"How long are you going to change, Chang? Your anima is spilling out you know." complained Prim who was on standby at the living room. She was wearing her regular grey pullover matched with the same grey sweat pants. Prim is a fan of matching sets just so she'd lessen the hassle of mix and matching.
"Alright already!" he yells from the bedroom. The boy comes out in another one of his traditional clothing, but this time, a more flexible one he can move in.
"Is it Chinese New Year? Why are you dressed like that?" she said, uncomfortable with what she's seeing, "You dressed up to get beaten up by Rem?"
He tilts his head, "Why are you assuming that I am going to get beaten up by Rem?"
"Because Chang, I just do." she grins sarcastically, pulling out two 5x7 cards from the center table, "Here. Genevieve left these when you were busy dressing up." her voice mocking him. She hands one to Vin, carefully reading hers.
He quickly studies his copy and realizes it was a map. He flipped to the back reading, "Find me." which looked handwritten. He frowned, "He gives us a map with a note that says: Find me."
Prim blinks, "Oh no, I think that's only yours." she says showing him hers, "Mine says: 'Meet me at the cemetery. Dress comfortably.'" she flips her postcard to the other side describing, "With this awful drawing of Sig and a heart."
"They're really splitting us up huh?" Vin commented.
Prim noticed Vin looks weary that they won't be training together.
"Vincent,"
Vin's heart was about to leap out, shocked by Prim calling him by his name. He faced her, face blanked out, anticipating what she was about to say. "Yeah?"
"We can do this." she said.
Vin nodded, feeling glad of how she's positive about this rather than her usual annoyed reaction.
Prim stood up stretching her whole body as her preparation, "We better get going." she said.
As she was already walking towards the foyer, Vin halted her. "Flower," he said in a serious tone.
"Yeah?" she turned her head towards him playfully, excited of the training.
"No matter what happens, do not remove your headphones." he said.
"But unless I remove this, I won't be able to utilize my power..."
Vin shakes his head, "I have a bad feeling that Sig will push you to do that. But your goal is to be able to control your power even with that on. Also..."
"Also..?"
"I won't be there to protect you if something happens." he shamelessly remarked.
Prim cracks up, "That's fresh coming from you, Chang."
"I'm not joking here!"
"I know." Prim smiled confidently, "No matter what, I won't remove this." she taps on her headphone, "I'll do my best not to distract you too much by worrying, haha."
"W-Who even said I was worried about you?" he exclaimed, walking fast towards the door, "Come on, I'm leaving you!"
Prim giggles watching him walk away, "He's such a bashful kid."
After the two changed their shoes at the entryway, they both agreed that whoever finishes up first will catch up to where the other one is.
"Are you positive you can find me in the forest, Flower?" Vin said as they went down the steps of their cabin.
"Of course. It's easy to track you down now that we've resonated once."
Vin smirked, "But then, of course, I'm pretty sure I'll finish up first before you do. You're a clutz after all."
"Oh-oh?" Prim scoffs, "Bring. It. On."
The two grinned at each other, high-fiving, and off they sprinted to their respective locations, crossing each other's paths.
As Prim was running towards the cemetery, Vin's words from their dinner last night echoed in her head like a broken record. The reason why Vin had woken up so early wasn't merely because he had woken up too early. He was up all night analyzing Prim's case and would often catch himself snoozing then waking up in repetition. Dinner ended up as a strategic meeting for the two when Prim expressed how physically awful it felt when she was transported back into those memories. It wasn't her first time, it happened already a few years ago when she started working for the company. It started off as a dream, where she was just floating above the scenery, then it became more realistic when she was able to feel the surroundings as if she was there. She might not remember it clearly but that was how she knew the real story behind the pandemic 200 years ago. Vin warned her that even if this wasn't a life-threatening experience as she is mentally and spiritually strong, her body might take the kickback and shorten her life span. Nevertheless, he wishes that she would monitor these repeated circumstances. However, if something dangerous were to happen to her while she gets transported into those memories, Vin did suggest her a method for her to be able to get back.
