[ARC 4: Red&White&Blue and White]

[Friday, March 8th, 2019]

Matoi did not dislike individual men, usually; she recognized that most prejudices, like sexism, were downstream of culture. To focus on individuals would make her no better than the Gorgons, a criminal gang of lesbian hosts who spent as much time decapitating random men as they did printing out flyers.

But there was a man she liked & even respected; her protege, whose house had been destroyed in a training session in January. While he was living with her, now, she had been pleased to find how few traits he inherited from his colleagues; he was clean, responsible, and rarely let his hormones step ahead of his mind.

Her phone vibrated on her dinner table.

(Samuel) "Heard a few people screaming a block over. Might be a Revenant."

(Matoi) "I'm on my way, pig."

Samuel was the only man at Urasaria she spoke to; the rest of them didn't dare. She enjoyed nothing quite so much as being despised. On her way out, someone called her name near the gate, and she turned to see Mia walking up.

"Matoi." She smiled. "Are you busy?"

Matoi nodded, and checking Samuel's location, started walking towards the maglev trains out of Urasaria. "My protege's encountered a Revenant. Come, we'll hunt some scum together."

"I - I can't, right now." said Mia. "…er, he's out alone?"

Matoi smirked. "You haven't seen his Revenant recently. Outcast became much more durable after a few months of acid baths."

Mia just blinked. It was said around campus that Matoi was an unpleasant mentor, and if Samuel's rank was any indication, the most effective. There was a message there - Mia would see if she could reason it out. "Er, still. I... need to ask you for something, but - it can wait. Is it alright if I wait at your home?"

Matoi nodded and handed Mia her keys.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

An hour later, Mia was sitting at Matoi's dining room table and reading a copy of Schopenhauer's essays she'd gotten from the bookshelf. Partially due to Magnus, she had been trying to grow her habit of reading non-fiction; she felt a woman needed a mix of physical & mental fitness.

Yet she never did enjoy it.

The front door in the other room opened. Matoi stepped inside, laughing with a muscular man. Mia didn't realize it was Samuel until he wiped the blood off his face. The semester had put enough weight on him that she nearly thought Matoi had gotten another protege.

"And -" - Matoi laughed - " - the way he just looked at his leg for the entire -"

" - the entire time it was flying down the street -" - laughed Samuel, relevantly -

" - and you fucking brought it back with Outcast -"

" - well, I didn't want to scare anyone who saw it -"

" - as if that's stopped you before." laughed Matoi.

"Well, it worked better than last time."

"Swarm." Matoi laughed as the two came over.

"You're reading Schopenhauer?" said Samuel and Mia nodded. "You know, the ironic thing is - he has a whole book where he says you shouldn't read anything, because you start having other people's thoughts and not your own."

"Which one?" said Mia, glancing to the bookshelf.

"Not sure. I never read it."

Mia laughed, and turned to see Matoi whispering to Samuel, who nodded and stepped down the hall.

Mia set the book back and sat down. "I hope that was alright - I just saw how much philosophy you have, and…"

"Most of it is the pig's." (Mia glanced down the hall Samuel has gone and Matoi smirked.) "It's done well, calling him that. He might even grow to like it."

The sound of a shower started.

"He studies philosophy?" said Mia, a bit surprised.

Matoi shook her head as she sat down. "He isn't interested in it for studying. He believes it makes him a better fighter."

"Does it?"

"No, he has being a masochist to thank for that." laughed Matoi. "What did you wish to discuss?"

Mia relayed Worldwide's origin and the recent occurrence. "…I declined Xenocyclin, and… I believe if I were training with Aimee or Marisa, I would unconsciously hold back, but with you, er - you're - very dedicated to training."

"…correct." muttered Matoi. "You mentioned these purple flames are much stronger."

"They - admittedly, they completely disintegrated a host with a powerful Revenant." muttered Mia. "If - if you don't wish to -"

" - we shall train together." nodded Matoi. "I'll begin writing up a plan tonight. Marisa will hunt with Samuel, and we shall train together for the month."

◆◆◆◆◆◆

[March 9th]

The two, with Hirogane, stepped in to a private room in the infirmary, bathtub on the other end.

"Will Samuel mind the swap for the month?" said Mia.

