1 Mad Dog [Arc 1]

[ARC 1: SCOURGE OVER URASARIA]

It always irritated Rodale how the redhead student assigned on Wednesdays made a habit of smoking indoors. He had once seen the hero name on her badge, and after a series of calls to Urasaria Academy's student body president with no real resolution, simply resolved that this was a group of people who broke the law as much as they enforced it.

He worked in a building whose existence had become nearly superfluous in recent years: a prison for former hosts. Mid-afternoon on the first day of August 2018, his eye was pulled over his desk at the visitor's center by a young, tall woman walking down the sidewalk.

"Well, there she is. I was wondering why she was so late."

His supervisor sat down beside. He saw nothing that made her different from the eight or so already gathered in the waiting room. "I don't know her. Is she somebody special?"

"Mia Schultz."

The name meant nothing to the supervisor. "One of the students?" he guessed.

"No, she just likes to dress like she is one. She don't talk much, but you should see her when a student does come in. She sits right up and smiles at them. I don't notice her pay any respect to anyone else who comes through here."

"You thinking of somebody in particular?"

"I just think law enforcement is law enforcement, I don't see why she's got to act like we're different. Would be nice if she learned some manners with everyone in this building. Not just those girls."

The supervisor mused. "I suspect that's the point."

Rodale watched as Mia pulled open the door. A 6' tall woman with midlength white hair, she wore a button-down shirt tucked in to her dress pants.

"Afternoon, Ms. Schultz." he said. "Here to visit your father?"

"Yes." she said.

He started typing. "I'll have them bring him out soon, then. Any particular reason you were so late today?"

"Revenant." she said, then turned away and sat down.

Rodale muttered something under his breath. He had seen Mia a few times around the city before; no wonder it was never with anyone else.

"I can see why you're so afraid of her." whispered the supervisor.

Mia coughed to herself as she took out her phone. The last host she had seen hadn't broken it, but the student who'd responded missiles nearly did. She checked social media for any recent Revenant sightings, then sighed a little as she saw a disparaging comment. In America. some still bitterly argued over the distinction between Urasaria students & civilian police: one killed when necessary & the other even when not. Which, of course, Mia would have answered in that order.

She often felt disconnected from the rest of her generation. Online lesbian communities didn't like her because she defended Urasaria students, and for this reason & others, she had difficulty making any friends besides her parents. In her view, her years as a latchkey child walking home with students had grounded an obligation to defend them, acidic as she sometimes was.

Checking the comment again, she replied: "Civilian cops already practically have legal immunity. Why shouldn't students? They don't abuse it." Turning her phone on silent, she added: "Ask a radiation victim in California if students are too violent."

She had seen enough violent hosts with Revenants to feel no sympathy over their deaths. For this reason, rent was cheap around Urasaria Academy, and she came from parents whose money was cut off at the pockets until her father's arrest. She would be leaving soon for college, but wasn't entirely confident; she had signed up for Psychology only because it seemed like a major she might enjoy, or enough to live on. She felt some causes deeply - politics or students - but that was all.

Hearing the doors open, she turned to smile at a redhead student stepping inside, who didn't even look her way before pulling a pack of cigarettes out of her jacket. Mia knew this woman's Revenant from online videos, and she would confess that this was not a particularly attractive woman - by any standard. From what little conversation Mia had once made with her, she tended to speak as awkwardly as Mia.

A little embarrassed, Mia watched as Manufacture's metal rods formed in the woman's hands. An electrical spark from one of the rods lit her cigarette and another electrical arc pulled the smoke away. Out of the side of Mia's sight, Rodale's neck tensed with rage. She tittered just as the student did.

A guard called for Mia, and the last she saw before the door closed behind her was Rodale's mouth opening to yell. After being searched, Mia was escorted to the telephone visitation hall and sat across from her father Stefan.

She picked up the phone and smiled. "There was a-a Revenant, I'm sorry I'm so late."

"Better get all my questions out now, then." he said. "Did you get a haircut, or was that the Revenant?"

Mia laughed. "I had it cut last week."

"Should've brought what they cut off to me." he laughed, rubbing his head. "Could use some. What about - college, right? Admissions going good?"

"A bit, although my scholarships were... a little short. We'll have to make up the rest."

"Well, they don't want any poor people getting an education. But I'm sure there's something your mother can do."

"I'm sure." She smiled.

He nodded. "Who's on guard today? Did you see?"

