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It all began with a man sitting on his bed, trying not to wake up.All around him is the beauty of the part of the world which he called home. A metal jungle which extends to the sky, supported by both metal and magic, intertwined together to form a substance that was nearly unbreakable. Magic was everywhere, from the fertile ground of a land of forest, to the stars that shimmered across the land with an endless night.It reverberated through every being, since it conception long ago. It sprang into existence, spreading to every being, giving them a vitality that they never had before. It spread into their bones, sank into them- breathing skills into them that made each other them different. Two people can have the same skills- but not at the same power.The most powerful of the skilled people- all skilled people were called Magicians. There was a certain Order- Elemental- Enchanter, Wizards- Mages- Witches,Warlocks- Sorcerer- Magician. From highest to lowest. Enchanters and Wizards have two different skill sets, but there are still the most powerful. Wizards can bend the forces of nature to their will, bringing down whole organizations with a flick of their fingers. Enchanters use their magic on an object, giving it the same type of life that the Enchanter themself has. In doing that, they give the object a magic ability, which can trap forever. Elementals are rare, and there are only a few in history, and there hasn’t been one for years and years.The emperor himself is a Mage, with the power to control others minds, and bend them to his will as if they were moldable putty. He lives in a palace of glass, translucent but not transparent. As he if the ruler, he controls it, but his power in weakening with every passing day.His son is much weaker than him, barely a Sorcerer, but he has to do as much as he can. His skill matches his father, in which he can control, but it is weak and resembles an impulse more than compulsion. When used, he is weak afterwards for so long. He is weak, though the power still flows in his veins.He longs for someone, as much as his heart can long for someone who already has their heart taken. It had been taken for so long and so forcefully that she wasn’t sure that she knew what it was like to not have their head full of the other women.The women that the prince loves is an assassin for the government, one of the leaders for a task group. The prince loves her because she is strong and speaks her mind to everyone, to small lords to the withering emperor himself. She is rude and crass, and stands tall throughout all of it. She thinks herself as cutthroat, ready to do whatever she needs to finish her goal.She was given her instructions inside of a glass palace. She was to assemble a crew to fix an old spell, one that was unraveling away. It was several twist and turns, and no one knew.The people that she chose were special- all men. One could spin the light around him into illusions, moving pictures that were never truly there. He was hard lines and fake smiles. He was a whirlwind and black shard of glass, cutting and cutting and cutting but never truly there. He performed with an air of ease that others never seemed to replicate- since he weaved the air himself.One could make emotions churn, changing until they were something else. Jubilance, Rage. Depression, Avarice. He was a rock face, but with the gooey center of a filled gummy brain. His insides were soft, and so was his heart. He was stronger than an ox and weaker than a parasite. Most of his assignments were successes. Of course, that means that there was an exception, and there was. There was one assignment that he failed, and it was due to his feelings getting in the way, and he was never chose for those types of experiments again.One was endlessly fearful, ducking around every corner and glancing at every person two, three times. Terrors controlled his nights, and nightmares plagued his waking hours. He was fully mashed up inside, soft, gooey. He was constantly on assignments for his power to see through veils of lies right into the truth. He saw just about the worst of things as he extracted information: prisoners, Wendigoes, sirens, banshees. He had seen them all and never wanted to again.One had a world that was on fire. Everything burned around him, setting aflame with just a second of weak self-control. He hides his fear with mask of bravado so strong that no one that he has ever met can see through it. He has come close to the verge of ending lives, but has stopped just in time. As he has a average rate, he goes on missions fairly often, any psychological damage hasn’t been apparent.One could never stop thinking that he was responsible . That he messed it all up, again . He was sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. It should have happened- he just freaked out. It was his fault - he should have known that their food has sugar- that it would freeze fast- that he should have thought more- that he should