Matoi turned as she stood over the tub, Hirogane already averting his eyes. "The pig will have some rest, but he knows what will come after."

"You'd think he'd tell you to stop calling him that." yawned Hirogane.

"I'll stop when he's rank fifty." said Matoi. "Or one."

Matoi hooked her fingers underneath her pants, starting to pull down -

" - I - what are you doing?" Mia looked to the ceiling. At the bottom of her eyelids, Matoi undressed & laid down in the tub.

"Removing my clothes." said Matoi. "They'll burn off, otherwise. It isn't meant sexually, obviously."

"Could've at least warned her." yawned Hirogane. "She's got a girlfriend, you know."

"And I assume their relationship is … strong enough that this won't affect it."

Mia frowned. Come to think of it, she didn't like the thought of Aimee finding anyone but her attractive either. "…er, I suppose."

"Come." said Matoi. "Ramp your heat up slowly at my ankles."

"…I'll… have to look at you for that." muttered Mia, heat ramping up at her face.

"Correct."

Mia stepped over and kept her gaze below the goods. A single scarab tapped Matoi's right ankle -

- and exploded in to orange flame. Matoi laid her hair back. "Again."

Another scarab that singed a few unshaved hairs. Mia had been able to skip the razor since she got her Revenant.

"Do you think this little of me?" said Matoi.

"No." muttered Mia, another minor wound. "I'm - trying not to permanently harm you."

"I doubt you could."

Another scarab melted a patch of skin like dripping paint.

"Are you even trying?" droned Matoi.

Mia smashed a palm of scarabs against Matoi's shin, red mark growing now.

"I wonder what Ryumi would think of you."

Matoi stood out of the tub, bending over to take her clothes back; Mia gripped her thigh, scarabs swarming and burning three holes clear through her legs -

- and with a sigh, despite the charred flesh, Matoi still stood.

"Pathetic." said Matoi, putting her pants back on. "I wonder what Aimee sees in you."

"Excuse me?" grunted Mia, standing.

"The only reason you have Worldwide now is because she wanted to fuck you. If you hadn't had her help, you would be dead at the bottom of the fucking ocea-"

- Mia ripped her back by her hair as a spray of fire erupted from her palm, skin & pants burning black; Matoi grunted - " - show me how you really f-feel, you stupid f-fucking cunt -"

- her flaming fist smashed Matoi's nose in a stream of boiled blood, and as she pulled her hand back -

" - alright, you two." groaned Hirogane, used to the white wedding's methods. "Don't kill each other where I'd have to report it."

Mia released her grip and stepped back. Hirogane sighed as he pulled Pulse from his robe and drew the tendril up Matoi's veins.

"… E-Effective." grunted Mia.

Matoi glared. "Pathetic."

◆◆◆◆◆◆

Mia hadn't calmed much by the time the two arrived home.

She sat at Matoi's dining room table, watching the white wedding search through the fridge.

"I assume you understand why I said that." said Matoi.

"I suppose." Mia frowned. "But I think it's funny that you're allowed to say I should be fucking dead, when you were the one in Lanacca who -"

" - stop." said Matoi, glancing back. "I agreed to this because I consider you a friend. I do not want this training to affect that friendship. I've said worse to provoke Samuel - it's not indicative of how I view you."

Mia closed her eyes and sighed. "…you're right. I'm sorry."

"Regardless, you'll have plenty of reasons to be angry at me. It's part of teaching you a useful skill - knowing when to use your anger. If losing control over Worldwide is linked to stress, then it's important to be able to control it."

Matoi pulled two containers of food out of the fridge. She took two spoons out of a drawer and handed the containers to Mia. "Heat these."

Mia opened the kids and saw fried porkchops, white rice & curry sauce inside. "What is this?"

"Tonkatsu curry."

With a nod, Mia's scarabs began to heat up their meals.

"Most people know the value of anger in a fight, and most people know the value of calm in a fight." said Matoi. "But it's important to be able to switch between your calmest and angriest at a moment's notice."

Their meals heated, Mia passed one to Matoi, and glanced down -

- and sighed, finding the pork & rice had burned black.

"Precisely." muttered Matoi. "Our training will proceed as such - every morning, you'll use your scarabs for a recipe. Every afternoon, we'll train something unique and have lunch if you succeed. Every night, rewarming leftovers."