"I, er, I don't remember her name. She hosts Manufacture, the - the metal rods."

"Did you talk to her?"

"I'm not attracted to e-every lesbian I see." laughed Mia.

"Oh, you don't know her name, but you know she's a lesbian?"

"She's a female host, of course she's a lesbian." muttered Mia. "A-And I have talked to her before, but she isn't my type, she's very... strange, and I... like more butch women."

"Well, has there been any development there?" he said and Mia shook her head. "I bet you'll be popular at college. You know your mother always told you you've got the height of a model."

"I s-suppose. I always feel a little nervous around other women." She sighed. "Or in general."

"Well, but that's something that… and if you had…" His head shook. "No, I'm not going to lecture you today. I'm just glad you were able to come visit."

Mia nodded, grateful he wasn't about to hit her with that foolishness about needing to find a job. If she wanted stubborn lessons about the 'real world' from a father who hadn't seen it in years, she listened to Stefan; if she needed coddling from a mother who wished she could've put Mia in a picture frame when she was 10 & kept her like that, she went to Alina.

They talked for a while, and after a guard escorted Mia back to the waiting room, she noticed the student was still smoking. She'd seen students survive amputation before; whatever durability that bacterial colony on their hearts gave them probably prevented cancer, too. As she walked past, the redhead pulled the smoke away from her eyes.

On the way home, she decided to walk closer by Urasaria Academy's street, and texted her mother.

(Mia) "I'll be home in an hour."

She passed by one corner, and in the next instant -

- four arms gripped her neck from behind -

" - FTL." his voice muttered -

- and she fell unconscious.

===

She awoke bound to a bed in an unfamiliar room. A man and woman were sitting beside her, but she felt relieved at their Urasaria badges.

"Was t-there a Revenant?" she said, and the man stood up. He appeared young and was wearing a white robe with black splotches. Mia heard a phone vibrating on the corner table.

"Check it." he said to the woman, young with pink-hair & a marching band uniform. She walked away. "You're in Urasaria's infirmary. I assume you know where that is."

"Y-Yes. I think someone attacked me, or-"

"It's her mom." said the pink-haired woman, holding Mia's phone.

"Can I speak to her?"

"Not yet." said the robed man. "Symphony, tell her to call the infirmary. Saya'll explain it to her." He looked to Mia. "She'll know you're safe here. What's your name?"

"Mia - Mia Schultz, er - only one Mia."

"Any relation to Stef-"

"Y-Yes, I'm his daughter." Mia sighed.

The door knocked and a woman's voice came. "Hirogane, I need help with patients, please."

The robed man gestured to Symphony as he went out and shut the door.

"Anyway." said Symphony. "I already know your name, so let's skip the brain damage questions, unless you think you got knocked stupid."

Mia frowned. "I... don't believe so. Why am I being restrained?"

"Because you have a Revenant."

"What? I-I don't have a Revenant."

"Uh, yeah, you do. Hirogane already confirmed it. Anyway, you have three options, you can get it removed, attend Urasaria, or-"

"- I'm sorry, but I don't have a Revenant-"

"Uh, you do, I just said that." said Symphony, relevantly. "It's just not active yet. You can't even use it, so-"

"-no, I-I was tested when I was younger. I don't even have the gene for Volgari proteins. When- when I was young, I can't even host a Revenant-"

"Uh, okay, anyway." Symphony sighed and sat down. She was not a woman of a patient nature, and took it as a rigid law that anything involving work should be left to someone else: usually Aimee. "Well, I'm still not gonna untie you until Hirogane says so, so there." She pulled out her own phone and absentmindedly continued. "Anyway, three choices, removal, attend Urasaria, or go fight in Iran. Afghanistan? Egypt? I dunno, whatever war we got into last year."

Mia frowned as she saw Symphony glancing at her legs. This was a woman who judged most other lesbians by a tape measure. A butch woman entered the room; her face was like a chipped stone and her black hair unevenly cut, tattered denim vest and muscularity, a badge that read 'MAD DOG'. "Hey, what's going on?"

"A big mystery." said Symphony, who Aimee knew as Makoto. "Chick says she doesn't have a Revenant. Hirogane says she does, but it's not active."

"...uh. Right." she muttered, sitting beside Makoto. She smiled nervously to Mia. "My name's, u-um, Aime Sato. Urasaria's student body president."

