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“♫~Sie sind das Essen und wir sind die Jäger! BA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DAAAH!~♫”

I don't know what this was but I read it as the attack on titan theme.

Now that you mention it, I'm pretty sure that's actually what it was.

It's the German phrase at the start of the first opening theme

Sharp-O wrote:It's the German phrase at the start of the first opening theme

One of my favorite openings beside the Kill La Kill openings.

I look forward to seeing if Miki is also a fixer, though from how we've seen her so far it's most likely a military style fixer regiment or something.

Chapter 13: Quid Pro Quo

-----Shin-----

As we silently filed back into the Nexus, the atmosphere was thick with tension, tension not felt since we were first gathered. We were comfortable, adjusting to our new roles and even, to varying extents, having fun. Becoming friends.

We take seats amongst the tables and I cast my gaze up at Hanako, sitting on the first floor with her legs dangling through the railing and her arms crossed over another rung. Her violet eyes watched us with the studious precision of a hawk, despite looking equally unnerved by the events that transpired. I can’t imagine what it must be like to see yourself, or a reflection of yourself, die in such an awful way…

Drinks were already waiting and Molly shakily picks up her tea to steady her nerves. Shiina and Kenji flank her on either side. Something about that Miki terrified her into inaction. Quite a feat considering the resolve of our brave Brit.

Lilly takes a seat alone and I sit next to her, tapping her folded hands make her aware of my presence. When all are gathered, we patiently wait for Yuuko to stop pacing back and forth. She flicks through her emerald book and tutts, placing it on the counter and wringing her hands together while staring at the floor.

“Right then…” She clears her throat a little and looks to us, slipping her hands into her pockets. “I’m going off script here so you’ll have to excuse my directness but considering what just transpired, I think I should clarify a few things…”

Her voice is tired, weary, as if the usual internal discourse with her employers that we are not privy to has finally broken her down. Her dim turquoise eyes scan the room and find us waiting, even a cursory glance up at Hanako who tilts her head quizzically.

“Up until now, your missions have been dealing with brush-fires on Earths Phi-632 and Mu-39. Small incidents that your intervention has stopped from potentially becoming greater threats. Namely, disbanding the Student Militia, the appropriation of Kusanagi and retrieving Hanako Ikezawa.”

Molly perks up at the mention of her souvenir being part of the grand scheme.

“So… I was meant to bring it back with me?” She asks, wearing a dubious expression.

“Taking it out of the hands of novices who have no clue as to its destructive potential was a tertiary objective for that mission, yes. Given that you’re somewhat of a magpie when it comes to mystical weaponry, we thought you would naturally gravitate towards it and you did.” Yuuko’s demeanour softens enough to give Molly a smile.

“As for Hanako…” She says, turning her attention to the girl above her who seems excited to be the centre of attention given her grin. “From what you’ve told me, someone thought you were better off out of the way or, even more worrying, in such a blisteringly obvious place that we could find you… Hence the ring of wolfsbane suspiciously surrounding the school. Or that the kitchens were stocked, despite the school being abandoned for five years prior to your arrival.”

“Y-you mean… I was t-tricked?” Hana’s smile drops a little, her usual boisterous manner deflating before my eyes.

“Hold on, are you suggesting Hanako was bait for a trap?” Lilly asks incredulously. “That’s a little hard to believe.”

“N-not really…” Hanako says, addressing Lilly directly. “A stranger told me about the school when I was sleeping on the streets of Sendai. He told me it was out of the way, that I wouldn’t be bothered and that I couldn’t hurt anyone… He must have set it all up. I guess Mom was right, never take advice from strangers. The real kicker is that He was just as clueless as I was that wolfsbane didn’t work on me…”

“Wait, what?” Kenji asks and Hanako nods solemnly. Kenji’s face drops as he realises what we all do. She spent all that time alone when she needn’t have. He gets up, ascends the stairs and taking a seat next to our newest arrival. He throws an arm around her shoulder in support and she offers a slight blush and bemused smile in response.

