The three relayed their progress once they'd returned, and though Rayaka's slipperiness gave Mia swap week, they'd return to investigation after. Aimee had asked her to fight with her & Makoto all that weekend, so the scarabwoman had learned enough of Makoto's jokes to find her endearing, if not likable, and come to learn how her & Aimee had met.
After an incident in Aimee's first year, she had chosen Makoto as her same-year protege, partially because she did not know anyone else. Back then, most knew Makoto as a pink-haired brat always snickering like she'd just finished making a dirty joke; three years hadn't changed it much.
Some thought Makoto developed her cynicism after her mother's death, but Aimee didn't put much stock in that. She liked that she was never unaware where someone stood with Makoto: physically or otherwise. Her sexual attitude would've bothered Aimee more if it came from someone whose lips worked properly around women she liked: let alone her hands.
But over time, Makoto's perceived reputation had hardened calluses in to her only Aimee tended to see unfolded. Opinions came from her mind already defensive, and she had reverse-engineered a conceitedness from spouting just the opposite of popular opinion. Whether she even had much confidence Aimee did not know: only that few on campus even mentioned Makoto. She knew from her own public embarrassments that most people did not remember others, and let these dots of the universe blend in the whites of their lives.
Makoto also had an orchestra that usually blew their foes' heads up, if Aimee & Rider's speed didn't slice it off first. Though Mia knew why, she still felt useful when they let her solo fire Revenants, as Worldwide gave her immunity, and Aimee & Makoto credited every kill to her.
But of late Aimee was growing to disdain hunting with Makoto, for she would often slyly glance at Mia as if to tempt Aimee into viewing her as her own; to directly vocalize her feelings for Mia so that Makoto could not do so first. Of course, there was no actual romantic threat from Makoto, yet it still worked on Aimee, vaguely. She had gone out to a few dinners with Mia, yet never under the auspice of romance; she had lied to Makoto and said that she was about to ask Mia out next time they were alone, yet she knew she would not and she damned her cowardice for it.
Her confidence around Mia had been growing recently, but as she often did, she reacted to positive developments with anxiety. Even if her & Mia did date, she knew these issues would persist. Her teenage years had given her a persistent superstition of jinxing the good out of her life.
===
The following Monday, Marisa & Mia separated at the arena. Sylvia was beside Mia in the first-year line, the second-years ahead with tablets readied.
"Really hope I don't get Matoi." winced Sylvia.
"Why?" whispered Mia. Matoi was the black-haired, thick-eyebrowed Japanese woman she'd seen on her first day.
"Samuel's her protege." said Sylvia. "Guy has a constant thousand-yard stare."
The door opened up behind to Samuel's thousand-yard stare as Matoi dragged him in by his neck, two inches wider in two weeks with her. "Come along, pig! See who'll fucking take care of you for the week!" (That this treatment had already become a bit between the two was lost on everyone but themselves.)
She left her pig with the first-years as she went to the second, Mia wincing away from her gaze.
"…uh. Okay." shrugged Marisa. "Is everyone here?"
The redhead Mia had seen at prison passed by her, coughing as she came in to the second-year line and glanced at Matoi's collarbones. No part of this redhead could be considered attractive; she moved like a millipede.
"Okay." said Marisa. "I have Kirihara -"
" - that's me." grunted one of the women, shoving her way out of the line, spiked sanguine hair. "Let's go."
Marisa led her along. The next second-year was an orange-haired woman, tattered sweater & sweatpants, ponytail messy and eyes drooping.
"…uh. Right." she mumbled, arms close as she checked her tablet. "…Mia, um - Mia Schultz?"
Mia stepped forward.
"Sweet." mumbled the woman. "Uh. Let's go home."
"What?"
The woman started to walk out as the second-years spoke, and Mia heard Matoi speak a doomed man's name as she followed her new mentor.
"Sorry." mumbled the woman. "Just sleepy. Uh, I'm Jeanne. Nice to meet you."
"Er - it's nice to meet you as well, but shouldn't we be training?"
Jeanne's head shook like a sloth as they came out to the main hall. "Not right now."
"Then why are we going to your house?"
Anxiety rose up in Jeanne. She had depression and a bad habit of taking people's words like text without any emotion. "Sorry. Just need to take a nap. Uh. You can have some of my tea, if you want."
They came out to the street. "We'll - we'll be training eventually, correct?" said Mia.
"Yeah. Sorry, my… Revenant -" - Jeanne yawned - " - makes me really tired… We'll train. After I nap."