have stayed back- that he should have thought- that he shouldn’t be there- that he didn’t belong there- that it was all his fault . He had been on very few missions, and had been recuperating from his first one for years now.One could see the world around him without even opening his eyes. He wasn’t sure of what he was doing- but he was sure that it was right. He had seen them in action- they had torn apart his family- but this was just blatant murder . So he was put off those assignments, and placed somewhere else, far away from the threat although they brought him back when they truly needed him.The threat was one they all knew of- creatures of evil that used flesh as their food, made by their own, stopped by their own.Wendigoes.Spirits of cannibalism.No one knows how they first came to be, nor how they were made, but they are.There were made in the labs of Teiko, synthesized deep underground. They lusted for flesh from the moment that they were born, and will lust until the day that they are dead.Once, they got out. The monstrosities roamed the world, tearing people apart, creating nightmares, sowing fear.The creatures that were against nature were thankfully defeated and sent back to Teiko, though it was changed, better- a cage. The strongest Enchanters and Wizards locked them away, with barely a soul other than them to hear.The spell was strong, and they were able to lock nearly all of the Wendigoes away, trapping them as if they were rats in a cage.Even if it was just a few weeks, the world felt the effects of the attack- hundreds dead- if not a thousand, and they feared for their lives.So the emperor decided to make a task force to deal with vicious magical creatures, so that he could eradicate all fear from his people. Most of the leaders were people that he already knew, that we already established with having a strong stomach and an empty heart.Only one person doesn’t fit. The girl that the Prince loves with all of his heart. The emperor was brought her kicking and screaming. She was in horrible shape, covered in blood, but her eyes burned with an intelligence the Emperor had hardly seen before. He took her into his household and she was endlessly trained for the position that she would one day take.When she was taken in, she was ten years old. When she became a leader, she was fourteen. When she chose her group in retaliation to the threat, she was eighteen, a full blown adult, just like everyone else that had gone through the disaster.It had been ten long years since the Wendigoes had escaped for the first time. The streets were still filled with survivors that spent time every week to go to grave, to pray over what was left of the people that they loved.They all hated the Wendigoes, but they were all scared.Terrified.Their terror still plagued their nightmares.Even though they were surrounded by the beauty of their metal jungle, they still remembered, they still knew what it was like.Just like the man lying down in his bed, trying desperately to go back to sleep.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
When Takao was finally enticed to wake up, it was because his sister fell on top of him, somehow getting enough height to fall, squeezing some of the air out of his lungs. His eyes flickered open lazily as he peered at the person above him.
“Hey, sis?”
“Whaaat?”
“Get off.”
“...Mom says that you got a letter.”
With a groan, Takao rolled over, gently tossed his sister out of his bed, then rolled back over, and covered his head with a pillow. He flipped his power off, wondering why it
always
turned on when he was asleep. After a few seconds, Takao felt himself drifting back into sleep- but then his door slammed open.
“Kazunari!” Takao cracked an eye open to peer at his mother who was leaning against the wall that led to his room. “Get up!”
“Itsmi housom,” Takao slurred. “Myrulse.”
“Yeah, yeah,” his mother responded, walking into Takao’s room and tearing the sheets off of him. “I thought that you would like to know something.” Takao opened both eyes to look at his mother, who was standing tall with her hair swept to one side of his face, covering it. “Like the
letter
that you got from the
Emperor
!” Takao blinked at her for a few seconds before it
finally
registered with his sleep-addled brain. He sat up, and hit his mother with his hand as he flipped over, hitting her through her blind side.
“Sorry.” he apologized as he slipped out of his bed, landing on his feet easily. “Where is it?” he asked as he reached out a hand for his sister to grab. He swung around towards the floor and she was easily lifted up, their routine ingrained into the memory of their muscles now.
His mother gestured somewhere out of his room. Takao sped out, leaving his unkempt room before, sliding through his equally unkempt apartment. He had brought it once he had turned seventeen, two years ago. His family wasn’t supposed to be here- it was really only for himself- but since his father had been sent into the City of Secrets without them, they had to stay with him.