“I’m okay, Kenji. It’s kinda funny really. Not going to turn down a hug though.” She sighs with a smile, resting her head on his shoulder.

“And then there’s the business of Earth Tau-8521... First contact with the enemy and more evidence of what we’ve suspected since before you were drafted.” Yuuko states.

“So who was that? We already identified her as a Miki Miura but where does she come from? Who does she work for?” Lilly asks, cautiously reaching for her tea cup.

“Short answer, we don’t know. On all counts. The incidents I talked about a while ago involved thefts mainly. Some were smash-and-grab jobs like this but others had more guile and subterfuge in play so we’re definitely dealing with more than one culprit.”

“Can you identify this Miss Miura and her origin point?” I ask and Yuuko nods albeit a little wistfully.

“Already on the case, it’ll take some time though unfortunately… There are literally millions of dimensions she could come from.”

The weight of that prospect sinks in and I lean my forehead against my folded hands. Millions of worlds to defend and we’re just five kids. Six if you count Hanako but still…

“Go rest up, guys. You’ve had a long day. If you need to ask anything else, come find me.” Yuuko orders, picking up her green book once again before disappearing behind the counter.

Shiina, Molly, Hanako and Kenji all head off towards their quarters and I breathe a lamenting sigh, catching Lilly’s attention.

“You sound exhausted, Shin…” She tilts her head in my direction, cautiously moving her hand out until it finds my arm.

“I don’t get tired; you know that, Miss Satou. Not physically anyway.”

“You still sound beat.” She says with a sympathetic smile. I place my hand on hers and nod before smiling at my own stupidity.

“Just realising the Sisyphean task ahead of us, Miss Satou. I’m up for the task but I’m… Well, I guess I’m immortal since I’m a ghost but what about the rest of you? Are you willing to spend the rest of your days here, fighting the good fight, Miss Satou?”

She closes her eyes and considers my question for a minute. I don’t mind staying here, I’m sure my Hanako and Hisao can manage without me but everyone here… Someone has to be missing them back home.

“I honestly don’t know, Shin. I don’t want to be here forever…” Lilly says, looking almost at me with a small smile. “That said, I can’t complain about the company.”

Heh, neither can I.

-------

-----Hanako-----

“Are you sure you’re okay with this, Hana?” Kenji asks sweetly and I nod, leaping from balance beam to balance beam deftly. The training room has sorts of fun gym equipment to play on and if I want a spot on the team, I better start training.

“Just super! Now start throwing the balls!” I cheer him on as he holds a bucket full of tennis balls in his hand.

“I don’t know…”

“Stop being such a weenie, Kenji! You have to actually hit me to hurt me.” I grin at him and shakes his head with a smirk.

He grabs a handful of balls and starts lobbing them towards me. They’re so slow I barely have to move to dodge them.

“Harder, Kenji! Faster! I want to work up a real sweat here!” I jeer him on and he pelts the next one towards me with more energy.

“That’s the spirit!” I laugh, letting the ball whiff past me as I somersault backwards along the beam.

“Where’d you even learn to do that stuff?” Kenji asks, still tossing balls at me.

“Part of my daily exercise regime. As well as added strength, the wolf makes me quicker and a little more nimble when I'm normal. Helped fill the time and kept me in shape!”

“That explains why I couldn’t force you off me…”

“Sorry about that…”

“D-don‘t worry about it.” He blushes, slowing his pace considerably. “I’m not going to outright say it was a bad experience…” He mumbles but my hearing’s sharper than he must think. Aww! He’s so cute when he’s shy.

“Think fast!” I kick the next ball back at him, shooting past him at twice the speed he threw it.

“Holy crap!” He flinches and I giggle at his reaction. He shoots me a glare and throws up a barrier in front of him.

“Did I scaaaare you, Kenji?” I tease as I hop off the beam and lean my shoulders and arms back against it.

