Hopefully by the slanted side of the press. "Um. Most of them, yeah, but -"
" - I don't have any issue with that. I understand that it's in self-defense."
Aimee had nourished a secret hope she *would've* had issue, so she could shove Mia out of her head. "You always have the, uh, choice, but yeah."
"You're dealing with scum. There's no room to - no good reason to, er - risk yourself."
"Kinda sounds like your Revenant already activated." Aimee laughed a little.
"What do you mean?"
"You'll know once it activates, but - kinda makes you more violent. More, uh, desensitized." Seeing Mia's expression: "It - no, I mean it - it doesn't change your personality, it's just… um. Mind if I show you, kinda? Are you done with your milk?"
Mia nodded and drank the rest. Aimee gestured to her before she stepped out, and after a minute came back with Saya.
"Is everything alright, Ms. Schultz?" said Saya as she sat down.
"Yeah." said Aimee, sitting down beside and hoping Mia found her amusing. "She just, uh - wanted a new pillow. Right?"
"Yes." nodded Mia.
"Give me the case, then." said Saya. Mia handed it to her and Saya dipped her right hand inside it. "I am sorry if… it sounds as if you've had a very stressful day."
"A-A little."
Saya nodded. "Can you look at my right arm?" (Mia did.) "Good. I am about to summon my Revenant, Blackburn. Its fog won't hurt you if you accidentally touch it. It allows me to 'fill' things. It's a creation Revenant."
Blackburn's fog appeared on Saya's right arm, and she took the pillow out of its case. Streams of fog flew in to the case and filled it with a new pillow.
"See how it changes?" said Saya, and Mia nodded. "Would you like to touch it?"
"I
suppose." laughed Mia, and Saya with her as she took her
Blackburn-hand. After a few seconds, Saya smiled and pulled away, then
glanced at the empty cup.
Mia thought about college over the next week, as she wasn't allowed outside of the infirmary. She had seen the rows of housing out of the third-floor window and the mansions near the front gate & walls. Relatively isolated in location, she had noticed that the area directly around Urasaria Academy had little of the resonant neon glow life as an urban woman had conditioned her eyes to imbue in night.
She also noticed that for as essential as Urasaria was, most of the funding didn't show in the housing. Aimee had visited her daily, and pointed out the squat brick of mismatched boards that was row of one-star housing, along with her own mansion; a fact that seemed to embarrass her.
She worried over her choice between Urasaria & college. With college, she might've never seen a Revenant, but she may have regretted it. The videos she watched from both current & never-students did little to whittle this anxiety down; she recognized that both would rationalize their own decisions.
Her Revenant hadn't activated yet, and she still didn't feel stronger. How much power would be packed in to that colony of bacteria she did not know. Saya had demonstrated Blackburn for her, filling patients' wounds with new flesh, and she saw Flashbulb's cube too. Luna didn't talk much, but her & Saya held hands, and Mia remembered to gossip about it with Aimee.
Yet it bothered her to see Aimee come in with injuries; she had hoped after a certain point a Revenant was strong enough to kill instantly. If Rank #1 only had slightly thinner wounds than #50 or #70, then she wasn't sure relying on herself would be good enough, either, even with a mentor.
On the first quarter of the eighth night, something in her room screeched -
" - WORLDWIDE!"
- she woke up screaming -
- and Hirogane came in a few seconds after, turning the lights on; she threw her hands over her eyes -
" - I - I think it - I think my Revenant a-a-awoke - is someone in here?"
"Jjust me." yawned Hirogane, and she slowly nodded, still shaking as he came over.
"A-Alright." she panted, uncovering her eyes. "I-I h-heard something screaming -"
" - I didn't hear anything. Probably was your Revenant."
"…a-a-alright." She breathed for a minute. "I-I believe its name is, e-er - Worldwide."
Hirogane nodded. Mia had realized over the past week his bedside manner was worse than Saya's. "Need to check if it's active, then. Make sure you stay still."
