"R.D.?" said Marisa, wincing as she glanced over.

"Yeah." muttered Aimee. "Mia, can you compare them?"

One scarab appeared beside its two-dimensional sister. Marisa & Aimee's tablets vibrated, though they didn't take them.

"T-That man, the - his voice." said Mia. "When, when I was first attacked, I-I thought he said something, but - it, it was FTL."

"Sounds like what he said, yeah." nodded Aimee, tablet vibrating again. "Gotta be - FTL. FTL, FTL..."

"But why would he kill the guy who gave you Worldwide?"

"I-I don't think - he must be the one who gave me Worldwide." said Mia.

Aimee's tablet vibrated, and her phone rang. "I - sorry. One sec." She took both, and Marisa cursed as she checked her own tablet.

"What i-is it?" said Mia, glancing over. She didn't need to know the tablet's interface to know it was bad. She felt afraid as dozens of alerts came on-screen.

"Yeah." Aimee winced on the phone. "I'm - yeah, just… with Mia and Marisa, but I'll meet up with you, yeah." She set her phone to her chest. "Mia. I need you two to just head back to Urasaria.

"Are you sure?" said Marisa.

Aimee nodded. "Yeah. I can still handle a few of these, but - text me when you get back, okay?"

"A-Alright." said Mia.

Once they were out to the street, Marisa hugged Mia tight and a strand brought them up to a lamppost. If the stress hadn't made her want to vomit before, Boudoir's bumpy ride nearly did. Marisa's tablet kept vibrating until the two landed at Urasaria's gate, and the two went inside -

- to a man Mia hadn't seen before, the size of two men with a golden Urasaria badge. Marisa recognized Armstrong, and instinctively she hated him.

"Mia Schultz." he said. "Come with me."

"Why?" said Marisa and his head shook.

"Go deal with those Revenants."

"She's my protege -"

" - the staff needs to ask her about something. She'll be home by the time you return."

"Ask her about what?" said Marisa and Armstrong sighed.

"I-It's alright, Marisa." muttered Mia.

Armstrong led her to an office in the staff building, twelve seats on one end of the table & one seat at the other. She only recognized Hirogane out of the twelve across from her.

"Here, Armstrong." said a black woman, handing him a sheet of paper as he sat at the middle. "Another six."

He set it facedown. "Mia Schultz. Describe your day for us."

"…e-er. This morning, Aimee woke Marisa and I up, by knocking on o-our door."

"Marisa who?" said the black woman.

"Gwynvere." said Hirogane. "Hero name is Lavender Menace. Black hair, rainbow dress."

"Ah." she chimed. "Very fashionable, right? Very, uh, proud?"

"I… suppose." muttered Mia. She remembered how her father spoke of police, and felt some dissonance over being it now. She had always drawn a line between him & the scum students dealt with - maybe she could realign it there too.

"What then?" said Armstrong, and Mia relayed it. Once or twice a staff member would make a joke to try to endear themselves, but Mia didn't laugh.

"He had a scarab tattoo, you said?" said the black woman after.

"He did." murmured Mia, anxiety building.

"It was like one of these, right?" She flipped the paper over to six more like it, one with blue lines.

"I - where are these from?"

"Can you answer me first? We just wanted to make sure before we let you go."

"I - I need to know where these are f-from, first -"

" - answer her, Ms. Schultz." said Armstrong.

"…i-it - it was a golden scarab, yes."

"Can you show me Worldwide?" said the woman.

Tears were starting to come, and more leaks started to form the harder she pressed them back. "W-Worldwide."

Her scarabs appeared and the woman nodded. "Thank you. I still have a few questions." She read the paper, glancing between two-dimensional and three-dimensional. "Your Revenant has red lines. There's one with blue lines here. Can you explain that, Mia?"

"I-I don't know why. I'm - I'm not related to any of this."

"These began appearing very quickly after you said Doppori was stabbed."

"I-I - I don't know anything about - I can a-assure you that -"

" - is there a reason why you're so quick to deny, or why you didn't correct me on how Doppori died?"