Comprehending none of it, Mia nodded. They came up to one bizarrely lush lawn and came through the home's door to a dark room. She searched for the light switch -
" - wait -" panted Jeanne - " - let me do that - don't touch anything!"
- with the speed of an addict, she threw her hand against the wall, flicking a single switch and the lights on; one of a pair.
Mia closed her eyes. "Do I want to know what the second switch is for?"
"If staff shows up." mumbled Jeanne, sloth again as they went to the kitchen. She filled a tea kettle with water as they spoke. "Sorry if I scared you."
"You're very odd for a woman so tired." chimed Mia, and Jeanne laughed, unable to worsen that one.
"Yeah. Just gotta wait until I can use Dream again. Going to make some peppermint tea. And nap."
"I can boil it for you." chimed Mia, and Jeanne smiled as she handed the kettle to Mia. A swarm of scarabs set it bubbling, and Jeanne started on her tea.
"Neat. Guess you heat stuff up."
Mia nodded. For now, she'd resolved to wait another month before a potential swap. "Er, in a way."
The two sat at the table.
"Yeah." said Jeanne. "Sorry I can't train, right now. Just - um. Been pretty tired recently."
"Is it from the weed?"
Jeanne laughed, head shaking. "No. Uh. Guess you smelled it, though."
"From the moment I walked in." grinned Mia. "You might as well have blown it in my face."
"I guess it's obvious." The two laughed. "That's what the second switch is for. I've got a grow in the back. Flick that, and it all gets destroyed."
"They don't notice the, er, energy use? said Mia.
"Sometimes. But I have my ways." said Jeanne, starting a slow sip at her tea. "Yeah. Uh... Not gonna tell you what Dream does yet, though. Even if you did help me with my tea." She winked. "But you can head out... or, um. Whatever. I'll come get you once I wake up... and we'll train."
++++
An hour later, Jeanne had awoken, and the two stepped up to one door in the second-year building. A plaque beside read 'FOR USE BY: JEANNE BELMONT - DREAMER'.
"Try not to get too surprised." said Jeanne, unlocking the door -
- to a room where the walls flowed like static water. Jeanne stepped over a floor of the same, laughing at Mia's expression as she turned. "It's safe to walk on."
Mia carefully took a step inside as the two separated. "Is this part of your Revenant?"
"Kinda." Jeanne had made it back when she was three-star, but liked it as a sign of her gone-motivation. "Um. Okay. So. We're gonna, um, duel, but. I just want you to try to hit me once."
"Alright."
"Yeah. Um. My Revenant doesn't really have a nonlethal option, so. Yeah. Don't want you getting hurt. Just me." She winked and Mia laughed.
"Alright."
"Dream." said Jeanne. A spraycan appeared in her hand. "Okay. Ready?"
"Ready."
"Start!" shouted Jeanne; a spray of blue hit her floor -
- and she fell suddenly in to it, water splashing as she disappeared within; Mia rushed up and stomped where she'd been -
- but frowned to find it like steel again; sword drawn, she slashed at it -
- and sighed again, far more durability than she'd expected as she glanced back. Jeanne was on the other end and smiling, Dream's spraycan drawn. With no time to waste, Mia started her rush forward -
- and the floor launched her up like a trampoline; in to the ceiling her head smashed, Jeanne spraying up as she landed staggering ahead -
- and a spray of blue on the floor made her disappear in to it again; a dozen bricks hit Mia's head, staggering her and shoving her down -
- and she winced as she found the floor sticky, immense grip trapping her there as she grunted & thrashed -
- and shoved herself up just in time to see no Jeanne on the other end again, staggering to the center of the room, avoiding the door where she'd been trapped. Eyes sharp for where Jeanne'd appear next, her scarab swarm covered the floor.
'I don't need to know where she'll come from.' she thought, and in the next instant -
- she heard a splash of water behind; her scarabs exploded there, and as she heard Jeanne shriek, she sent another volley as she spun -
- just in time to see Jeanne falling to the ground, fingers twitching as she hit the floor -
- and limp in the next -
' - oh fuck I should not have done that -' thought Mia as she panted and rushed over, crouching down, checking Jeanne's pulse. "Jeanne? Jeanne?"
No response but a dulling beat. Wincing and worried, Mia scooped her up and knew her next stop.
===
"She'll be alright." yawned Hirogane, drawing Pulse's tentacle out. "Probably wasn't even you that did it. Dream lets her spray properties of one material on to another. Says it puts her in to comas if she uses it too much. Might be here for another month."
Mia frowned. "What should I do for the rest of the week, then?"
Hirogane shrugged. "Can go hunting with Aimee or anyone second-year or up."