"…'plenty of reasons to be angry at me.'" frowned Mia.

Matoi grinned. "I would say good luck, but I won't insult you."

◆◆◆◆◆◆

[March 10th]

She woke up to Matoi banging on her bedroom door, and was still sluggish answering it.

"You're finally awake." said Matoi, already glaring. "Come, we'll see if you do any better today."

The two came to the kitchen to see if she'd do any better that day. A pot of water was on the stove, and a cup of white rice beside.

"Go." droned Matoi, sitting down. "The simplest possible recipe. If you can't pass this, we might starve to death."

With a sluggish nod, Mia drew over to the pot, dropped a fire scarab inside -

- and groaned as the entire pool of water dissolved.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

The hunger left her frustrated and more eager for the afternoon. The two came in to the private room. Saya was standing over the tub.

"…god." Mia groaned. "Don't tell me."

"Precisely." chimed Matoi. "Saya is continually overworked and exploited. A warm bath will relax her."

"I - am sure you can do it, Swarm." nodded the medic, who was continually overworked and exploited. "Please, go ahead."

(Saya still didn't understand Matoi, but had tried to be more involved with students given she wasn't traveling anymore.)

Mia stepped forward sighing, and a swarm of scarabs flew in to the tub. Ice filled it halfway, and as she closed her eyes -

- the blare of an airhorn entered her ears - she shot up -

" - come on, come on!" shouted Matoi, readying for another blast. "She does not have all day!"

"It's - alright, Swarm, I do -"

- another blast filled her ears -

" - come! All the times Saya's healed you, and you repay it like this, you ungrateful fucking -"

" - Worldwide." groaned Mia, and the ice melted. She gestured to Saya, who dipped her finger in the tub -

" - O-Oh! T-That is v-very cold. That -"

" - is a failure! Time to go home!"

◆◆◆◆◆◆

They hadn't eaten in nearly twenty-four hours by not-dinner.

"Did you fucking ask Aimee about this?" said Mia.

"I did." said Matoi, pressing two shawarma to her. "It's her favorite food, isn't it? Does it remind you of her?"

"Of course it fucking does." muttered Mia, scarabs flying in.

"I can tell you want to insult me."

"I don't."

"You could do it about my eyebrows."

"No."

"Or the yogurt you just burned."

Mia glanced down -

- and as always, the white wedding was correct.

"God." she grunted, readying for a dinner of water and sleep.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

[March 11th]

"The human body can survive thirty days without food." droned Matoi. "I wonder if we'll have a meal before April."

"I'll … get this." said Mia, standing over another pot of water, box of pasta beside.

Matoi's persona for training reminded her of Magnus's. Nearly thirty hours without a meal, she was nourishing a secret hope it'd end similarly.

"Will you?" said Matoi. "You can return to Aimee at any time, if you want - I won't tell her she's dating a failure."

Mia closed her eyes. Worldwide's temperature adjusted as she dropped her scarabs in to the water -

- and the water boiled. She glanced back to Matoi, the smugness having swapped.

"I'm a true chef." droned Mia. "Was that everything?"

"For now." said Matoi. "I'll prepare the sauce, and we'll eat. Enjoy class today."

◆◆◆◆◆◆

That afternoon, she tried not to smell the blue-haired woman beside her in class. Mia liked Yuruko, but the chemist usually placed videogames over showers.

"Seriously." said Yuruko, hard at work on her chocolate bar. "These are pretty good. Some second-year chick came to my house last night and gave me like, a hundred of these. She had them in a bunch of unlabeled boxes, so I thought they, uh, might have been poisoned, but I tested them and they're fine. I was reading an article last night about sodium fluoroacetate - it's a poison. Uh, you sure you don't want any?"

"I'm - fine." chimed Mia. "F - i - n - e."

◆◆◆◆◆◆

Out in the hall, an even worse betrayal.

"Y-You too?" panted Mia, aghast to find the fashionista snacking. "Are - are those creampuffs?"

"Yep. I told her they were your favorite." chimed Marisa. "They're so good, too. I'm gonna gain like, ten pounds."

◆◆◆◆◆◆

She had asked her girlfriend to meet her outside -

" - you were expecting Aimee - but it was I, Matoi."