"Decided by rank. Violence over democracy." chimed Makoto. "The Urasaria motto: when a host, by their reprehensible behavior-"

"Not right now." muttered Aimee. "U-Um, what's your name?"

Mia breathed deeply. "Mia Schultz."

Aimee nodded, but her pause told Mia she knew about her father as well. "Alright. You said her Revenant isn't active anyway, right?"

"Not yet, anyway." said Makoto. "Just found her outside unconscious. She says she got attacked."

"Right." said Aimee, placing her hands on Mia's restraints. "Uh. Probably pretty uncomfortable, right? Lemme undo these?"

Mia nodded as Aimee unbound her. "T-Thank you."

Makoto noted, though Mia did not, that Aimee had fumbled some with untying her; she could tell Mia's beauty was making Aimee nervous. She resolved to treat this new weakness in Aimee as she did any other in her friend: mercilessly mocking her for it in private. And throughout every following conversation she observed between the two, did Aimee stutter or tense in some way; not entirely expressed only in word but through the architecture of her body.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" said Aimee.

"Y-Yes. G-Give me a minute, please." After a minute, she said: "All I remember was... I was walking home, a-and someone grabbed me from behind, and I fell unconscious. I-I woke up here."

"Yeah. Did you, um, have a Revenant before this? It's okay if you do since we know it isn't active. Won't get in trouble for that. Promise."

"A-Are you absolutely sure I have a Revenant? Because I just - I don't understand how I could have a Revenant, I - I don't have the… gene. F-For Volgari proteins." She saw Aimee's eyes wonder if she was lying, and now she worried she'd lost her sympathy.

"…alright. Do you have, uh… records of that?"

"My mother will. Alina Schultz."

"Okay. Makoto, can you go tell Hirogane to get that?"

"Sure thing, Lady Aimee." said Makoto and stepped out.

Aimee disliked the nickname, but showing that would've encouraged her. While she understood why Makoto had never had a girlfriend, she still liked her - maybe only because they'd spent a year as roommates.

A bit of anxiety came up in her being alone with Mia; like many lesbians, she had an unfortunate habit of throwing her thoughts in to a woman's basket before she knew her sexuality, and a persistent superstition of coming on too strongly.

"…u-uh." muttered Aimee. "S-So, you do have a Revenant. We have someone that confirmed that, but if you don't have the gene…"

"…I don't know how. I-I don't know how."

"Hey, it's - it's alright, right? I'm sure there's some explanation. Right? Maybe you're… you know, a medical marvel, right?"

"I-If only." laughed Mia, and Aimee smiled.

"Just, uh - medical marvel that got dropped off right at the gates." She laughed nervously, trying to keep her hands silent. "But, just gotta wait for now, uh. Sure you're telling the truth, but maybe just missed something. In the meantime, do you want anything? Something to drink?"

Mia laughed. "Water, p-please."

"Sure thing."

Aimee went out to the main infirmary, then went over to knock at Saya's door.

"Come in." said her voice and Aimee stepped inside, black-haired & modestly-dressed medic at her desk. "Do you need something?"

"Just a glass of water."

Saya took an empty glass out of her desk, frowning as she held her right hand over it. "…Blackburn hasn't replenished yet. Give me a minute."

"Is Luna not in today?"

Saya smiled. "She is, but she asked for time alone to practice socializing with patients."

Aimee nodded, but figured the infirmary's freckled chef was likely cooped up in her office. It was known around Urasaria that it took Saya to get anything out of Luna - whether they were best friends or best girlfriends was something speculated but never certain. "How's that going?"

Saya tapped the glass, fog appearing on her right hand. Blackburn's fog flew in & filled the cup with water. "She's… still in her office, I believe. I should go check on her."

Aimee smiled as she took the glass & the two went back out. Makoto & Hirogane came up to her.

"Her mother says she doesn't have a Revenant or the gene for Volgari proteins." said Hirogane. "Asked her to fax over the test result."

"A fucking email wouldn't have sufficed?" said Makoto. "You know she has to go look in a local antique store for a fax machine now, right?"

Hirogane shrugged. "It's what I grew up on."

"Sometimes I forget that you're 40." muttered Aimee. "Kinda nice hosts don't really age."

"Or horrifying." chimed Makoto.

Aimee & Makoto went back to Mia, who was holding her phone, and Aimee handed her the glass. "Um, mom might've told you, but they asked for the test result."

Mia nodded. "She's going to the local library for their fax machine."