Mia nodded. She thought about thanking him for his defense, but wasn't sure if he would even appreciate it. He reminded her of a teacher who never attempted to act like he understood her generation, which was more endearing than those who did.
===
Over the next week Mia hunted with Aimee, and killed again Sunday night. It always amused her to see Aimee crouch down to scan: like most women, Aimee had nearly a foot under her, and she always had to duck a bit hugging her. She offered to take Aimee out to fast-food, was not sure why Aimee seemed nervous to accept this, then let her know it was to repay her for the earlier dinners her & Aimee had gone on.
In another section of state, Aimee & Mia left the building with their fast-food. No one was blocking Aimee's question in this street.
'F-Fuck.'
"…their onions are always raw." muttered Mia, picking them out of her burger.
"U-Um." said Aimee. "G-Guess they are, yeah."
Aimee watched her hold one up, try to heat it with a fire scarab, then laugh as it burnt to ash. She heard Mia say something about needing a better Revenant and nodded, her arms shivering a bit.
"…u-um. Mia. Need to talk to you about s-something."
Mia asked her what it was as she turned.
"You're still single, right?"
Mia paused, then nodded.
"…u-um." said Aimee. "I - I really like you. More than - more than a friend, and i-if you want I'd r-really want to go out on a date sometime i-if you want to sometime."
She heard Mia's breath pause, trying to read her expression. "You're - you're asking me out?"
"Y-Yes." she winced.
"I-I, e-er…" Mia trailed off. Her mind running back, she tried to see if she had missed any sign of Aimee's attraction to her. "I-I, Aimee, e-er -"
" - you can say no, I-I just, um -"
" - I -I need to think about - I need some time to think about t-this."
Aimee really wished the last Revenant had killed her now, but she nodded. She heard Mia pause, then apologize, then quickly say again that she needed more time to think this over. As they began walking back, she saw Mia glancing over at her, and wondered if those eyes were attempting to see her newly. Controlling her emotions hd never been one of Aimee's better traits -- she wished she was a bit better at it now, for in these moments she hated her own attraction to Mia for the emotions it had caused in her.
As they came up to Urasaria's gate, she scanned her badge, then noticed Mia stop beside. She placed her hand on Aimee's shoulder. "Aimee. I... want to let you know that I-I haven't decided, but I-I want us to still be friends, no matter what."
Aimee nodded, and felt Mia turn her to hug her. Feeling Mia's fingers tighten on her vest's back, Aimee hugged her back. They kept like that for a while, and as they pulled away, Mia suddenly kissed her, then nervously laughed. "I-I'm not sure I-I should have done that on the spot, b-but- I-I just realized it was what I wanted, and-"
"-I-I don't mind." laughed Aimee.
They kissed again. Aimee fumbled through scanning her badge again, and the gate reopened, kissing again before they went inside.
"But I-I still want to..." Mia tried to calm herself; she was feeling rather giddy. "No dates until -- until we're finished with the investigation."
"Yeah." nodded Aimee quickly. They kissed again, and her mind filled with every activity her & Mia could do (none of them sexual), but she felt rather giddy as well. "Sure thing, I'm -- j-just really excited right now."
"Me too." Mia smiled as they came up to Aimee's mansion. "One more for goodnight."
The two kissed again before Aimee went inside. Mia went to her & Marisa's house, fashionista already on the couch in her Boudoir-pajamas. "Hey, Mia-Mia."
Mia-Mia sat down beside, shaking her head affirmatively. "Hello, Marisa. How are you?"
"I'm good. At least I don't have to like, deal with Kirihara anymore. That bitch just gets pissed off at everything, like... we were supposed to escort this civilian, and she just flips out on her halfway through for no reason? You know?"
"Yes." nodded Mia's shaking head. "Y-Yes, she may have some issues, then. She should be in a mental institution, yes."
"Yeah, or an electric chair. Seriously, she's psycho. I hope she doesn't like, ever get to the point where she has a strong Revenant."
"Y-Yes, exactly, yes. They should execute her in the streets."
Marisa looked over at her weirdly. "What's up with you?"
Mia grinned. "Aimee and I are -- she asked me out and we're dating now and we just kissed and we-"
"Niiice! She finally asked you out, huh?"
"She did, yes, she -- she -- wait -- she -- finally?"
"Yeah. I was gonna like, tell you to ask her out if you wanted, 'cuz she's always so nervous around you. Aww, that's so cute, though, like-"
"What- what do you mean, 'finally'?"
"Uh, her big crush on you, dum-dum."
"Her what?"
"...Mia. Umm... Did you not realize that?"