Arriving at the gate where she first met Rem and Josh didn't take that long for her. Prim was adept at long-distance missions that sprinting for a kilometer is like a walk in the park. She carefully looked around searching for Sig who might be hiding on any of the tombstones.
"Professor!" she called out, following the trail. Yesterday she was walking in the same path to get to Messiah's village, and now she's walking back into the cemetery looking for her mentor.
There was no response, so she tried another one.
"Siggy! I'm here for the training." mimicking Rem's voice.
"Behind you." a voice brushed her ear, snapping her neck as she turned around. Her face flushed in horror as she held on to the spot where he had spoken.
"Oh for the love of....don't scare me like that!" she yelled.
Sig laughed, "Sorry, you were just amusing to watch."
Prim pouted, "Did you just arrive?"
"No, I was already here since you got in the cemetery."
That made her even annoyed. "I've walked all the way in and you didn't even bother to greet me."
Sig grins, "You know if only you had noticed, I was merely following you. I was hoping that you could sense me but you didn't."
She shudders, "That's because you're too powerful." she said folding her arms.
"No," he pointed at her nose, "It's because you're holding back." tapping it lightly.
"Scuse me?"
"You may be wearing your limiter, but you don't fully trust that limiter so you unconsciously try to hold back your senses. I think I heard this somewhere but a bird told me that you wanted to be 'normal', correct?"
Prim's face blanked out, "And what about it?"
Sig's face flat out became serious, sending chills to her spine, "There is not a single ounce of normal in our line of work and I wish you to keep that in mind."
"I already know this!"
"But you aren't ready for it."
Prim didn't respond.
"Tell me child," he pranced around, "How long has it been since you were recruited into our secret society of peacemakers?"
Prim groaned to herself thinking, "Ten years give and take."
Sig stopped and crouched down to a tombstone, reading the engraved details of the dead, "Here lies Palio Palinsky, Spirit Whisperer Branch 082 Recon Squad 5, Years of Service: 25." he read then he turned to Prim who looked confused.
"You see Prim, it doesn't matter to me how long you've been in the team. What matters most is if your heart is in it, and I don't see that in you."
Prim winced, "That's true...I've been trying so hard to fit in this society of paranormals when all I wanted was to live normally. I always thought that if I could climb up in this ladder and be at the top, I could find a way to finally seal this wretched gift of mine. And maybe..just maybe I could finally rebuild the family that my powers destroyed."
"Oh, but I know a way how, Primrose." his eyes glued to hers, "But first you will have to do the task I am about to assign you."
Prim felt a glimpse of hope from those words, "Okay, what is it old man?"
Sig grins, "The protective barrier of the cemetery is starting to deteriorate. I was tasked to remove it and place another one, however, the removal and replacement shall only have an interval of 3 seconds for it to be effective. I am able to remove and replace protective barriers all on my own before, but because Rem isn't here to double my mana, I cannot do it in such a short period of time."
"So you want me to amplify your mana?"
"Oh no, as strong as you may seem, you are not able to resonate with any other than Vincent."
"Then what?"
Sig smirked, "We will have to do this separately to fulfill the 3-second mark."
Sigmund grabs a coin from his pocket, flicking it on air and catching it at the back of his hand, palm down. Prim felt her heart rate speed up.
"Heads, you'll be the one doing the removal. Tails, I'll be the one doing the removal." he declared.
Prim sharply breathed in, scared of what she's about to do. Vin's words suddenly echoed in her head about how no matter what happens, she should not remove her headphones while he's away.
"Don't worry Chang, I have enough will power to stop myself from going berserk at any of these tasks." she whispered to herself.
"Game." she nodded to Sig.
Sig opened his palm, and smiled at the result of the flip coin. He lifts his hand, showing the girl what came up, proudly saying, "Tails. You're it."