Mia sat up as he tapped one of his robe's black splotches.
"Pulse." He pulled an oily tendril out of it, drew it up her vein, and she felt calmly disgusted as it slithered up her arm, touching her heart. He pulled Pulse out. "S'active. Should be able to summon it."
"I… I would prefer to w-wait for Aimee, if that's alright." said Mia, and called Aimee.
Aimee's mansion was the furthest from the infirmary, but she still got there within a minute.
"Hey." She smiled, yawning as she sat down. "You got it?"
"Y-Yes." said Mia. "But I - I wanted to wait until you were here."
Aimee nodded, though her crush had grown worse in the interim. She'd tried moisturizer and a new haircut, still trying to work out if Mia liked her usual outfit. "Go ahead."
"...Worldwide." said Mia, and in the next instant -
- a dozen scarabs appeared on her right sleeve, golden with one red line. One flew above her head and exploded in a tuft of red flame.
"Nice." nodded Aimee. "Uh, want to try something fun out?"
"Like what?"
"U-Um, give me your wrist."
Mia nodded and gave her her wrist. Blue tendrils burst out of Aimee's wrist, which Mia knew as Rider, if not the ability.
Rider's tendrils dipped in her veins, and as another scarab exploded -
- a tuft of orange flame puffed out.
"There we go." chimed Aimee, taking her hand off. "Uh, just kinda - enhancement."
"I-I felt that, yes. Er, is it only ... I'm not sure if there's any other ability to it, or…"
"That's … kinda just something you know innately, s-so. Its abilities. Can you extinguish it, if you set something on fire?"
"I don't believe I can." frowned Mia, and Hirogane yawned.
"Careful around any buildings."
"Y-Yeah." laughed Aimee. "Guess what you could do is - if you accidentally set something on fire, uh. Cover it with your body. Since Revenants can't harm their hosts or what they're wearing."
A scarab exploded on Mia's palm, and she nodded as no pain came. "I want to apply to Urasaria."
Aimee smiled and looked to Hirogane.
"On it." He yawned and walked out.
"Should, um - just t-take a minute." said Aimee excitedly. "Luna's not here, otherwise we could celebrate. Maybe, um - maybe tomorrow we could go out fighting and get to know Worldwide, maybe?"
"Worldwide, yes." she smiled. "But, er… I-I appreciate the offer, but, I wish to practice more before... hunting."
"O-Oh. Um. Y-Yeah. Sorry." laughed Aimee. "Sure thing, yeah."
"But, eventually."
"Sounds good."
Hirogane came back with her registration papers, and Aimee helped her through them. Once Mia had finished, she wanted sleep again, so Aimee & Hirogane left to the main infirmary once her eyes shut. Hirogane glanced at her door, then gestured out to the hall. Aimee followed him.
"What's up?" she whispered.
"Something's wrong with her colony. Felt it when Pulse was checking her. It's an extremely small colony. Could barely feel it on her heart."
"… I mean, it's new, right?"
"… I'll check her again in a week. Might have something to do with whoever gave it to her. Still. Keeps up like that - should tell that to whoever she gets assigned."
"…yeah. Uh. Speaking of - who gave it to her. Any progress with that?"
"Renault's still checking Rewind."
"…alright. Lemme know how she's doing."
As Hirogane watched her walk away, he felt the name Worldwide sounded familiar.
She also noticed that for as essential as Urasaria was, most of the funding didn't show in the housing. Aimee had visited her daily, and pointed out the squat brick of mismatched boards that was row of one-star housing, along with her own mansion; a fact that seemed to embarrass her.
She worried over her choice between Urasaria & college. With college, she might've never seen a Revenant, but she may have regretted it. The videos she watched from both current & never-students did little to whittle this anxiety down; she recognized that both would rationalize their own decisions.