They couldn’t work- or even find work- on their own. It was a struggle even for his father, who had managed to make it out of the attack with all of his limbs.
The letter was on a cluttered counter, its rainbow trim easily visible despite that random spatterings of vivid colors that permeated his home.
Takao ripped it opened without a second thought, and upon looking at the envelope, turned it upside down and shook it until its contents fell out.
Two papers fell out, one looking dingly and old, while the other was lined with a familiar rainbow trim.
Takao looked at the latter paper first, aware of how his family was moving around him, proceeding with their normal morning routines, while trying not to pay explicit attention to him.
Takao Kazunari
, it read, with its exceptional handwriting that Takao knew that he would never be able to replicate.
You have been chosen by Captain Shiirou Kougou for a special mission that could very well cause ripples throughout the world as we know it.
We will be responding to a threat issued by the Wendigoes, the threat is in the second paper. The Captain chose you because of your keen observation, which will be put to good use here. You will join seven companions on this quest, one of whom, Furihata Kouki, you already know well. All others are agreeable and will be easy to work with.
The people that will be accompanying you are, as follows:
Kasamatsu Yukio- a Mage Empathic Manipulator
Sakurai Ryo- A Wizard Cryogenesis
Kagami Taiga- A Wizard Pyrokinesis
Himuro Tatsuya-
A Mage Holographic Projectionist
Furihata Kouki- A
Wizard Reality Perceptionist
Nijimura Shuzo
- Takao read over the name again, then repeated the action a third time.
The crown prince?
he thought-
A Sorcerer Subliminal Messenger
Shiirou Kougou- A Wizard Photokinesis.
The mission is simple. There is something in Teiko that can be used to defeated the one bound with the spell, but we have a limited amount of time. Everyone on this list is loyal to the crown.
If you choose you accept this mission, I can ensure monetary compensation, along with a rank up, and the promise of only having to accept missions that will have a large impact.
Of course, if you do choose to ignore this, then please destroy all traces of this assignment. This warning was able to get to us, and we don’t know if any Wendigoes have gotten into our government. Shiirou is currently working as hard as she can to weed them out.
I trust that you will make the right decision.
Tennō Nijimura
Takao sighed once he finished reading the letter, both from relief that it was over, and the fact that he had gotten another mission. He didn’t get them often, only every month or so. He would go out, catch a dangerous magical creature, bring it in, look the other way, get paid, then go back home. He couldn’t complain, the system worked but he never truly looked forward to them.
And it was
Wendigoes
that he was dealing with. The creature that had ripped apart his house as if it was paper, ripped off his sister’s leg, tore his mother’s face in half, leaving her half blind, tore the ligaments in his father’s thigh, and tore some of his nerves- all at the ripe age of eleven. It had been eight years since then, and the memories were as debilitating as before, but he never wanted to be reminded of that.
Takao dropped the letter back onto the counter and leaned back, the hard stone poking against his back. He steeled his nerves and opened the second letter. The writing was messy and scrawled, as if they were in a hurry, or trying to disguise their own handwriting.
“What’s going on Kazu-onii?” Takao looked up at his sister as she crept out of the kitchen as fast as she could. “You’ve been out here for a while.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re shaking.”
Takao hadn’t noticed that he was shuddering, and he raised a hand to wipe off the sweat that had gathered on his head absentmindedly. “I’m fine. No need to worry,” he told his sister, stopping the shudders that had wracked his body without him even noticing. “Mom may need some more help.”
His sister frowned at him, but she took the hint and let him be.
The letter read:
Hello Humans!
Do you remember us? The ones that you
locked away
; the ones that
you made
.
I would suggest checking up on us. (Your spell’s growing weaker. And weaker, and
weaker
)
We, however, benevolent as we are, have agreed to something. You come to us. Let us free. We’ll work with you. Who are the ones under a spell here?
If you don’t...then
we’ll find our own way out
. And you wouldn’t want that, would you? Would that be the
the worst possible outcome
?
How about a challenge?