"Give me the paper." said Hirogane, and it went down to him as the others kept questioning.

Hirogane had seen hundreds of students over his twenty years at Urasaria. He could call to mind the names of most of the high-ranks and even some of their mannerisms, and what he had remembered now of Worldwide's previous host was far different than the girl stammering here. Revealing his knowledge would've helped the staff's investigation, but it would hurt Mia worse. As they kept questioning her, he was reminded why he thought his co-workers as men & women who hadn't made it as professional heroes and took to judging a campus they had little involvement with anyway. Wasn't that different from the rest of the world, really, but he was the only staff member the students liked & he intended to keep it.

"Then maybe," sighed the woman: "You can go schedule your removal surgery -"

" - she's not getting her Revenant removed." said Hirogane, eyes rising on Mia. "She's been investigating on her own. Asked me when she was in the infirmary. Kept asking what she could do to help."

"It's a security risk to keep her Revenant like this. If they're using it at some sort of symbol -"

" - then they'll be even madder at me for removing it. The rest of you can defend yourself. I can't, and neither can she if I removed it."

"Keeping Urasaria safe is my job." said the woman. "Keeping her safe isn't."

"Mr. Hirogane." interrupted Armstrong. "What is your suggestion?"

Hirogane turned to Mia. "Mia. I assume you're planning on investigating with Aimee."

"…y-yes. P-Please."

He nodded, having experience reassuring Luna, though he'd been glad to put her in Saya's much gentler hands most of the time. "If she's going to keep investigating it - don't see any reason to remove it. She has friends here - she's not going rogue."

"…A-Aimee." murmured Mia. "Marisa a-and S-Sylvia. S-Saya."

Armstrong nodded. "Then I agree with Mr. Hirogane. Mia Schultz. So long as you continue to investigate - there'll be no reason to remove Worldwide."

"…T-Thank you." she sniffled.

"You may leave. Do not leave Urasaria without Marisa or Aimee. We have surveillance on you."

She walked out. She tried shifting herself back to the day prior as she went to her &Marisa's home, but realized in her pockets she'd lost her Boudoirkeys, and slumped on to the steps to wait for Marisa.

'…g-great.' she thought. 'W-Why does this have to be me? W-Why d-do I-I have to f-fucking be involved in everything?'

The door opened, and she turned, to Marisa with strand out.

"Hey, Mia-Mia." she smiled.

"I-I thought you were out fighting Revenants." muttered Mia as she went inside, Marisa closing the door behind.

"Not without my protege." she chimed, and Mia smiled weakly as she sat down. "What happened?"

"…they i-interrogated me." mumbled Mia. "T-They think I'm responsible for all the Revenants showing up, because t-they have Worldwide tattooed on them."

"What?" said Marisa. "That's - like, that's not because of you, that's…" She sighed. "…ugh. Staff are just - bunch of fucking dicks, ugh. They just get off on making us miserable."

"T-They threatened to remove Worldwide, b-but - H-Hirogane said he wouldn't if I k-keep investigating."

Marisa hugged her as her tears came again. "Yeah. I bet - there's no way he's gonna do that, like. They're just being a bunch of dicks and trying to scare you."

Mia nodded. "…p-possibly."

"Yeah, Mia-Mia. You've got me and Aimee, right? Like, Aimee's rank one, and I'm rank forty-six. They're not gonna do anything without - and especially Hirogane, too. Like…" Marisa sighed. "…ugh. I'm really sorry, Mia."

"I-It's alright." said Mia, sitting up. "It wasn't your fault."

Hoping she wouldn't follow her previous mentor's lack of support, Marisa nodded.

"H-Hirogane seemed to stick up for me, as well." said Mia.

"Yeah." nodded Marisa. "Like, Hirogane's cool, it's just everyone else sucks. People joke about that, like, if the staff building was on fire, we're gonna save the infirmary and pour gasoline on the rest."