“You could have killed me!” He chides, throwing a ball at me from behind his shield.

“Oh! New game! See if you can tag me before I reach you, go!” I grin and leap towards him but he’s too shocked to even register what I said and stands there dumbfounded.

I leap over his barrier and pounce on him, sending him onto his back against the padded floor. He knocks his head lightly and his barrier disappears behind me. Oh no…

“Kenji!? Are you okay? I’m so sorry! Did I just break your powers?” I ask desperately, leaning over his face as I sit on his stomach.

“Owww… No, I’m fine…” He groans and looks up at me, suddenly turning red. “I, uh, can’t generate shields if I get a knock to the head.

“Oh no! I’m really super-sorry, Kenji!” I say, pulling him up and hugging him tight to my chest.

“Sorry, I didn’t think I’d be… intruding.”

I look at the door and let Kenji go, his struggles causing him to flail onto his back. Both our eyes end up at the door and to Molly, leaning against the door with a silly smile and her arms folded.

“It’s n-not what it looks like!” Kenji protests and I giggle at the cliché situation we find ourselves in. It’s like a band romance manga.

“Really? Because it looks like you guys were training and Hana got the best of you.” Molly smirks.

“Okay, it’s exactly what it looks like…” He sighs and I hop off him, offering him a hand to right himself.

“Think you got another one in you, Kenji or is one girl a day your limit?” Molly asks with a sly smirk and he rubs the back of his head ruefully.

“Gimme a second, will ya? I need to get my stamina back.” He snarks with a smile at her. “Why don’t you spar with Hana for a little bit…” He grumbles and I look at Molly expectantly.

“Yeah! I wanna see some of your moves!” I encourage her by throwing at some wild karate chops. She laughs but agrees.

“Okay! Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Is it bad that I was expecting Kenji to run with the innuendo and make a girl-on-girl joke there?

Skeeve wrote:Is it bad that I was expecting Kenji to run with the innuendo and make a girl-on-girl joke there?

I'll be honest, I thought about it but I don't think Kenji would be that crass.

“Harder, Kenji! Faster! I want to work up a real sweat here!”

Haah.

Great chapter as always Sharp, it's the one thing keeping me from freaking out that I'm moving away from home for the first time ever in less than a week.

swampie2 wrote: Great chapter as always Sharp, it's the one thing keeping me from freaking out that I'm moving away from home for the first time ever in less than a week.

I remember living on my own for the first time terrified me but it gets easier, Swamp. I'll do my best to keep you entertained!

It really does get easier; it's just about getting used to your new circumstances, and that just takes time.

I was super freaked out when I moved out as well, but it wasn't so bad.

Jesus this Hanako's adorable.

omg I wanna hug her

Ah, I was missing the innuendos from Monomyth. Glad to see they're back

On a different topic, I'm already figuring out who you're going to pair everyone with. Current guesses are Hanako x Kenji, Lilly x Shin and Molly x Misha for the obligatory yuri pairing. Although, I hope i'm proven wrong about those and we get some more interesting couples (or none at all - that works too )

Also, stuck with saving the world forever/ until you die - ouch. It sounds strangely familiar to me, but I can't think of where it might be from...

The one problem of every superhero ever...

I think there's a couple series/characters which have the Sisyphean motif but I don't think I took it from anywhere in particular.

Innuendo will always be part of my writing, I just can't help myself and as for the Shipping Forecast? Well...

Hey, you were the one coming up with all the crazy pairings in Monomyth. My assumption was that you'd be carrying over that tendency

Mirage_GSM wrote:The one problem of every superhero ever...

Unfortunately true. I just thought that I'd seen or read something where it was specifically touched on. I dunno, maybe I'm just insane *shrug*
Oh, and I wasn't saying that I thought you'd taken it from anywhere in particular, just that it seemed familiar to me.

Also, good luck to ya, Swampie!
Yes, I did only notice that just now. Yes, I am an idiot