"Realize? How was I supposed to realize that?"
Marisa started laughing. "O-Oh my fucking god-"
"She -- she never once indicated that she-"
"-oh my god, you're a clueless lesbian! You're like -- how do you not realize that! I mean, like, some lesbians, sure, I get why they don't think another woman could ever like them, but you, fuck, I mean, you're six feet tall, you could threaten to kill most lesbians and they'd still beg you for a date-"
"W-What's that supposed to mean -- I am not clueless!" panted the clueless lesbian. "Nor murderous!"
"Every time she looks at you, her eyes grow like, three sizes! Mia, she doesn't ever get involved in first-year investigations, she did it because-"
"-she doesn't?"
"No, duh! I can't believe you didn't-"
"-I-I thought she was simply being nice-"
"-I mean, she is, but-"
"-I'm sure there's some other explanation-"
"-yeah, that you need to get your eyes checked!"
===
The next morning, Mia woke up from an Aimee dream, and answered the front door to the Council of Four: Aimee, Makoto, faceless-but-a-scar Atori, and two-headed Dmitri. Atori's badge read 'ECLIPSE' and Dmitri's 'ALCHEMIST'.
"Bombs went off at a local hospital." winced Aimee. "Rayaka's there. Need to go."
===
The scene was cacophony when they arrived. The parking lot was packed with emergency personnel, evacuation vehicles coming and going, sirens over the fighting within the three-floor hospital. The windows were shattered and filled with smoke, a blaze angered within, and the six rushed through the crowd gathered.
"Lavender Menace!" shouted Aimee. "You - Eclipse - Worldwide - second and third floor! Symphony - stay here to help with the evacuation - Dmitri, with me."
"Yes, Aimee!" shouted Marisa, throwing Boudoir's strands around Mia & Atori, and as they rushed up to the hospital -
- a strand erupted from her dress and yanked them up -
- and straight through the second-floor window smashed the three, glass cutting their skin as they landed in the melee raging in the corridors. All around them were embers & smoke & glasseyed men, scarab tattoos nodding from necks that were stained crimson, mob shoving murderously through new doors.
"Definitely a Revenant." winced Marisa as they rushed; another mob burst out of the doors ahead to block them -
- and three blades went through six men each, Worldwide's scarabs flying behind and charring to ash the next dozen that'd burst out behind, Atori with knife drawn at Mia's side, scarab tattoos falling off of broken necks. The mob was packed tight in the halls, and as the three carved their way forward, Mia's scarabs burnt every foe they found to ash, Boudoir's strands throwing them out of windows when there was an inch's room to swing a string.
"None of these people have Revenants, do they?" winced Mia, another arc of blood hitting her clothes -
" - they do not." muttered Atori. "Some other Revenant is controlling them. They're not disappearing -"
- and one knife's sweep decapitated another three, three screaming with quadruple on the floor, and as the three saw a stairway ahead & left -
" - Worldwide - with me!" shouted Atori, and the two rushed up as Marisa guarded their exit, coming out to another left&right hall -
" - search the right." said Atori, and Mia nodded as she rushed right, Atori rushing left, both disappearing past their respective corners, and in the next instant -
- an explosion blasted Mia forward -
- and right in to the hall's floor she smashed; she felt another dozen men rushing to meet her -
- but Worldwide's scarabs swarmed them, ripping and tearing the flesh off their bones, not a single skeleton left as she burnt them to ash, wincing as she slumped against the wall, few wounds but still dripping.
"W-Worldwide." she winced, cauterizing it herself. She heard a familiar voice shouting her name around the corner ahead, and stood up just in time to see Rayaka coming out of it.
Fifty feet separated the two. Mizuchi's form swayed up beside him as Mia readied her scarabs & sword.
"You actually came for me!" laughed Rayaka. "What did you think was going to -"
- three arms shot past the corner and gripped his neck, and fear filled Mia as Dreadnought stepped out with it. One four-fingered hand threw Rayaka to the ground, and Mizuchi fell with it. He stomped Mizuchi's neck and Mia winced as blood squirted from both it & its master's eyes.
"B-Boss…" panted Rayaka. "I-I thought we were -"
" - I do not have time nor care to discuss my reasoning with you." he said in his otherworldly tone. Five years had not made Mizuchi's host any less despisable.
His hand shot in to Rayaka's chest and all Mia made out in the cloud of blood was his fingers ripping out Rayaka's still-beating heart, veins still connected around it.
"Hollow vessel in the form of man. Heed the will of your new master."