"I-I could help with that, at least." said Mia and Marisa grinned.

"Yeah. Plus, like - Hirogane's the only person who can remove your Revenant, so just, yeah. Don't worry about what anyone else says."

Mia nodded. "Then we, er - should c-continue to investigate."

"Sure thing. It's gonna be okay, Mia-Mia. Like - we're definitely going in the right direction, so."

"I - I believe so, as well." nodded Mia. "There may be something about the… tattoos, to follow."

"Yeah, didn't that one say like, 'RD' on it? Maybe it's like, someone's initials or something?"

"Or whoever drew it."

"Yeah, exactly. We can start looking it up when Aimee gets back."

◆◆◆

Over the next few nights, the three investigated every tattoo artist in the state with the initials R.D., and one night had ruled out ten men.

Mia & Marisa stepped up to the sidewalk outside. The light was on in the parlor.

"…can I sit for a minute?" murmured Mia, and Marisa nodded.

"Sure thing. Do you want to talk about something?"

"I just need to rest."

It bothered Marisa how reserved Mia sometimes was with her. She hadn't had a good relationship with her mentor, either; but she couldn't force someone to unshroud themselves. "Okay. Uh, if a Revenant comes, shout for me right away, okay?"

"I will."

Marisa went inside and Mia sat on a bench, thinking. Staff hadn't called her in again yet; she knew they would soon, as some news had leaked. Running it back through in her mind, she doubted there was anything particular she could've said - what bothered her more was that she hadn't shown much resistance.

She checked her phone for a text from Aimee. Her & Makoto were investigating a half-hour away, and from what Aimee had told her about Makoto, she suspected it had taken a team of racehorses to drag her along.

Someone wearing a puffy jacket sat at the other end of the bench, face hidden. She tensed before noticing their Urasaria badge.

"'Today, the astronomer senses the galaxies fleeing from the infinity of darkness.'" they said. "I used to sit somewhere like this and read Loren Eiseley. I doubt he would have known what to say about Revenants. They defy the laws of physics too much."

"…er." This meant nothing to Mia. "Are you a Revenant researcher?"

"I am." Their jacket turned to her for a second. "You're Mia, yes? I've heard the news. The staff believes you're responsible for this."

Mia sighed. "I'm trying t-to clear my name, but… it's starting to bother me. There's only a few people who believe me."

"Their opinions shouldn't concern you. It isn't productive to take a democratic approach to truth." They sighed. "Let me illustrate this. It may help you feel better."

"Er, I suppose." said Mia, sitting up.

"There was a conference a few years ago on Revenant research. You're in your first year, I assume?"

"I am."

"I shall try to simplify it, then. Essentially, one hypothesis for the origin of Viscera exspiravit - Revenants. According to this hypothesis, they're assumed to be aliens that feed on something. A soul, essentially. That every human has one soul, and this is why most experiments to host more than one Revenant have failed."

"That doesn't… er, sound very scientific."

"In the absence of knowledge, people turn to religion for things unexplained. Regardless. There was a reporter who went around, asking us - myself, particularly - if I believed in this sort of theory. She had asked a few other researchers this, apparently. Conducting some poll."

"What did you say?"

"I asked her if she would like to put the law of gravity to a vote."

The two laughed.

"But, this type of religious thinking isn't restricted to churches." they continued. "Most people don't question anything - even researchers. Certain facts become dogma until science is forced to reorient itself, and solved riddles begin reopening themselves for examination."

"...what do you mean?" said Mia.

"Only that I still talk too much about my work." They paused. "I read that Urasaria's staff threatened to remove your Revenant."

"They did."

"It would clear your name. Have you considered it?"

"I haven't."

"Then they only have words left." muttered the figure, and stood. "There's a Schopenhauer quote for you. 'There is no surer sign of a great mind than that it refuses to notice annoying and insulting expressions, but ascribes them to the defective knowledge of the speaker.'"

Fear filled Mia as she saw his legs turn & his torso not, as if separate halves.

"FTL." he said, and he was gone.