"Infirmary." muttered Mia, dragging back inside.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

"U-Um, why did you need me here, R-Rain-O-On-A-A-W-Wedding?" said Luna, holding an empty cup.

"Hand Mia your cup, and drink whatever she gives you."

"Baby steps." muttered Mia. Two ice scarabs to one fire, and the resulting concoction was already boiling.

"How disappointing."

Mia set it down on the floor, three ice scarabs in her left hand. A hailstone formed in her palm, and her fingers crushed it, dripping it in to the glass. She handed it to Luna and the quivering chef drank it.

"U-Um… I-It j-just tastes like cold water."

"Thank you, Luna." chimed Mia. "You don't know how much that means to me. I would like the most filling stew you have, please."

Luna nodded, comprehending none of this.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

"What are these?" said Mia that evening. Six vials filled with a different color liquid were on the table, thin slit cut at the tip of each.

"They were originally popsicles." said Matoi. "I thought you might want dessert, but they're for practicing finer control. Freeze the vials too far, and they'll shatter."

As Matoi turned the rack of vials, Mia laughed. She had given each a nametag.

"The first is Jeff - orange." said Matoi. "His wife is expecting a second child, and would be extremely upset if he were frozen alive. The second, Gerald - raspberry. A pediatrician with sliding scale fees. The third, Cara - grape. Her wife…" She frowned. "…she's very important, though I can't remember why. Cherry is Hasari. His wife is cheating on him with another woman - fortunately, he is, as well, with another man."

"A very tumultuous relationship." nodded Mia sagely.

"Precisely. The fifth, Juka - watermelon. He spends all of his time reading manga and watching anime. I don't mind if you shatter that one."

"Anime?" said Mia, relevantly.

"You never read yuri when you were younger?" Matoi shrugged. "Start with any you wish."

Mia nodded. Her ice scarabs burrowed in to Cara -

- and the vial burst in to purple shards.

"That can't be good for my karma." muttered Mia, setting at Juka's -

- which burst in a shower of watermelon.

"Nothing of value was lost." said Matoi.

Another ice scarab crawled in to Hasari -

- and the bisexual popsicle was frozen & saved. The two laughed as Matoi peeled the lid off, handing the vial & a wooden stick to her.

"…you're enjoying this, aren't you?" said Mia, freezing the two remaining popsicles.

Matoi smirked. "If I wanted to be efficient, I wouldn't have offered this. I can't force you to train with me if it's too unpleasant."

"I can't imagine what Samuel goes through."

Matoi shrugged. "He already enjoyed making everything pointlessly difficult - all I changed was his direction."

"No wonder he reads philosophy." muttered Mia. "Er, I was curious, also…" She gestured to the bookshelf and Matoi nodded.

"The books on women's movements are mine." said Matoi. "Samuel isn't sexist, but I doubt he would call himself a feminist - he's too attached to his masculinity."

Mia laughed. "I - when he walked in, I nearly thought you had gotten a different protege - because of how much weight he put on -"

" - precisely." laughed Matoi. "Fortunately, he's never expected me to take responsibility for his meals, and he's never asked me to leave for the night. I assume you know he's unlike most men at Urasaria."

"Sylvia's mentioned that." muttered Mia. "Er, she's - she has a male mentor."

"I've worked with her and Grant." nodded Matoi. "Personally, I don't care if a civilian woman is so lacking in self-respect she'll fuck a man purely because he's a student - but when Samuel is called a pussy because he refuses to exploit that, well."

"Grant said that?"

"No, a few men in your class." Matoi shrugged. "And the same people accuse him of using steroids. Inferiority complexes aren't logical."

◆◆◆◆◆◆

[March 12th]

"Ground beef, Mia. Heat the pan."

Mia held it up in one hand and kept a fire spray underneath as Matoi stirred. Five minutes later, the heat had ramped up for a second and turned the meat black.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

"Who is this?" said Mia, gesturing to the figure in their infirmary room, completely covered in balloons.

"A test subject." said Matoi, coiling wires around them, keeping the ends of the wires on their skin. "A weak enough electrical current will pop these balloons. A strong enough current will kill this poor soul." She stepped away. "Go."