We’ll give you three months- starting the day you get here- to get us out of here, break the curse that binds us to Teiko. It’s connected to our leader- I was there the day that it was cast. I know.
You get rid of the curse, and you will have an army that is never invincible- and besides. Don’t worry. We won’t bite.
Unless we’re starving.
It would be in
your
best interest to help us.
Fail, and you slide the world into
jaws
and out of the
cruels hands of
humanity.
Hurry up.
Takao shuddered as the paper fell out of his fingers.
Of course he knew Teiko.
This was what he was expecting.
Just not
this
.
Not
this
.
Takao held his breath in for as long as he could, trying to overcome his panic.
This couldn’t be happening. It just can’t
.
They were the best...it’s only been ten years. Ten years. That’s it. That isn’t enough time.
Takao was sure that he was hyperventilating, even as he tried to push it down.
They were
out
. They could be out. They could find his home again. Tear it apart. He was lucky. He only got out- only with nerve damage. It- that was it for him.
For him. For
them
- Takao cut off his thoughts and placed the dull paper on the counter, as calmly as he could. He took a few breaths in, clutching the edge of counter to ground himself.
He could do this.
He
would
do this.
What other choice did he have?
Getting all the way to the City of Lights was harder than he thought it would be. Takao could use his job to get him a guaranteed spot on a train, but he didn’t need that- he needed a bullet train.
And to do that, he needed to jump through so many hoops that Takao’s legs were on the verge of collapsing by the time that he
finally
slipped onto the train, sending one last message to his family telling them that he was on his way.
He settled onto the train, wrapping his coat around him tighter. The cold had begun to settle into his bones, left behind as the train leapt forwards, gliding across the rails as it flew forwards. Takao sighed and relaxed into the train, sinking into the familiar technical buzz.
“Mommy! Mommy!” Takao cracked an eye open at the joyfully child that had leapt out his mother’s lap to point at a man with black hair looking out of a window. “That’s man’s pretty!” Takao smiled as the mother- along with most of the other passengers on the train, included Takao- shot a quick glance at the man in question.
Thankfully for the mother, the man in question had headphones on and couldn’t hear a thing. If Takao truly concentrated, then he could probably hear it for himself, but he was content with the electronic buzzing.
“Sun,” the mother chided, “you don’t just say that about random people-”
“But Mom-” The mother cut Sun off by slapping her hand over his mouth.
“Be quiet young man,” the mother snapped, face red as a few people chuckled, “or else we won’t get ice cream.” That shut Sun up, and he climbed back into his mother’s lap.
Takao met the mother’s eyes for a second, and she nodded in gratitude, as he was one of the only people to not laugh aloud.
Aloud being the key word.
He was cackling on the inside.
Takao winced as they passed the barrier, marking his exit from Shutoku. The passing- much more sinister than it was- wasn’t called a natural magical occurrence because not all people felt it, but everyone who did sweared it was.
NMO’s weren’t
rare
per se, but they were certainly alarming to someone who hadn’t ever come in
touch with one before. Shutoku had a tree that shed its bark every two hours, while Takao was pretty sure that Yosen had a deer that randomly roamed its natural streets, sometimes granting wishes.
Takao truly had no clue. Yosen kept very quiet about those sort of things.
When the bullet train entered the City of Glass after a few hours, Takao felt the obvious change in the air- the relaxation that the emperor supposed just
alluded
as opposed to forcing it on every person that walked into the city.
Takao was one of the first people off of the train, ripping off his earbuds as he walked out, shielding his eyes to deal with the city’s dazzle. The streets were chock full of people, all accustomed to the reflective building- the only truly glass one being the castle itself. And even it was translucent, to the point of opaque at some areas.
Once Takao had begun his trek, he almost immediately shrugged off his jacket, opting to carry it in his arms again. The reflective light made the city so hot- even in winter.
“Hello?” Takao greeted a guard, who was staring at him quite suspiciously as he approached the
castle.