◆◆◆

She returned for another interrogation with Urasaria's staff, and relayed their conversation. Hirogane remembered his appearance from ten years ago, and the way Mia had said he'd spoken reminded him too. His mentor had always had to drag him in, and Hirogane got the feeling they hated just about everyone but themselves. Didn't seem so long ago, really.

"And now, he's speaking to you." said the woman. "What did his badge say?"

"I-I don't know." stated Mia.

"You noticed it was a Urasaria badge, but not the name? How the hell did you not notice - he's fucking headless!"

"He was wearing a jacket -"

" - one that would -"

" - I know what I saw!" said Mia, trying to take it as one of those annoying expressions. "No, I-I did not see what his badge -"

" - five hundred dead." said Armstrong. "Three dead students. You need to be able to notice things like -"

" - I -"

" - don't interrupt me. You're hardly taking this as seriously as you'd like us all to think you -"

" - I haven't seen any of you -"

- Armstrong sighed as a knock came at the door.

Aimee's voice followed. "If you don't open this, I will."

"Go." he said to Mia. "Answer it."

Mia turned, calming a little as she opened the door for Aimee & Marisa.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" said Aimee as she stepped inside. "I told you to stop interrogating her."

"I'm sorry, were we supposed to wait for your approval?" said Armstrong.

Aimee despised no one as much as jackass #3. "This isn't your fucking investigation. We were -"

" - when it's a matter of danger to Urasaria, it becomes my investigation." he said. "I'm aware you see a saint in every student, but I find it suspicious that a woman claiming to be innocent has been so consistently argumentative."

"Because she *is* innocent!" said Marisa.

"How would you know?" he said. "You'll excuse me if I don't find the testimony of a serial thief convincing."

"This isn't about her." said Aimee.

"You're right." he said. "It isn't. But I'll warn you, Aimee. We allow you a lot of leeway in choosing what complaints to forward to us, but eventually, there'll come a time when the public doesn't find your constant apathy amusing."

"I'm not here to - to talk about whatever the fucking public thinks." said Aimee. "This is about Mia. Don't ever interrogate her again without me in the room."

Muttering something about patients to heal, Hirogane stood up and left. But Aimee saw him grinning, just a little.

"We still need your progress." said the black woman. "What did you find?"

Armstrong said nothing as Aimee sat down. She was an effective, if not good, student, but he privately preferred her defensiveness; it meant she never grew any demands beyond her post.

Hastily Aimee relayed her progress. With only a few names left, the three would investigate tomorrow night, and they left to the hall before Armstrong could say anything more.

"'Serial thief.'" muttered Marisa. "What a bunch of dicks. I fucking hate staff."

"You and me both." said Aimee, gesturing for them to start walking.

"Fucking boomers." Marisa sighed, then looked to Mia-Mia. "I'm sorry, I just - I thought like, it would be better if I got Aimee first."

"It's a-alright." nodded Mia and the three hugged.

"Yeah." muttered Aimee. "Just a bunch of…"

With some embarrassment, she realized Mia might not have liked seeing her angry, and attempted to suppress herself.

"…um. Just - let me know if they try that again."

"Thank you." Mia smiled.

Marisa grinned at the two. "So. Wanna like, get something to eat?"

Mia nodded and the three set off to the infirmary to find its freckled chef. Luna & Flashbulb made them waffles, and the four sat around her desk. Out of her eyes' corners, Mia noticed Luna's phone was set to a picture of her & Saya, former wearing a white dress & the latter black.

Mia paused as she noticed Luna wearing the same dress now.

"Thanks, Luna." said Marisa, hard on her stack.

"Let me know - k-know if you want anything else." chimed Luna. "B-But I have t-to leave soon."

"That's alright. Just gonna talk about an investigation." sad Aimee. "Don't worry."

Luna nodded.

"…um." said Aimee to Mia. "Guess we can start by him talking to you."

Marisa nodded. "Plus, like - the stuff about the Revenant research too."

