The Royal Four met with staff later that night.
"ALL OF YOU!" Mia shouted down the line. "ALL OF YOU ARE SO *FUCKING* USELESS! Not one, but THREE Revenants attack me, in my own office, and I get no help from ANY of you! Instead, what I get is a fucking glare from the ONE guard who comes after all of it is over, and some pathetic attempt to alert Hirogane as slowly as possible." Her breath was a little purple. "But I know how to make an example out of someone." She glared over the guard from earlier. "Stand up." He did so. "Goodbye, you little shit."
She slammed her elbow into his head and bits of skull went flying out; as he staggered she dispatched him with a single blue beam.
"Damn it - that's the second one this year!" panted Serena and the other two laughed (once Mia did).
Mia flashed her palm at the staff and reminded them her Solar Beam was piercing. "And you should be grateful that was the only one."
"If I may... make a suggestion, President Swarm." said Armstrong. "There *is* a point where even I would be unable to continue shielding you from legal consequences. We will do our utmost to identify and locate your assassin, but I would ask that you … minimize future casualties. I believe that would be best for Urasaria."
In recent months this was typical behavior for Armstrong; once he had opposed Mia; now he supported her. This naturally did not endear him at all to her; she looked upon him like a bizarre sort of toady. "I wouldn't have to keep terminating employees if you had better hiring standards."
Renault interjected: "And I suppose by higher standards you mean more sycophantic."
"Hmm. Let me think." Mia stroked her chin. "Yes. Yes, actually: that is *exactly* what I mean, you balding little cretin. I don't work for you, and I don't report to you. I report to students, and they've all been very pleased with my presidency so far. So yes: what is best for me is what is best for Urasaria. Get the hell out and have something for me by tomorrow."
The staff, besides Hirogane, left. Mia sighed as she sat down with the rest of her squadron, who were mostly giggling at her insults.
"Shit, Mia." mumbled Yuruko. "They're not gonna have any guards left if you keep nuking them."
"And there would be zero difference." nodded Samuel.
"Yeah, they don't really do shit, do they."
Mia sighed. "By the way, Hirogane. I apologize if the guard was someone you knew."
Hirogane shrugged. "S'fine. I don't like the faculty anymore than you do."
"How's Emilia been?"
"She's a good kid. Doesn't make any fuss about being on-call, mostly just sits off and sews her patches. Doesn't seem like she misses Germany much, though."
"…well, I did make sure she had a good signing bonus." muttered Mia, having poached her from Germany's academy. "But let me know if she ever feels uncomfortable with any student. I would hate for her to have to leave like Luna did."
"I will, so long as you don't deal with students how you deal with staff."
"Staff is different. … but I'll admit I was a little disappointed at those six people I expelled." Mia frowned. "I'm not saying I was wrong to do so. I just thought other lesbian students would be above that."
Hirogane nodded, though he did not really involve himself in student matters. "You know, you've grown a bit too well into that Revenant. I seem to recall another student with a temper like that."
A little defensively, Mia said: "What temper? Are you talking about Ryumi?"
"Right. And before you ask: no, I don't remember much else about her. I just knew her and Magnus were always getting into legal trouble, and, if I remember right, one or the other got into a few fights with other students."
"Well, at least you've never done that." nodded Serena to Mia.
"Serena, she literally killed another student." said Yuruko.
"Oh yeah."
Hirogane shrugged. "But she always seemed to do well with hunting, even if she was a … habitual line-stepper socially. Seem to recall her having about as many kills as you do, Mia, but she didn't only insult staff."
Mia frowned and leaned back. She mostly did not like to hear more information about Ryumi, given much of it was negative; she felt it difficult to prevent the imposition of her self into Worldwide's prior host. Yet she had wanted to ask this: "Hirogane, do you know why Ryumi is listed as Threat Level Existential?"
"You know Aimee isn't supposed to give those rankings out." (The four laughed.) "I know that's how she's listed, though. No clue why, aside from killing Daigo. If you've ever seen pictures what Moscow used to look like before that fight..."
"Would that be enough?"
"It could be. I don't know how they decide it." Hirogane shrugged and stood up. "I should be getting back to the infirmary, anyway. Probably'll keep me there until I'm 150 or a meteor goes through the roof."
Mia laughed, but asked on his way out: "Do you know if she ever had a fire hotter than purple?"
"She was at blue last time I saw her!" he called back as he left.
"Man." muttered Yuruko. "There really isn't shit about her, is there?"
"Maybe Akira knows more?" said Serena, and Mia nodded.
"If he ever shows up - I don't want us to kill him until after I question him."
"You don't think it's him trying to assassinate you, is it?" said Samuel and Mia shook her head.
"I... don't think so. Did any of you see Mizuchi?" (None had.) "Alright. Will all of you be alright temporarily moving in with me, until we have more information?"
Serena looked at Yuruko. "Um, sure."
"Yeah, if you don't mind anime." said Yuruko.
Mia smirked quite normieshly. "I don't have a problem with Japanese cartoons."
Yuruko grimaced, until Serena nudged and whispered to her that Mia called them that intentionally. "…okay. Uh, we should do mine and Serena's house first, 'cuz it probably has the most shit."