“I need your rea-”
“Cool it Jim.” The guard snapped his head around, mouth open to yell at the other guard that had appeared behind him. The guard winked at Takao. “Hurry up.” Takao and Jim had dated a while ago, but they had broken it off due to the distance.
“Thanks!” Takao chirped as he passed the sour guard, winking at him as he passed by. He didn’t know the guy, but he always loved lording something over people. It was just something that he did to keep himself sane.
“So...what’s up?” Jim asked himself, shuffling around a bit in his armor. It definitely had a medieval design, but it was thinner than the armor from so long ago. It was made of a stronger material as well, known for being able to resist even the strongest of magic.
It was rumor that the ‘upcoming queen’- Shiirou Kougou, was the one that came up with the chemical makeup, but as far as Takao knew, it could have been her, some random guard, or a royal chemist. So who knew
“I was called for another assignment.” Takao replied as they navigated the translucent glass walls.
Jim whistled, “Straight from the big man himself.”
“Is he as bad as everyone says?” Takao asked, getting straight to the point.
Jim sighed.
“He’s worse.” He answered tentatively, “Even the strongest physicians can’t seem the get the sickness out of his system.” Jim let out an all-suffering sigh, and Takao could see all the signs of grief that showed even with his armor on, “The most powerful man in the empire dies from a magical sickness. What a turn of events.”
“A turn it is.” Takao responded as they entered a room that was full to the brim with guards.
“Here’s your stop good sir!” Jim tipped an invisible hat at Takao before he turned and strolled off, “If you want to have another chat just-”
“I’ll call you if I ever need you!” Takao chirped, cutting Jim off, “Promise!” He didn’t mean t. Even though Jim could he nice at times, he was always
there
when Takao was. Whether it was for a report, or one of his rare assignments, Jim was always there. Waiting.
“Takao Kazunari.” A guard in the corner of the room coughed, “If you are ready, then you will be escorted into the throne room.
“I am.” Takao responded quickly, spreading his awareness out for a second to make sure that Jim was leaving, sighing when he confirmed it
“Good.” The guard then gestured to a group of guards, who stood straight to attention, “Take him to Nijimura-heika.” All the guards in the group nodded, and Takao quickly found himself surrounded by a circle of guards, encasing him as they walked forwards, leaving Takao to clumsily imitate their movements to keep in time.
However strange it might have been, it was certainly efficient- and normal it seems, for the servants, who didn’t cast him a second look.
“In there is Nijimura-heika and Nijimura-denka. Please uphold yourselves by the highest standards possible.” The voice that said it was bland, but Takao could tell that the guard thought he was some city man who was going to make a fool out of himself.
The guard didn’t allow Takao any time to answer before the opaque door in front of them dissolved, its intricate marking melting away as it did. It reveal a strip of material that Takao always refused to be glass, because it shimmered like diamonds.
The strip of material lead up to a two glass thrones. There sat Nijimura-heika: the king with unfathomable power, and Nijimura-denka: the nearly powerless prince.
Jim was right. While father and son were nearly carbon copies of each other, Nijimura-heika was clearly ill- only in his early fifties though he looked like he pass for seventy. His skin was wrinkled and clammy, with an obvious gray pallor. Even from where he was standing, Takao could tell that his magic had waned and his eyes were less sharp, not piercing like his son’s- like they used to be.
Besides them stood a slew of people, though only one truly stood out.
The ‘nearly queen’ herself, Shiirou Kougou. Takao nearly cracked under her gaze which was a shimmering orange, so unnatural that it sent shivers down his spine. Her long hair fell loose, gray strands reflecting light in a way that seemed unnatural, manufactured.
Although, her skin was truly the thing that made her stand out when compared to everyone else. While even else was pale, she was luminous, her warm skin showing red undertones, no matter how light
With her head held high, and searching eyes, it was no surprise to Takao how she had gotten this far.