"Yeah." said Aimee. "So, that means he's… uh. Probably telling the truth for something weird like that, but…"

"He must have been a former researcher." said Mia.

"Yeah, which means former student, too. Uh, maybe. Don't think they let anyone who wasn't a student study Revenants."

Mia frowned, wondering what certain facts about Revenants had become dogma.

A knock came at the door, Saya's voice following. "Luna? Are you ready?"

Luna stood up and opened it to Saya wearing a black dress. "Y-Yes."

"Good." Saya smiled and looked over Luna's shoulder. "Ah, did you three need anything?"

"All good." nodded Aimee, and the two went off holding hands. Mia stared at the closing door.

"I know, right?" whispered Marisa and the three laughed.

"She swears -" laughed Aimee - " - she swears they're not dating -"

" - I don't know about that -" laughed Mia -

" - god, uh - Makoto's jokes about that are so bad, too -"

" - what's she say?" laughed Marisa, and Aimee's head shook -

" - they're so bad. I just - I don't want to laugh at *them*, you know, but -"

" - it's very cute." laughed Mia, wondering if she'd ever have a not-quite-a-girlfriend too.

"Yeah." chimed Marisa. "Maybe they're just like, super private."

"Maybe." laughed Aimee. "Saya only got hired a few months ago, so. Around April or so."

"What about Luna?" said Mia, trying to keep the gossip going.

"She was here in my first-year, so. Uh, think she moved here a few years ago."

"Yeah." said Marisa. "She's been here since, like - my first day, so."

"Used to be even more nervous before Saya got hired." smiled Aimee. "Still. Super nice - just shy."

The two continued talking, and Marisa let the conversation fall from her ears as she thought about her own romances. Her mood always dimmed a little when it came to relationships. She had tried dating for the past few years, and by now had resolved to wait for life to send her a lady who didn't think they would be the one to make her different.

But it sure could hurry up.

◆◆◆

The three had a trio of names left, and stepped up to the first the next day. A neon sign overhead read 'RAYAKA'S HUGE PRICKS', and a placard in the window read 'NO PUSSIES'.

"Charming." muttered Mia.

Desks of antiseptic bottles were along the walls inside, a chair & recliner at the center, and two cubicles at the back. Someone black-haired, wearing a white coat & collar was sitting in the chair, attending to his shirtless client in the recliner.

"Excuse me." said Aimee, forty feet separating them as the man glanced back. "We're Urasaria students - wanted to ask you a few questions."

"The sign said 'no pussies'." he said, resuming his work. "I count three. Probably."

Aimee muttered something as Rider's tendrils burst from her wrists, and in the next instant -

- her blade was at his throat, herself standing right behind him. "Tell me if you fucking know anything, or -"

" - if that's how you want it!" he shouted, and in the next instant -

- Aimee swept back just in time for a serpent to burst out of the ground underneath his feet -

- and swallow him alive in the next. One bottle shuddered at Mia's left -

- but her & Marisa swept back just in time to avoid the man bursting out of it, laughing as he landed between the two & the one; Rider's tendrils went taut again -

- and the serpent swallowed the man again before she could swipe, Aimee appearing where he'd just been as he reappeared at the other end of the parlor, pool of green saliva dripping on the wall, forty feet separating them from him again.

His client's head was in his hands, laughing as he discarded it. "Mizuchi." The serpent's full form swayed up out of the pool, fangs dripping and head swaying. As he shouted a time limit of five minutes to spare, Mia noticed the scarab tattoo on his neck, and in the next instant -

- half of the antiseptic bottles burst open in showers of liquid and covered the floor -

- and the three swept with the speed of light back as Mizuchi burst out of the midfloor streak, Rayaka still laughing behind, serpent's head swaying as Rider's tendrils dipped in Mia's veins. Enhancement in her now, her scarabs flew in to the liquid -

- and set it alight; Mizuchi screeched as its home burst in to flames -

- but a swift hack of saliva doused it as the rest of the alcohol burst in to flames, fire shooting up the walls, Mia wincing as smoke filled the room -