With a deep breath, Mia walked forward, tapping the balloons. A line of electrical scarabs went down her wrists, mirroring the same to the victim's balloons, and as she tapped one -

- a minuscule current heated the wire -

- and the balloons popped in a cacophony of claps, revealing the figure within. Mia smiled as she helped Aimee take off the balloons strands. "Did I pass?"

"Looks like you did." chimed Aimee, wrapping her arms around Mia as she sat on her lap.

"…correct." muttered Matoi. "Ten minutes alone - and we'll leave."

"Lock the door on your way out." chimed Mia.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

"Is this a pass?" said Mia, pressing one bowl of stew over to Matoi.

"Pass." nodded Matoi. "Very good. You're improving as expected."

"Thank you."

The two started eating.

"I spoke with Aimee earlier." said Matoi. "She may have mentioned that Marisa and Samuel took a short contract the other day."

"Er, possibly." coughed Mia, knowing the most Aimee had spoken today was between her thighs.

"From how Aimee spoke of it, it was likely a civilian police department wanting to use their legal immunity for their own investigation."

Mia frowned. "Marisa wouldn't agree to something like that."

Matoi nodded. "I doubt she would, either, though I told Samuel to follow her judgment."

Mia took another few bites of her stew. She accepted her legal immunity's usefulness in investigating hosts, but she never did think it was a policy written for the benefit of students. Most likely the fashionista chewing some police sergeant up one side & back down the other right now.

"Still, I've always found it interesting that students in America are given legal immunity." said Matoi.

"Is it not that way in Japan?" said Mia.

Matoi shook her head. "It isn't. Ueno does not allow hosts without a non-lethal use for their Revenant. When Wedding activated, my mother applied for an exemption waiver - to see if it would grow anything non-lethal."

"What if it hadn't?"

"I would have had my Revenant removed, in exchange for ten million yen. A hundred thousand dollars."

"...god." muttered Mia. "That's more than Aimee makes in a year."

Matoi nodded. "Japan has a very low crime rate. Most hosts do not commit economic crimes."

"What do they do to criminal hosts?"

"They're executed after being convicted." Matoi shrugged. "I always thought it was a waste of time. A rogue host being decapitated on a street corner is more deterring than one executed on a screen."

"But you said Japan already has a low crime rate."

"Precisely, but it's for other reasons than their policy towards hosts. It's a rich country that doesn't value privacy as much as America, and it's… very rigid. Regardless, I've always supported the death penalty for any type of scum - murderers, rapists, kidnappers."

Mia glanced down. "...I agree with you, er, emotionally, but I feel there's something... I'm not sure I would feel comfortable with the government deciding all of that. Some people can be rehabilitated."

"But justice isn't about rehabilitation." said Matoi. "It's about revenge. We punish criminals as retribution for their victims."

"I'm not saying I don't agree with you in... some aspects, but..." Mia frowned. "...I just suppose that it's - it's different when I'm able to decide. Or Marisa, or when I hunt with Aimee. I know that the people attacking me - or civilians - deserve to die."

"When you have a protege, would you let them decide?"

"...I'm not sure. I've thought about it, but there needs to be some dependence. Er, I believe."

"You're correct."

Mia felt a bit relieved. "...it's a bit scary thinking about how many times I was close to being killed. Marisa had to save me a few times, and Boudoir is... better at that than Worldwide."

Matoi smirked. "Be glad you're not Samuel."

◆◆◆◆◆◆

[March 13th]

The two had tacos that morning.

"It's a lot easier to control when I'm not starving." muttered Mia, shells only slightly burnt.

"Precisely, but you never know how long you may have to fight a Revenant." said Matoi, biting down. "Samuel and I fought one last month that took six hours. There's no time for a meal then."

"Six hours?" said Mia. "What was the ability?"

"An invincible beast that could phase through walls - it chased us via our scent. We were forced to track the host based on how fast it was running - I assumed it would be strongest closest to the host." said Matoi. "For that, I had to blast Samuel away - repeatedly."

"A very harsh mentor." smirked Mia.

Matoi laughed. "And the best benefit is that it keeps the press away. There's nothing I enjoy as much as being despised by those rodents."

"Rodents is right." muttered Mia.

"And, like rodents, they mostly do what nature compels them to do."

Mia nodded and set on her second taco. After a while, she said: "Er, do you know about my father? Stefan Schultz?"

"…somewhat. Why?"