"Figured. Guess she, uh - at least she didn't have to look in an antique store, right?" said Aimee, and Mia smiled.

"Yes."

Given that Makoto had never had a girlfriend, Aimee realized she shouldn't have stolen the joke. One was hopeless due to her personality and the other her appearance, and if Makoto wasn't so stubborn, she might've put her luckier half of things to use.

"Good one, Aimee." chimed Makoto.

Any other time, Aimee would've joshed Makoto over it, but in front of a woman like Mia felt a need to hide any of her personality that might've been taken offensively. About the only thing she felt confident in was fighting, though her Revenant was the type of ability where she sometimes worried her being rank #1 could've been achieved by *anyone* hosting it.

Out of her eyes' corners, she saw Makoto eyeing Mia. Aimee was rarely a sexual woman, even disgusted by it at times. She might've felt a bit envious if she didn't know her best friend's sheets usually covered thoughts of any feminine woman, not specifically Mia. Makoto had once said that her first month at Urasaria had left her with pruned fingers for a year. Never before had another lesbian's words left such a visceral & graphic import in Aimee's mind.

Hirogane stepped inside holding a sheet of paper. "She didn't have Volgari proteins before, and she has them now." He glanced at Mia. "You were tested when you were sixteen."

Mia nodded. Her pillow had been damp the entire week after that result.

"So, medical marvel to host a Revenant without proteins, or another Revenant gave it to her." said Hirogane. "She doesn't have an allergy to Penxeno, either. Already checked with Pulse."

"Er, does that mean I have a Revenant now?" said Mia.

"You do."

"Um, Mia, do you know what Volgari proteins are and all that?" said Aimee. "Probably should've asked..."

"She did go to highschool, you know." said Hirogane. "Presumably."

Aimee saw Makoto smirking. Someday she was going to put up a sign outside Urasaria's gate - 'HOME TO 99 STUDENTS & 3 JACKASSES'. "Uh, yeah, but - just want to make her c-comfortable."

Mia smiled. "It helps. Thank you."

"That's our president." chimed Makoto. "Super nice. And you know, if you're impressed by women who can lift a lot of weight, she benches 3000-"

"Someone dropped her off at the front gate, then." said Hirogane. "Rewind should have seen who. I'll let Renault know." He walked out.

"What happens now, then?" said Mia.

"Umm... they're not gonna let you leave Urasaria until we find out." winced Aimee. "Um, are you hungry? P-Probably should have asked that, sorry. Do you want food?"

"Er, just milk. And I need to call my mother."

Aimee nodded and took her glass. Makoto & her stepped out, and Makoto grinned at Aimee once door closed. "Wow, you truly are a fucking mess."

"Shut up." laughed Aimee.

"I bet if she asked you to bark like a dog, you would."

Aimee sighed. "I'd really rather not think about what I would do if she told me to. God, she's pretty."

They walked over to Saya's office in the infirmary, knocked at the door, then realized she was not there and headed over to Luna's office.

"Should've expected she's with her girlfriend." said Makoto. "Speaking of 'bark like a dog'."

"You know Saya's going to hear you joking about her and Luna one day."

"Who do you think's the top?"

It always perplexed Aimee when lesbians used terms traditionally from gay men, but no matter. "C'mon. She'll hear you."

"And do what, fill my throat with knives?"

"She could."

"Uh, does Blackburn even desensitize her? That bitch is a total pacifist. I mean, I know that's why she didn't sign up to be a student, but there's still all those 'non-lethal student weirdos'. Someone attacks you and you're still not gonna spray their guts two streets away? Fuck that. To me, that's the climax of the fight, and I do mean climax."

Aimee rolled her eyes as they kept walking. Clearly, someone was externalizing some frustrations today. Aimee was just the opposite: she internalized everything and grew ulcers. She saw Saya heading out of Luna's office and Aimee handed her the glass, asked for milk, then headed back to knock at Mia's door. She heard Mia still talking to her mother some and leaned against the wall, checking herself in her phone's camera. "God, and I'm fucking looking like this, too..."

"It's like when you wanna see your ex on a day you're looking great, but in reality it's when you look like a failed human experiment."

Aimee glanced up at her as she heard Mia finish her phone call. "I'm really gonna need you to leave."

Makoto giggled and set out. This type of banter was typical between the two; why Aimee put up with it, she surmised only as loneliness and that Makoto's own debauchery provided a useful antidote against the conservatism of her religious upbringing. She heard Mia knocking at the door from within, then answered it for her. "Um, hey, what's up?"

