In the morning, Marcus awoke to the sounds of the shower running and faint humming. The lights were on, and Kinsley was missing, leading to the obvious conclusion that she was in the shower.
Marcus yawned as he rose up, careful not to wake Luna. He looked out the window to realize that the sun was rising and birds were chirping.
Today was the day to investigate the Mayflower.
Marcus rose out of his sleeping bag and quickly made his way towards his bag. He pulled out his uniform and quickly slipped it on. Before putting his other clothes back in the bag, and quickly fleshing himself up with deodorant.
Marcus then grabbed the folder Dr. Fletcher had given him, and quickly glanced through it, flipping through its contents.
He already had pictures of everything within the folder, but he hadn't checked the physical copies.
Just as expected, there was nothing new to discover, so he slipped back into his duffel bag.
Marcus made his way over to Luna, and gently shook her. Her eyes snapped open as she quickly glanced up at Marcus.
"You ready to go?" He whispered.
Luna nodded as she slowly rose up from the sleeping bag. "Yes, but shouldn't we inform Kinsley?" She asked.
Just then, the bathroom door opened, revealing Kinsley wrapped in a towel with a toothbrush hanging from her mouth. "Tell me what?" She asked, walking towards her shelf.
Marcus chuckled nervously, "uhm…. I have to work." He answered.
Kinsley nodded. "I understand, but don't tell me you plan on bringing your sister with you?" She said, placing a hand on her hip as she looked down at Marcus.
"Uhm… yea, I was going to do exactly that." He answered.
Kinsley sighed, "Marcus she's just a kid, and I saw how you dragged her around last time you were 'working'." She said with air quotations.
Marcus sighed. "But she's not–"
Luna quickly grabbed Marcus's hand and squeezed it, causing him to pause mid-sentence. He quickly realized the mistake he almost made. Marcus licked his lips as he looked up to Kinsley once more. "She can handle herself just fine, she's been doing it."
Kinsley frowned. "Absolutely not." She said sternly, "I'll take her to orientation with me, you don't need to leave her alone."
"But I–"
"Marcus." Kinsley with a firm, yet caring tone. "I'll take care of Luna for you, right?" She said, looking over at Luna with a warm smile.
Luna looked between the worried Marcus and the confident Kinsley. "Well, if it's ok with Marcus." She answered.
Marcus frowned. He wasn't interested in leaving Luna behind. It wasn't that he didn't trust Kinsley, but the fact he didn't want to be without her.
Kinsley watched the hesitant Marcus with a sympathetic expression. She took a step closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you don't want to leave your sister behind, but you have to trust me, I'll take care of her, I promise." She said sincerely. "You don't need to worry."
Marcus looked into Kinsley's eyes with a serious expression. He could see Kinsley wasn't lying, she genuinely wanted to help him and Luna.
But the idea of being apart from her wasn't a pleasant one.
He sighed deeply, "All alright." He said softly. "But please keep her close, and don't let anything happen to her, and–"
Kinsley chuckled as she raised her hand to Marcus's cheek, gently rubbing her thumb against it. "It's ok Marcus." She said reassuringly, "Everything will be fine, I promise."
Marcus nodded as looked over at Luna. "Be careful Luna, don't do anything crazy or…. You know."
Luna smirked, "I'll be ok Marcus." She then stood up to hug Marcus. Her small arms wrapped around his neck and back.
Just then, Luna said something Marcus never thought he'd hear.
"I love you, Marcus." She whispered softly.
Marcus was taken aback by her words. He always knew Luna cared for him, but to hear her say those words, those four magical words, he knew it was only a matter of time before he bawled his eyes out.
Marcus wordlessly tightened his hug on Luna before releasing her. He then stood up and straightened out his uniform.
Luna looked up to Marcus with a curious expression, "Marcus?" She said worriedly.
"Take care of yourself, Luna," Marcus said softly, his voice cracking and shaking. "And listen to Kinsley, alright?"
Luna nodded.
Marcus then looked over at Kinsley, "You stay safe too, ok?"
Kinsley nodded, "I will Marcus, have a good day at work." She said with a warm smile.
Marcus felt another pang of overwhelming emotions, there were only seconds before he cried like a baby.
Marcus wordlessly left the room with heavy footsteps. He had a job to do, that was all that mattered.
Just focus on the job.
Reaching the door of Kinsley's room, he gave a quick wave to the girls before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him.
It wasn't long before Kinsley and Luna heard sobbing from the other side.
Kinsley smiled as she looked down at Luna, "I said save that for a special occasion, now look what you did." She teased.
Luna giggled, looking up at Kinsley with playful eyes. "I couldn't help it, I thought he needed it."
"Well, at least we know he won't waste any time coming back." Kinsley chuckled.
— — —
It wasn't long before Marcus made his way outside the academy gates, and back into the city.
He wiped the last of his still-warm tears and retrieved his phone from his pocket.
Scrolling through his phone he went over Dr.. Fletcher's findings on Mayflower. From what she knew, mayflower frequented several bars near the city's center. There they would gather information and do deals for the Kiba mercenaries.
They were sorta like an extension of the mercenary group itself.
Marcus signed as he pocketed his phone, the city center was quite a ways off from Kinsley's academy, so he'd have to get a taxi.
Marcus walked to the end of the street where there were two taxi recall stations. He activated the recall station with the press of a button, and within minutes a taxi arrived.
It was a smooth, sleek vehicle that was self-driving.
Marcus hopped into the front seat and began imputing the address for Manchester's city center.
The taxi acknowledged Marcus's input and showed him the fee for the trip. Marcus paid it, and the taxi began its journey.