“Furihata Kou-” Nijimura-heika began, but Shiirou raised a hand while her eyes switched to red for a brief second, “Takao Kazunari-” Everyone in the room except the Nijimura-heika and the ‘almost queen’ look embarrassed by the mistake, as if they couldn’t believe how far from grace the king had fallen. Takao was stunned as well. He had met with the king a few times in the past, but never long enough to truly catch his attention- not that he wanted to in the first place. But just one year ago the king had been in perfect health. Now he could barely remember the most basic of things. It was truly a fall from grace.
“-You have been chosen by Shiirou-kakka for an important mission that can very well change the course of the world as we know it. She will give you more details herself. You’re going to wish that you never woke up this morning.
The emperor chuckled as everyone but two shot him expressions of horror.
He’s going to wish that he never woke up?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Takao Kazunari.” Shiirou said, her voice cutting through the tittering of the crowd that surrounded the thrones, “Follow me.” She then turned around and walked towards one of the side doors, the one which seemed to have ruby veins. Takao scurried after her, trying his best to keep pace with her. He was just barely taller, but she kept a fast pace.“So...do you have any plan?” Takao questioned. Shiirou scoffed at him.“Did you truly believe that I have gotten this far without always having a plan?” Shiirou rolled her eyes at him, very...unconventional for someone who was so high up in the government,”Of course I have a plan.” She affirmed as they came to a door.The door was plain, and Shirou pushed it open with little difficulty.Inside sat three other people, two which he didn’t know and Furihata.“Takao-kun!” Furihata called out, cutting off his conversation with another brunette, “How’s it going?” Takao waved back, strolling over to him.“Everything’s fine! And you?”“I’m okay as well- this is Sakurai-kun!” Furihata gestured to his side, at the other brunette that he was talking to before. At closer inspection, Takao could tell that Sakurai was shivering slightly, “And that’s Kasamatsu!” Furihata pointed at a glowering black haired man in the corner.“It’s Kasamatsu-senpai to you brat.” Kasamatsu snarled, and Furihata recoiled in fear. As did Sakurai even though he didn’t do anything. Takao sighed inwardly and turned back to the door only to find that it was just closing and Shiirou was gone.“She does that.” Kasamatsu explained gruffly, “No one’s had the time to get a single word out of her.”“She seems scary…” Sakurai muttered under his breath. Takao had to nod in agreement. She was one of the few people who was still close to the emperor and was seemingly undeterred by his decline.“At least she’s going to brief us when everyone is here.” Furihata sighed, “At least, I hope that we’re going to get briefed.” He dropped his voice to a whisper, “I’ve heard that she’s sent a whole squadron in without briefing them first.”“That’s ridiculous,” Kasamatsu scoffed, “If she did that, she wouldn’t ever be allowed to lead another group.”“He’s right.” Takao chimed in, siding with Kasamatsu, who wasn’t as brutish as he seemed.All eyes turned towards the door as it swung open again, this time revealing four people instead of two. Three of them were male, one of them was the man on the train before, the person that the little boy had called pretty.“That’s everyone.” Shiirou announced suddenly, cutting through the sudden silence, “As you all know, I am Shiirou Kougou- and I’m also doubling as the leader.” She rested a pointed hand on her collarbone, “You can call me anything that you want- just not Shiirou-kakka.”She gestured to Nijimura, who was resting against a wall, “Hello. I am Nijimura-kun, the son of Nijimura-heika. I will be working as Shiirou’s second.”There was silence for a few seconds and Takao glanced around the room, but no one seemed like they wanted to speak.Shiirou sighed, “You.” She pointed as Furihata for a second before suddenly switching her focus and pointed at Kasamatsu, “You’re next.”Kasamatsu looked surprised for a second before he schooled his expression and let out a throat clearing cough, “I’m Kasamatsu Yukio. I’m 24 years old, and I’m a Mage who can sense and manipulate emotions.“Oh, and,” He added, after a second of pause, “I live in Kaijou, if anyone cares.”