Her Revenant hadn't activated yet, and she still didn't feel stronger. How much power would be packed in to that colony of bacteria she did not know. Saya had demonstrated Blackburn for her, filling patients' wounds with new flesh, and she saw Flashbulb's cube too. Luna didn't talk much, but her & Saya held hands, and Mia remembered to gossip about it with Aimee.
Yet it bothered her to see Aimee come in with injuries; she had hoped after a certain point a Revenant was strong enough to kill instantly. If Rank #1 only had slightly thinner wounds than #50 or #70, then she wasn't sure relying on herself would be good enough, either, even with a mentor.
On the first quarter of the eighth night, something in her room screeched -
" - WORLDWIDE!"
- she woke up screaming -
- and Hirogane came in a few seconds after, turning the lights on; she threw her hands over her eyes -
" - I - I think it - I think my Revenant a-a-awoke - is someone in here?"
"Jjust me." yawned Hirogane, and she slowly nodded, still shaking as he came over.
"A-Alright." she panted, uncovering her eyes. "I-I h-heard something screaming -"
" - I didn't hear anything. Probably was your Revenant."
"…a-a-alright." She breathed for a minute. "I-I believe its name is, e-er - Worldwide."
Hirogane nodded. Mia had realized over the past week his bedside manner was worse than Saya's. "Need to check if it's active, then. Make sure you stay still."
Mia sat up as he tapped one of his robe's black splotches.
"Pulse." He pulled an oily tendril out of it, drew it up her vein, and she felt calmly disgusted as it slithered up her arm, touching her heart. He pulled Pulse out. "S'active. Should be able to summon it."
"I… I would prefer to w-wait for Aimee, if that's alright." said Mia, and called Aimee.
Aimee's mansion was the furthest from the infirmary, but she still got there within a minute.
"Hey." She smiled, yawning as she sat down. "You got it?"
"Y-Yes." said Mia. "But I - I wanted to wait until you were here."
Aimee nodded, though her crush had grown worse in the interim. She'd tried moisturizer and a new haircut, still trying to work out if Mia liked her usual outfit. "Go ahead."
"...Worldwide." said Mia, and in the next instant -
- a dozen scarabs appeared on her right sleeve, golden with one red line. One flew above her head and exploded in a tuft of red flame.
"Nice." nodded Aimee. "Uh, want to try something fun out?"
"Like what?"
"U-Um, give me your wrist."
Mia nodded and gave her her wrist. Blue tendrils burst out of Aimee's wrist, which Mia knew as Rider, if not the ability.
Rider's tendrils dipped in her veins, and as another scarab exploded -
- a tuft of orange flame puffed out.
"There we go." chimed Aimee, taking her hand off. "Uh, just kinda - enhancement."
"I-I felt that, yes. Er, is it only ... I'm not sure if there's any other ability to it, or…"
"That's … kinda just something you know innately, s-so. Its abilities. Can you extinguish it, if you set something on fire?"
"I don't believe I can." frowned Mia, and Hirogane yawned.
"Careful around any buildings."
"Y-Yeah." laughed Aimee. "Guess what you could do is - if you accidentally set something on fire, uh. Cover it with your body. Since Revenants can't harm their hosts or what they're wearing."
A scarab exploded on Mia's palm, and she nodded as no pain came. "I want to apply to Urasaria."
Aimee smiled and looked to Hirogane.
"On it." He yawned and walked out.
"Should, um - just t-take a minute." said Aimee excitedly. "Luna's not here, otherwise we could celebrate. Maybe, um - maybe tomorrow we could go out fighting and get to know Worldwide, maybe?"
"Worldwide, yes." she smiled. "But, er… I-I appreciate the offer, but, I wish to practice more before... hunting."
"O-Oh. Um. Y-Yeah. Sorry." laughed Aimee. "Sure thing, yeah."
"But, eventually."
"Sounds good."