During the car ride, Marcus closed his eyes and calmed his mind. He remembered what Dr. Fletcher told him, a cool head is needed to spot what most would look over.
He just needed to take his time and work his way through the chaos. Finding Mayflower would be a challenge within itself however, he's looking for someone he doesn't know, so his only hope was to ask numerous people, and hope that one of them knew something.
It wasn't long before the taxi pulled into the city's center, or slowed to a crawl as it neared a sidewalk. It then parked, and its doors unlocked. Marcus took a deep breath and exited the car.
Looking down at his phone, he had a list of every bar in the area, with the closest one being just a block over.
He made his way over towards the bar, walking through the busy sidewalks, keeping his eyes on the prize. Reaching the bar Marcus stepped inside, where he was greeted by a lively atmosphere.
The lights were dim yet Marcus could see fairly well.
The floor was tiled black and white, there were wooden tables placed all around the room, filled with people chatting, drinking, or playing cards.
Marcus glanced around the crowd for anyone who looked suspicious enough to be Mayflower, before eventually deciding to just talk to the bartender.
He made his way through the bar attempting to blend in. Upon reaching the bar counter, Marcus sat on one of the stools, clasping his hands together.
He leaned forward, looking to his right and left, noting the patrons beside him.
Soon the bartender made her way over to Marcus. "Hello, love." She said warmly, "What can I get you?"
Marcus looked up to the bartender with a serious expression. "I need to find mayflower, have you heard of them?"
The bartender raised an eyebrow, "you mean the ship?" She asked curiously. "Sorry love, but you're a little bit off your target." She said with a chuckle.
Marcus sighed. "No, I mean the person, the contact for…. You know." He whispered, leaning closer toward the bartender.
She narrowed her eyes as she leaned forward, "Ohh, you're talking about…. Those guys, right?" She whispered back.
Marcus nodded. "Yeah, do you know where I can find them?" He asked.
"Yeah, but it'll cost ya love."
Marcus nodded, "I got money."
The bartender then smirked, "No, no, not money love, your soul." She said teasingly.
Marcus gulped, His soul how the hell was he supposed to give that up? "How?" Marcus asked.
The bartender chuckled as she shook her head. "Sorry love, but that secret stays with me, I could tell you if you buy a drink."
"I can't legally drink." Marcus answered
The bartender's eyes widened, as she pulled away from Marcus. "What are you doing in here?"
Marcus sighed, quickly realizing his mistake. "Uhm, I'm just looking for information, that's all, I swear."
The bartender frowned, "Sorry love, but the only information I'm giving you is the direction of the exit." She said with a point to the front door.
"Wait." Marcus said desperately, "You have information on Mayflower right, just tell me what you know and I'll leave."
"I was just taking the piss love, I don't know what you're talking about."
"But you–" Marcus sighed, as he looked around, noticing that he was drawing attention to himself. "Fine," Marcus said softly, his voice full of defeat.
Stepping down from his stool, he made his way towards the door, taking a walk of shame.
Outside Marcus looked down at his phone and added an X on the first bar. He then sighed, "One down, 20 more to go."
This was going to take a while…..
— — —
While Marcus was searching for Mayflower, Luna, and Kinsley were making their way down the hall to visit Kira.
When they reached her room Kinsley knocked on the door before calling out Kira's name. "Kira!" She said, "Today is orientation, did you forget?"
There was a faint sound of soft footsteps approaching the door. With a click, the door creaked open revealing a messy-haired girl with a frown. "Of course, I didn't forget," Kira said with a sigh, her French accent filled with irritation. "But I…."
Kira paused as she looked down at Luna, her eyes then widened. She stared at Luna in disbelief, before a smile began playing on her lips. "Hey, cutie." She said with a soft giggle, "How'd you get here?"
Luna glanced up at Kinsley, who nodded. "She came with Marcus," Kinsley answered.
"Oh." Kira said as she opened her door completely, "Where is he?" She asked, stepping into the hallway to look down both ends.
"He's working, but I convinced him to leave his sister with me," Kinsley explained.
"Wait, if Marcus is here, does that mean Felix is here too… ?" Kira asked curiously, a hint of excitement in her voice.
Kinsley shook her head, "no, Marcus said he's in Japan right now." She then smirked, "Why do you ask, huh?" Kinsley teased.
Kira rolled her eyes. "It's not like I wanted to see him." She murmured, she then looked down at Luna, "but that still doesn't explain why Luna is here, unless…" Kira then paused, "did Marcus stay in your dorm last night?" She whispered.
Kinsley's cheeks flushed bright pink, "yeah, but it's not what you think, he's just staying there."
Kira smirked. "Marcus has money, he most certainly had a place to stay, so tell me another story."
"Look, I… I may have influenced his decision, but I swear he's just staying, besides it's none of your business." Kinsley said with a frown, averting her gaze.
Kira giggled, "You're so easy, you know that?"
"Are you getting dressed for orientation or not?" Kinsley asked impatiently, huffing an irritated breath.
Luna giggled softly, causing both Kira and Kinsley to look at her. "What are you laughing at cutie?" Kira said warmly.
"She's different when it's just her and Marcus." Luna answered, "She acts like his mother."
"Luna!" Kinsley said in surprise, her cheeks flushing bright pink.
Kira began giggling uncontrollably. "I knew it." She said, covering her mouth with her hand. "He's just staying there." She said, mocking Kinsley's accent, "You liar."
Kinsley began pushing Kira back into her room. "Let's just get you dressed." She said with a sigh, "Before the whole world hears that ugly laugh."
Kira continued to giggle. "You act tough, but you are such a soft little sweetheart." She teased.