“They should.” Shiirou scoffed, “You’re all from different places, so it should start up some conversation...What?” She snapped as everyone’s eyes turned to her, “We’re going to be working together for god knows how long-” She shrugged, “-might as well get to mingle.”“Okay…” Pretty boy said.“Himuro, you’re next.” Shiirou smiled as she turned back to pretty boy, “Go on.” She replied in response to his blank stare.“I’m Himuro Tatsuya. I’m 23 years old, and I’m a Mage Holographic Projectionist from Yosen.” He gave everyone a small wave as he forced an equally small smile onto his mouth, “It’s nice to meet all of you.”“Nice to meet you too Himuro.” Shiirou replied, smirking, “Now who wants to go next?”“I’ll go. I’m Kagami Taiga.” Announced one of the people that had just come in with Shiirou, “Um...I’m can control fire and I’m from Seirin.”“Good to know.” Shiirou suddenly shook her head, “I’ll just go down the line. The train should be coming soon, and we need to be on it. Raise your hands in turn and I’ll go down the line.Takao was the first.“Takao Kazunari. He’s a wizard with enhanced instincts.”It didn’t take long at all before they were walking out of the room, all trying with varying degrees of difficulty to keep up with Shiirou, who walked several times too fast for someone her size and...well, from what he could see in her stature. She was thin, and didn’t seem to have much muscle on her, but she sure walked with a stride of strength.The trip to the station was short...especially so considering that the station was inside the castle, so small and inconspicuous that it took Takao until he had woken up inside of it for it to really sink in that he was going this.Hell, he was already on the way.His eyes darted around his room- they had all apparently fallen asleep in the common room- before his ears picked up a soft scratching and his eyes carried the shadows to their source.It was Shiirou, bent over a piece of paper, the scratching a pencil repeatedly making small strokes all over the paper. She turned around to look at him, and her eyes seemed to glow in the near pitch blackness, her skin melted into the shadows.Takao jumped as she met his eyes, and, like a flash, her eyes slid from a still cerulean to a slick green, piercing right into him, tearing through him as if it were a knife.He opened his mouth to scream, but she beat him to it.“Do you assume that every unnatural thing is a Wendigo in disguise?” She asked, giving him a dry look.Takao let out an embarrassed chuckle as he slid out of his cot, walking towards her steadily. The train was so smooth that he could walk without even a second of worry that he would fall over.“Sorry I’m just...high strung.”“It’s- It’s fine.” Shiirou turned back to her picture, her shoulders relaxing- and Takao hadn’t even noticed that she was tense before, “Everyone’s high strung right now. If you’re not, you’re fucking insane.”“Y-Yeah…” Takao agreed. He did not expect their leader to come out of the gates swearing.There was a soft rustling behind him, almost imperceivable, before someone piped up, “She’s like that.” Nijimura added, rubbing his eyes warily, “I’ve seen her telling officials to fuck off and leave her alone, because ‘I’ve got a fucking clue what I’m doing- you have no fucking clue how to run a fucking investigation, much less organize one of this-fucking-scale, you dumb motherfucking bastard!’ I...I haven’t seen that guy in ages.”Shiirou scoffed, “He got redacted.”“Of course he did.” Nijimura chuckled, but Takao got the faint idea that Nijimura didn’t truly knew what the term meant, “What are you drawing?” He asked, leaning over Shiirou’s shoulder. Takao copied him.Takao could see the picture nearly perfect, his irises changing to take in more light. The sketch showed the plains streaming by just outside the window. Every so often, there was an unfinished tree, stopped before it could be finished.“Just...clearing my head.” Shiirou sighed suddenly, pulling a piece of her hair- one of the two that hung all the way down- behind her ear, tucking it with a surprising amount of force.“I’m not the only one…” A voice muttered from the back of the room, nearly silent. Both Shiirou and Takao turned around to look at Sakurai, who had swaddled himself with blankets, “Sorry! Sorry!” He squeaked when he noticed that he had been noticed, swaddling himself deeper.