"...I just remember that when he was arrested, every - every fucking tabloid tried to…" Mia sighed. "They couldn't publish my photo or name, but they could publish pictures of my mother with me standing next to her, blurred out. As if there's hundreds of six foot tall fourteen year olds I could be confused with."

"That's how tall you are?"

"Yes."

Matoi mused a while. "Aimee must enjoy that."

◆◆◆◆◆◆

After class, Mia went to their room in the infirmary. Hirogane was sitting down, Matoi was nude in the tub, and Mia caught the goods out of her eyes' corners as she walked over. A bit of guilt came over her.

"Ice." droned Matoi. "Come. We don't have all day."

"…correct, Matoi." grunted Mia. She crouched down and a chilling spray started at Matoi's ankles.

"Not as cold as the liquid nitrogen. Don't you dare insult me with this."

The chill grew, forming crystals on the reinforced tub.

"Did Aimee enjoy having her hag back last month?" She reached over to Mia, ruffling her hair. "Such a soft fucking dyke."

"Stop it." grunted Mia. "Off - off-limits."

"Nothing about you is off-limits to me." Her fingers curled around Mia's hair. "You're so used to Aimee's hideous appearance that you would lap at the first cunt presented to you if -"

- crystals of ice burst from the tub, encasing Matoi's legs and growing past her thighs, stopping precariously close -

" - are you scared? You won't even defend yourself against -"

- her shriek pierced the room as a knife of ice entered her -

" - this is really starting to get dangerous." yawned Hirogane, relevantly, patting Mia's back as he came over.

"Is - " - winced Matoi - " - is that how you fuck Aimee -"

- the ice melted, and Mia stood, anger draining from her eyes.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

"As I said before, I'm only trying to provoke you." said Matoi as she went to the fridge.

"How many more sessions of that?" said Mia, sitting down.

"One. Electricity."

Mia nodded. Guilty as she felt over it, she decided she wouldn't mention those sessions to Aimee. Her clinginess was usually Mia's favorite trait, but a lesbian didn't always want her girlfriend knowing everything.

Matoi pulled two containers of food out and sat back down. Inside, battered balls. "Takoyaki - filled with octopus."

Mia nodded and set to heating.

"I've arranged something for our second half of training." said Matoi. "My previous mentor's… previous mentor, provided a useful connection. It's a short job that will allow you to test your scarabs under more intense, but non-lethal, conditions."

"What is it?"

"I won't spoil it."

Mia pushed the takoyaki over. Matoi took a bite and nodded, pushing one container back to her. "Good. I'll lift the meal restriction, soon."

"Finally." muttered Mia. "Is this an original recipe?"

"…no." Matoi looked oddly at her. "Did you think it was authentic?"

Mia's lips pinched. "…I… simply - thought that -"

" - it's a mix I bought online." laughed Matoi. "It's enough for four people, so, considering Samuel, I bought six."

"That makes sense." laughed Mia. "It's still very good."

"I've had worse authentic versions." muttered Matoi. "There's as much terrible takoyaki in Japan as there is in America. People assume too much of a country's home chefs."

Mia nodded. "I remember reading an article about how Chinese food in America is much different than actual Chinese food. Even fortune cookies are American."

"I've had authentic Chinese before - it's terrible." said Matoi. "Every other country decided that food should be sweet and savory, and they continued eating exotic animals covered in slime. It's disgusting."

Mia felt uneasy at how that didn't seem directed at just cuisine. "…er, I suppose. Is there anything you miss about Japan?"

"Very little." Matoi ate another piece. "I don't place any importance on my nationality. It's a country where I was constantly harassed by men on public transportation, and here, men call me a cunt if I don't smile back at them. There's more differences within cultures than there is between them. It's why America loves Gojira, and Japan loves Spiderman."

◆◆◆◆◆◆

[March 15th]

Her finer control improved, and her swarm grew. They had scarab-aided ice cream for breakfast.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

"No." panted Mia, aghast in the afternoon. "I - you can't expect me to do this."

"His name is Fido, Mia." said Matoi, crouched over an oblivious Boston terrier, wires coiled around him and a balloon at his tail.

"Matoi, I - I can't risk - that's completely psychotic."

Matoi shook her head. "I've always found it odd that people will eat a hundred animals a year, but the thought of using them to test Revenants is considered cruel."