"Can I ask you a little about Urasaria?"

Aimee nodded and stepped inside with her, sitting down and handing her her glass of milk. "Sure thing, yeah. Are you thinking about staying? After?"

"I- I believe I will, but I'm not sure yet. Er, if I was to apply, what would happen?"

Aimee nodded. "Okay. Um, s-so, once your Revenant activates, you'll register it with the ability. The staff can check if they think you're lying, so u-um, don't. They give you a house on a campus, and a monthly salary that's a little..."

"I know it's low."

"Yeah. But once you hu- arrest more people with Revenants, it goes up, so-"

"The rankings?"

Aimee laughed. "Yeah."

"And I know students refer to it as hunting. The violence doesn't bother me."

"Good." nodded Aimee. "Good, um. But then you get a mentor assigned to you from second-years. I'm a third-year, but I'm here to help you, too, if you need anything. They have a tablet that lets them get calls for where Revenants -- hosts -- sorry, we use them interchangeably -- and you go deal with them. If you get hurt, some Revenants can heal you, or the infirmary. Everything make sense?" Mia nodded. "Um, but once you have your Revenant, i-if you feel comfortable with me, we can go out together and make sure you know what to do and everything."

"Maybe." Mia smiled. "I would appreciate that. Er, but I've read about personality changes and such, with Revenant activations, and..."

"Um, i-it isn't exactly a personality shift, it's..." Aimee winced: she was aware of how host impulses were seen by ostensible-civilians. "...um. That might be better something experienced than explained, I guess. But you won't lose your personality, if that's what you're worried about."

Mia nodded and drank through her glass of milk. Aimee asked if she would like another, then went out to fetch Saya; maybe showing Mia a pacifist would assuage her some. She asked if she could put on her best bed-side manner for Mia before they stepped inside together.

"Hello, Ms. Schultz." Saya smiled. "Aimee told me you would like a little demonstration of Revenants, yes?"

"A little, I suppose."

Saya nodded and sat beside her, gesturing for Mia's empty glass. "Alright. Can you look at my right arm? I'm about to summon my Revenant, Blackburn. Its fog won't hurt you if you accidentally touch it. It allows me to 'fill' things. It's a creation Revenant." Streams of fog flew into the glass and filled it with water. "See how it changes?"

"Yes."

Saya handed it to Mia. "It's safe for consumption, so don't worry. Do you have any other questions?"

"I believe that's all for now."

"Good. If you need anything else, please do not hesitate to call for me, or Hirogane. Neither of our Revenants can harm you."

Saya walked out.

"I, um, told her you were scared of Revenants, so." Aimee rubbed the back of her neck. "But I-I just wanted you to show someone who's, uh, kinda the anti-student in terms of stereotypes, you know?"

"I understand." Mia smiled. "She seems very nice."

"Yeah. She's Hirogane's assistant, so you'll see her a lot, and... there's Luna, too, but she just stays in her office most of the time. Doubt you've seen her yet. Freckles, stutters a lot. She usually sticks close to Saya, but her Revenant lets her take a picture of any recipe and recreates it. Everyone jokes about her and Saya, um, dating, since -- just how they look at each other."

Mia grinned. "Are they?"

Aimee laughed. "Pretty sure they're just good friends. Wouldn't have any reason to hide that here, us being lesbians and all..."

"...er. I need to ask something, then. I understand that Revenants turn women gay. Correct?"

"It's technically a flip in the rate of sexuality, but that usually just means mostly lesbian."

"What happens if I'm already a lesbian?"

"It keeps your sexuality."

Mia sighed. "Oh, phew."

"Oh! Yeah, um -- I get what you're saying. No, you don't have to worry about that."

"Er, also, who was the other woman? With pink hair?"

"Makoto." Aimee winced. "Um, hope she didn't make you feel uncomfortable. She can be a bit much sometimes. Doesn't have a filter. If someone says 'Council of Four', they mean me, her, two other guys. Presidential squadron. Just a silly name I came up with."

Mia nodded and the two kept quiet for a while. Aimee started feeling anxious over not talking, so she said; "But, um, yeah. Still need to find out why you have a Revenant and all that. Right? U-Um, we have someone that has cameras and stuff, so... Someone must've dropped you off, right?"

"Yes. But I don't know who would have done it."

"Might be the same guy who attacked you. Any idea where you were?"