“Wsgoin’?” A gruff voice asked blearily from a corner. Kasamatsu sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes, covering his face to get away from the sudden glare from the moon.“You know what-” Shiirou said suddenly, before raising her voice to a scream, “Wake up!” Her scream was slightly slurred, as if she learned another language first, and had never truly fallen into Japanese.“Whassua?”“Why?”“Ah!”Kagami, Himuro, and Furihata said in succession.“Whasa, whu?”“Nice to see that you’re a coherent waker.” Shiirou noted dryly, crossing her legs, “Do you want to wake up some more?”“Shush.” Kagami responded without thinking, rolling back over and throwing his arm over his face as everyone fell silent.“You talk to your superiors that way?” Shiirou asked, lowering her eyes to glare at him.Kagami’s eyes widened as he scrambled to sit up, “WaIt no- shit sorry- fuck- umm…”“Have a problem?” Shiirou noted dryly again, but Takao noticed the edges of her lips were quirking upwards, eyes shining a luminescent green in the darkness as Kagami scrambled for a somewhat appropriate answer, “Don’t bother.” She interrupted as she peered up at Kagami through long eyelashes, eyes flashing to look at Nijimura, who had begun to stifle a laugh.“What?” He chuckled as everyone turned to him, “I’m not in danger in being thrown out due to insubordination, if something’s funny, I’m going to laugh.”“Good for you.” Shiirou replied wryly, orange eyes snapping around the room, “I truly wonder why you haven’t been thrown off a mission before.”“There have been some…” Himuro coughed once, before he continued, “Close calls before.”“As I expected. Anyhow,” She got out of her chair and before turning back to them, “Come to the meeting room and I’ll fully brief you. You’re-” She ran her hands through silver hair before she sighed once, “You’re going to need to know everything.”That’s new. Takao thought to himself as he followed her. What could be so important that we need to know everything. Most things were on a ‘need to know basis’. Even though you could learn everything about what you were doing, most times it would be detrimental to both you and the mission in a whole. Takao had heard about one guy who learned everything and had nearly screwed up the entire mission because of it.“Find yourself a chair and get situated, because this is a long one.” Shiirou slumped into a chair and everyone followed suit, “Everyone ready?”There was a mumbled chorus which sounded enough like a yes that Shiirou must have deemed it a certainty and started explaining.“As you all already know, what we have on our hands are Wendigoes. Teiko is collapsing in on itself.” She said bluntly, “There are animals inside the walls now-”“How did you get this information? There’s no one-” Nijimura began, the only one who seemed in the right mind to talk. Takao was too terrified to even shiver, but he was shoving it down as best as he could.“I hunt the fucking things, remember? One was going on and on about ‘the wiggling fish in the ponds’ and the ‘toads that hopped in puddles’. It wasn’t hard to connect two plus two. Moving on- there obviously shouldn’t be animals in there, and its been awhile since the spell was first cast, so it isn’t unreasonable.“We just need to renew the spell, and to do that, we need to find the leader. The ones who cast the spell cast it on the leader. We need to defeat- but not kill-” Shiirou’s eyes whipped around, meeting everyone’s eyes for just a second before moving on, the intensity so startling that Takao shuddered, suddenly cold and hot all at once, “- him, so that we can get him weak enough so that I can renew the spell-”“-You can renew spells-”“No, Shuuzou, I cannot renew spells. I’m sending us all to Teiko for a suicide mission.”“Speaking of suicide missions-”“Shuuzou, fucking spit it out.”“How are we supposed to get back out?” Takao’s heart dropped to his feet as Shiirou stumbled over her words for a second, only to let out a bated breath as she composed herself and answered,“We will not be there for only a couple of days. This mission will take months- most likely right up until the spell dissolved completely. Teiko is a winding labyrinth, but we should be able to find the best way out and get out before we are swarmed. Besides-” Her eyes skirted their group again, a comforting green dotted with orange, “-With the skillsets we have here, who can stop us?”