" - enhance!" shouted Aimee, reaching for Marisa's hand -

- and a dozen Boudoir balls doused a dozen fires in an instant, smoke's advance slowing as the three stepped back, Mizuchi still swaying ahead -

" - what a fucking firebrand you are, Mia Schultz!" laughed Rayaka -

- and the keen end of one antiseptic bottle hit Mizuchi's maw; a scarab followed -

- and burst again in to flames; Rayaka shrieked as he staggered back - " - and - and a f-fucking thief, too!" he shouted, and in the next instant -

- Mizuchi burst up out of one drop of liquid behind her; Aimee enhanced her as her sword spun -

- and cleaved a quarter through the rabid beast, venom shooting out of its vicious wound -

- but a swift scarab boiled the venom to steam and away, three safe as Mizuchi retreated again. Aimee felt its saliva hit her back -

" - Boudoir!" shouted Marisa, sweeping her gloves across Aimee's back, and Boudoir absorbed the saliva. They noticed their foe had disappeared ahead -

- but groaned as they heard the tattoo needles rumble ahead; before they could react, the needles burst open in showers of ink, Rayaka appearing in the clouds of liquid ahead. Bullets erupted from Marisa's palms to try to absorb the sudden volley, but in the next instant -

- Mizuchi's shrunken head appeared out of the sweat on Aimee's neck -

- but her Riderhand gripped it tight, knife in the other as she stabbed clear through, and as the blood burst out of the serpent, arcing over her -

- Rayaka appeared above her -

- and flew in to one saliva pool on the wall in the next, disappearing as the three kept their eternal step back, Mia trying to dissolve what she could, Boudoir trying to absorb -

" - please, go ahead - go ahead!" they heard his voice laugh, Mizuchi's head slithering out of every drop of liquid it could - " - I've got fucking gallons here! Can bring in some other fucking friends, too!"

- Mizuchi's head burst up ahead -

- and disappeared just in time for Aimee's vicious swipe; a swarm of scarabs followed her -

- but couldn't match Mizuchi's speed, serpent bouncing and appearing around for another minute, three sighing but unable to lose their focus, saliva replacing whatever ink was dissolved -

" - time's up, dykey-dykes!" shouted Rayaka behind; they turned -

- and saw Mizuchi swallow him whole, three sets of eyes still turning for where he'd appear next, no calm until two minutes had passed without him -

" - for fuck's -" groaned Aimee, relevantly -

" - how the fuck do you even catch that?" winced Marisa, Boudoir forming bandages for their wounds.

"We need something with better range or something, fuck." sighed Aimee. "Maybe - ugh, maybe Makoto or someone. Fuck."

"I-I'm sorry I can't boil his saliva, either." sighed Mia. "I didn't -"

" - no, u-uh, hey." said Aimee, coming over. "You didn't.. you did the right call, yeah."

"Yeah, Mia-Mia." nodded Marisa. "Just need to - yeah, like. I bet someone with good range could hit him, too."

"Yeah." Aimee nodded to Mia. "Don't, uh, don't beat yourself up about it."

Admittedly, Mia hadn't been, but she'd known Aimee to be overly kind to (who she assumed was) every student.

"It's alright." smiled Mia, and Aimee too.

"…maybe Makoto. She's got pretty good range. Can blast him unconscious from across the room."

"That'd be good." grinned Marisa. "What are we gonna do now, though?"

Aimee nodded. "Let's check around here, and... two other guys we planned, too. Just to make sure."

"I… hope this is enough progress." sighed Mia as they started.

"I bet it will be, yeah. Plus, um. Got swap week next week."

"Yeah." said Marisa. "You get a different mentor for the week, but, like…"

"Er, y-yeah." said Aimee. "Uh. Can exempt you if you want, yeah. Wouldn't want to - yeah."

"That's alright." laughed Mia. "Er - if I can, I-I would like to participate, yes."

"Cold." murmured Marisa mock-ruefully.