Hirogane came back with her registration papers, and Aimee helped her through them. Once Mia had finished, she wanted sleep again, so Aimee & Hirogane left to the main infirmary once her eyes shut. Hirogane glanced at her door, then gestured out to the hall. Aimee followed him.
"What's up?" she whispered.
"Something's wrong with her colony. Felt it when Pulse was checking her. It's an extremely small colony. Could barely feel it on her heart."
"… I mean, it's new, right?"
"… I'll check her again in a week. Might have something to do with whoever gave it to her. Still. Keeps up like that - should tell that to whoever she gets assigned."
"…yeah. Uh. Speaking of - who gave it to her. Any progress with that?"
"Renault's still checking Rewind."
"…alright. Lemme know how she's doing."
As Hirogane watched her walk away, he felt the name Worldwide sounded familiar.
"…ah. Would you like another drink?"
"Was my milk created by Blackburn?"
"It was. It's safe for consumption."
"Fat-free, too." chimed Aimee, and Saya laughed.
"Well, it hasn't been checked for that, but it's safe."
"Can you create water?" said Mia.
Saya took the cup. "Yes. Is that what you would like?" (Mia nodded.) Streams of fog flew in to the cup, filling it with water as she handed it back. "Thank you. If you need anything else, please do not hesitate to call for me, or Hirogane. Neither of our Revenants can harm you."
"Thank you." said Mia, and Saya walked out.
"See?" chimed Aimee. "I told her you were - said you were scared of Revenants, so."
"She seems very nice." Mia smiled.
"Yeah." laughed Aimee. "Nicest person on campus, too. She's Hirogane's assistant, so you'll see her a lot, and, uh… there's Luna, too, but she just stays in her office most of the time."
"Have I seen her yet?"
"Nah. She's ... freckles, stutters a lot. Usually sticks close to Saya, but she makes food. Has a Revenant that lets her take a picture of any recipe and just recreates it. Flashbulb."
"I assume she's not a student, then." laughed Mia, and Aimee nodded.
"Nah, she's not. Everyone jokes about her and Saya - uh, dating, since - just how they look at each other."
Mia grinned, gossip appealing to her brain's base. "Are they?"
Aimee laughed and shook her head. "They're just good friends, pretty sure. Wouldn't have any reason to hide that, anyway. Most of us are lesbians."
"The women, at least." chimed Mia and the two laughed.
"Yeah. You never know, though, uh…" Aimee trailed off, remembering she didn't know Mia's sexuality.
"I may fit right in, then. Er, also - who was the other woman? With the pink-hair?"
"Makoto." Aimee winced. "…uh. Hope she didn't make you… uncomfortable. She can be a bit much sometimes. Doesn't have a filter."
"I did get that from her."
"Yeah. She's in, uh - if someone says 'Council of Four', they mean me, her, two other guys. Just some, uh - silly name I came up with."
Mia nodded and the two kept quiet for a while. Aimee started feeling anxious over not talking, so she said; "But, um, yeah. Still need to find out why you have a Revenant and all that. Right? U-Um, we have someone that has cameras and stuff, so... Someone must've dropped you off, right?"
"Yes. But, er, I don't know who would have done it."
"Might be the same guy who attacked you." said Aimee. "Any idea where you were?"
"Er, near - near Clermont Street."
"Alright. I'll make sure they start looking around there, yeah."
Aimee wouldn't normally be involved in an investigation, but she knew she would be because of Mia. Even though the fantasy that being a good detective would woo her was ridiculous, she still liked to believe it, as she didn't feel her personality or appearance were up to the task. She was unlike Makoto in that she did not let her lack of success step ahead of her judgment when it came to women.
"But, um. Just get some rest, and stay here for now, right?" said Aimee. "Lemme give you my number, so - um, yeah. Let me know if you need anything, or if anything happens. Right?"
"Right." Mia nodded and leaned back. "Thank you for answering my questions."
"Sure thing. Text me, um - anytime you want. Don't have to worry about me being too b-busy."
Mia nodded and closed her eyes.
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