"Er, near Ocean Prison."

"Alright. I'll make sure they start looking around there."

Aimee wouldn't normally be involved in an investigation, but she knew she would be because of Mia. Even though the fantasy that being a good detective would woo her was ridiculous, she still liked to believe it, as she didn't feel her personality or appearance were up to the task. She was unlike Makoto in that she did not let her lack of success step ahead of her judgment when it came to women.

Mia thought about college over the next week, as she wasn't allowed outside of the infirmary. She had seen the rows of housing out of the third-floor window and the mansions near the front gate & walls. Relatively isolated in location, she had noticed that the area directly around Urasaria Academy had little of the resonant neon glow life as an urban woman had conditioned her eyes to imbue in night.

She also noticed that for as essential as Urasaria was, most of the funding didn't show in the housing. Aimee had visited her daily, and pointed out the squat brick of mismatched boards that was row of one-star housing, along with her own mansion; a fact that seemed to embarrass her.

Though she had pretended to herself previously that college would not be so bad a choice, she had undone her previous rationalizations now; she knew she would choose being a student, for she had nursed an obsession with them for years and cried when told as a teenager she could not host a Revenant.

On the first quarter of the eighth night, something in her room screeched 'WORLDWIDE!' and she woke up screaming; Hirogane came in a dozen seconds after, and turned the lights on, causing her to wince and throw her hands over her eyes. "I-I - what the fuck was-"

"Your Revenant activated. That's what the scream was."

"I-I- what? Did you hear it too?"

"No, I just remembered I forgot to tell you it would scream in your mind, and figured that's why you were screaming."

Mia sighed and tried to calm herself for a minute. She had realized over the past week that Hirogane's bedside manner was far worse than Saya's. "Please just give me a minute, then, o-or..."

"S'fine." He sat down beside her, and pulled an oily tendril out of one of his robe's black splotches. "Have to check if it's truly active, though, with Pulse." Once Mia was calm, he drew it up her vein, and she felt calmly disgusted as it slithered up her arm and touched her heart. He pulled Pulse out. "It's active. Should be able to summon it."

Mia sighed; she would prefer to wait for Aimee. She called her first, and though Aimee's mansion was farthest from the infirmary, she still got there within a minute. She explained what had occurred, and tensed as she prepared to summon her Revenant. "Worldwide." A dozen scarabs appeared on her right sleeve, golden with a single red line down their backs. One flew above her head and exploded in a tuft of red flame. She smiled.

"Wanna try it with Rider?" said Aimee.

Mia nodded and gave out her wrist. Blue tendrils burst out of Aimee's wrists, which Mia knew as Rider; some sort of enhancement when dipped into the veins of hosts. Rider's tendrils dipped in her veins, and as another scarab exploded, a tuft of orange flame puffed out; she knew that occasionally color changes demarcated strength. "Er, I'm not sure if there's any other ability to it, or..."

"That's just something you kinda know innately. Can you extinguish it, if you set something on fire?"

"I don't believe I can." frowned Mia.

"Oh. Um, guess what you could do is, if you accidentally set anything on fire, cover it with your body or hands. Revenants can't harm their hosts or what they're wearing."

A scarab exploded on Mia's palm, and she nodded as no pain came. "I want to apply to Urasaria."

"On it." Hirogane yawned and walked out.

"Should, um, just take a minute." said Aimee excitedly. "Luna's not here, o-otherwise we could celebrate. Maybe, um, maybe tomorrow we could go out fighting and get to know Worldwide, maybe?"

Mia smiled. "I appreciate the offer, but I'd still like to practice more before hunting."

"Oh, u-um, yeah, sorry. Sure thing, yeah."

"But, eventually."

Hirogane came back with her registration papers, and Aimee helped her through them. Once Mia had finished, she wanted sleep again, so Aimee & Hirogane left to the main infirmary. Hirogane gestured Aimee out to the hall.

"Something's wrong with her colony." whispered Hirogane. "Felt it when Pulse was checking her. It's an extremely small colony. Could barely feel it on her heart."

"But it's new, right?"

"...I'll check her again in a week. Might have something to do with whoever gave it to her. Still, keeps up like that -- should tell that to whoever she gets assigned. Might need to be off-set by someone stronger."

"Okay. Any progress with whoever gave it to her?"

"Renault's still checking Rewind."

"Alright."

As Hirogane watched her walk away, he felt the name Worldwide sounded familiar.