They walked out, and as usual Yuruko kept herself on the periphery of whatever inane conversation they had on the way out. She had been annoyed at Mia for putting her in her squadron without asking her, and with some difficulty had arranged her schedule so she had time for Serena, studying, the Royal Four & hunting. Of late she had fantasized about living like Morgan Haldvan of ARC 21.5, and could not understand why others wouldn't enjoy her isolated existence. She mostly despised having to pretend to be close with others, aside from Serena.
On their way out, the four ran into Sylvia, who had put on 30lbs of muscle in 3 years. Mia had overheard a few women gossiping about Sylvia recently, hoping her relationship would deteriorate soon so they might pick her for themselves. Almost naturally her girlfriend Maria blamed this on Sylvia herself.
"Mia!" The two embraced. "I heard what happened, I just got back - are you alright?"
"I'm alright, yes." nodded Mia. "I'll be making a statement about it tomorrow."
"Alright, that's good. Uh, do you need any help?"
"We were just about to move my squadron into my home -- at least temporarily, until..."
"Until you find whoever did it, yeah." nodded Sylvia. "Uh, can you fill me in on it a little bit? 'Cuz people were saying someone tried to assassinate you, that it was Kirihara's sister, y'know, shit like that. I don't think she even had a sister."
Mia explained it to Sylvia, who afterwards asked if they needed any help moving in. When answered yes, she said she needed to ask Maria for permission first and went off.
"…man, what's up with that?" muttered Serena. "Seems kinda controlling."
Mia sighed as they walked over to Serena & Yuruko's mansion. "It is. I've met Maria before, when I was vetting people to be my vice-president -- she just assumes that every woman who interacts with Sylvia must have some sexual motive behind it. She asked me to verify that I was married before she even let Sylvia in the same room alone with me."
"Uh, how are you supposed to verify that?" said Yuruko.
"She didn't find that question very funny." Mia shrugged. "It's one of the reasons I went with Rochelle instead."
"Someone should talk to her about that." muttered Samuel. "Sylvia, not Rochelle. Doesn't seem right."
"Yeah, if they can get past the Great Wall of Maria." said Yuruko, and they laughed a bit uncomfortably.
They came up to Serena & Yuruko's mansion. Serena realized it a second before they stepped in to the living room, and in the next instant -
" - why -" said Mia -
- Yuruko started cackling -
" - it's -" winced Serena -
" - is that a body pillow?" said Samuel -
- to the dakimakura left sitting on the couch, enormous eyes & clothed breasts watching a blank TV. Yuruko was laughing like a demon. " - oh my fucking g-god -"
" - I - I don't want to know -" winced Mia -
" - I took her out last night!" said Serena -
" - I was wondering where she was -" - cackled Yuruko - " - you took her out?!"
" - she was dusty! So I cleaned -"
" - so that's what they look like -" laughed Samuel - " - does she have a name -"
" - Foo Fighters -" cackled Yuruko, relevantly - " - she's fucking made of plankt-"
" - Yuruko bought it for my birthday as a joke and -"
" - yeah, and then you just fucking abandoned her -" cackled Yuruko -
" - that's why you don't buy dakimakuras as jokes!" panted Serena - " - every time we go to bed, I have to see her sad huge eyes poking out of a box in the corner -"
" - it's a responsibility -" nodded Samuel - " - you can't throw that on to somebody -"
" - I'm not touching it." winced Mia, and Yuruko laughed -
" - it's not the type you can fuck, it was just -"
" - there's ones like that?" chimed Samuel and the four burst in to laughter -
" - just - just stop -" laughed Mia -
" - it'd be the closest I've -"
" - I'll send you some sites -" laughed Yuruko - " - what - what should we do with it?"
"I'm not being seen in public with that thing." winced Mia and Serena frowned.
"…ugh." She paused, carefully considering this terrible choice. "…um. We might just have to get rid of it."
"Her." chimed Yuruko.
"Don't make it harder than it is." said Samuel.
"I mean, unless you want her."
"She's -- she's not my type." laughed Samuel -
" - what - what -is- your type, exactly?" laughed Mia -
" - well, there was that one woman in Japan -"
- and the four's blood turned to ice as they heard a knock at the door.
"…I'm not explaining this to her." winced Mia, and Yuruko rushed over to Foo Fighters.
"I'm sorry, my waifu." she whispered, and Serena turned away as its sad huge eyes disappeared into Yuruko's gloves.
"Please tell me that was the only one." said Mia.
"Um, we'll handle our bedroom." said Serena.
Lips pinched, Mia nodded and opened the door for Sylvia.
"Hey." she chimed as she stepped inside. "Um, I brought -"
" - hello." said Maria as she stepped inside behind, and Yuruko frowned.
"Uh, Samuel, Serena, Yuruko." said Sylvia, gesturing to each, and Maria nodded.
"Are you two dating?" she said, gesturing to Serena & Yuruko, who nodded. "Good. Let's get started, Sylvia."
Yuruko saw in Maria the argument against what she disliked in many women - their eagerness to ascribe abuse to only men. In highschool she had seen it in pretty girls who slipped kill-yourself notes in her locker, in Urasaria lesbians who thought less of her for her bisexuality & relationship with Serena, in feminists who claimed to speak for her now, and she saw it here & hated it.
The six worked for the next few hours, and once or twice Mia had to tell Maria off for rushing them. She almost wanted to pull Sylvia off and talk to her about it, but she didn't know her well enough & it might've caused more trouble. After four years of growing in power, it was frustrating that some things couldn't be solved with a Solar Beam.