Dreadnought set his heart back in, and Rayaka rose up like a man in a surf, eyes blank as he walked past the corner with his horrendous wound still dripping. Both torso & legs turned towards Mia.
"Why - w-why are you after me?" grunted Mia, sword held tight. "Why did you g-give me fucking advice?"
"I have need of Worldwide. I will make one offer and one offer only. For the price of a single Revenant, I shall send no more Revenants towards you or men." he said. "A thousand dead civilians. Five dead students. This hospital can be one starting point of another dozen."
"I-I'll never fucking give you Worldwide."
"If you do not, I shall take it from your corpse."
Embers burning in the hall, he stomped forward as Mia rose.
"Then c-come fucking take it."
"…aye. Raise your weapon - your teeth of steel - your blood-red voice. Show me that you possess power fit to best me."
Mia couldn't tell how one man spoke two patterns. A mist of crimson filled her eyes as she rushed forward, and for all the exhaustion & doubt & nausea that drained her mind, she carried it through in one sword sweep that met with his trio of gauntlets -
- but she'd never felt such might in the strikes she blocked; her steel blunted the first and second -
- and the third cracked her left arm in a burst of blood; she swept with the speed of light back -
" - Worldwide!" she shouted; a pillar of flame erupted ahead -
- but was just as quickly snuffed out by a second set of scarabs ahead, chill with blue-lines extinguishing her flames, corridor filling with steam as the Dreadnought stepped forward -
" - two opposites, Mia Schultz!" he shouted - " - you'll face me with your steel or not at all!"
' - distance first.' she thought as she stepped back, door at her left as she stumbled back, Dreadnought rushing towards her ahead -
- and a sweep of scarabs burnt the door down; in to the room she swept, vicious charge catching only air outside as she rushed across the room, shoving instruments and beds aside as she came up to the wall & turned, and in the next instant -
- he burst through the wall at her left -
- and underneath a trio of hooks she dodged, sword's sweep catching against his armor, steel already starting to crack as they fought in a whirlwind of blows. Inch by inch, the pressure of his strikes forced her further back, and as she felt another wall approach behind -
" - Worldwide!" she shouted; a swift swarm burnt the wall down -
- and in to the sudden hole she swept again, Dreadnought charging towards her again, and as he came danger close -
- his left grasp shot to her right; she swept underneath his legs -
- but his right ripped her by her hair and threw her through another wall -
- and another -
- and another, scarabs swarming as she landed and stood again, Dreadnought charging at her through the apertures again -
- and right in to an orange pillar of flame -
- but a swarm of his own scarabs snuffed it out as he came in to the room; another pillar of flame claimed him -
- and his extinguishers filled the room with steam, mist so thick he could no longer see Mia, but sensed her presence lurking and waiting to strike. One figure was at the corner of the room, and as he rushed towards it -
- the scarabs composing it dispersed, and before he could react -
- Mia's blade entered his back & out his chest; grunting as he staggered, three hooks went wildly back, one grip on her sword hand -
- and throwing her with the strength of a million out through the wall and to the corridor again, blade still stuck in his chest as she rose up wincing, pilfering quick another blade from another corpse beside. She saw him charging at her again -
- and swept left just in time to avoid it, new blade slicing and hacking at his right arm -
- but one punch threw her with the strength of a million away; as she flew, she saw one window behind, bracing herself as her scarabs readied to burn -
- just in time to keep her from hitting the glass as she flew out of the aperture and out behind the hospital, third-floor fall of asphalt below -
- and one pole crunched her skull as she landed & smashed right in to it; stars lit her vision as she shrieked, agony filling her eyes -
- and she saw the Dreadnought leap out of the third-floor ahead, blade still stuck in him as he staggered forward, blood oozing. One hand ripped it clear out, and Mia barely saw five beats in his chest's corners.
"Rise! Raise your weapon -"
"-Rider!" she barely heard Aimee shout, and in the next instant, she appeared upon his back, but her knife caught only an expanding shield of ice upon his back -
"-FTL."
He appeared behind her and before she could react his three hands slammed her onto a carpet of ice, spikes dragging through her wounds as his voice suddenly boiled: "THIS BATTLE IS NOT YOUR'S! SCOURGE!" With swiftness beyond what he had shown Mia, his fingers tore open Aimee's chest and pulled her still-beating heart out yet kept it attached as he intoned: "Hollow vessel in the form of woman. Heed-"
-Mia grabbed her blade again, aiming in the interstices of "-the will of-" and threw her blade forward before his sentence finished; the keen end cleaved his left arm off in a shower of crimson, staggering him back and his grip dropping Aimee & connected-heart as he screamed until Mia fell unconscious.