"Please tell me you haven't -"

" - I haven't, except this once." Matoi shrugged. Moving from one culture to another, she'd learned people primarily held positions by emotion or tradition. "But logically, this shouldn't bother either of us."

Mia frowned. She remembered an interview she'd taken with an animal rights organization last month, to clarify her stunt with Ajax. Those lousy vegans had made a similar argument, and she didn't have an answer for them either. "It bothers me."

Matoi nodded. "And I. Regardless, when he survives, he'll go to a loving home."

"But - what possible use could this have?"

"Suppose you're facing a water-based Revenant. Unbeknownst to you, it absorbs electricity, rather than conducting it. If you use your electrical scarabs at full power, you've given it greater strength at a risk to everyone around you - had you tested it first, you would have saved yourself a headache."

"Is that how you justify this?" Mia sighed. "…fine. But - I refuse to do any other training involving an animal."

"Pop the balloon."

Fido licked Mia's face as she crouched down, as was often the case with dogs.

"Stay still, Fido…" she murmured, tapping with one finger the wire -

- the balloon popped -

- the dog barked -

- but it was safe.

Mia sighed relieved.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

That night, Matoi allowed Mia's choice of meal, and she chose seitan over meat.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

[March 16th]

Their breakfast passed.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

Mia stepped in to the infirmary. Matoi was nude and dripping wet in the tub.

"Should've seen what she did last time she tried electricity." yawned Hirogane. "Found out these outlets are suicide-safe. Can't drop a toaster in a tub here."

"Unfortunately." muttered Matoi, then spoke: "Mia, come here!"

Mia walked over and placed her hands on Matoi's ankles.

"You haven't seen Aimee in such a long while." said Matoi. "I imagine you'll start to fall out of love with her."

"Always on that topic." muttered Mia. "It barely registers anymore."

Matoi placed her hand on Mia's hair. "I wonder how you would feel between my legs."

"I - w-what?" said Mia, and she cursed the sudden exposure.

"Another weakpoint." said Matoi, dragging her thumb down Mia's cheek. "I wonder why that would bother you -"

" - s-stop it. Now." grunted Mia, smacking her hand away - and Matoi was there again.

" - unless you're a cheating cunt."

Mia's breath went hot, and she kept her eyes on Matoi's.

"It's interesting you've never suggested another method. You were more willing to stand up for a dog than yourself. You haven't even used your scarabs yet, either. You're a weak-willed bitch. Aimee told me you wouldn't be difficult to provoke."

Mia stood up, keeping her eyes on the wall.

"Are you leaving?" Matoi laughed.

Mia turned away, keeping her breath down. She heard Matoi stand and redress.

"You've completely wasted the potential of a professional Revenant." Matoi's breath went to her neck, arms around her waist. "Ryumi would be ashamed of you."

"I'm warning you." muttered Mia.

"Your Revenant is at professional strength and you're wasting it like this. Does Aimee hold you like this?"

"She doesn't."

"Does she do this?" Matoi kissed Mia's cheek -

- and green lightning swarmed Mia's fists as she smashed Matoi's stomach; skin singed, Matoi screamed as she staggered back -

- and two scorching white fists impaled through Matoi's stomach & back, and as a second electrical current readied to surge the woman's veins -

" - W-Wedding -" she panted -

- and Mia pulled away, Wedding's insulation ensuring survival if not no agonized panting. Hirogane stood, head shaking as he passed Mia.

"Told you you needed to find someone like this." he said, Matoi stumbling back against the tub -

" - DO NOT HEAL ME!" she shouted, and as the imminent heat grew from Wedding's eyes -

- Mia turned as the beams stopped right before her throat, disappearing a second later.

"…god." Matoi groaned and laughed, suddenly calm. "Of course."

"You should let him heal you." grunted Mia, trying to calm.

Matoi sat down, and Pulse took the hole in her stomach as an entrance. "Very good. Not only control, but a reversal."

◆◆◆◆◆◆

The two returned home, and with the food restriction lifted, ate ramen.

"That was the last taunting session I had planned." said Matoi. "You've done very well."

"…right." muttered Mia, setting at her meal. She had been able to calm herself before, but looking back on it, she saw no reason to not be angry now.

Matoi gave her a long stare. "…is this about earlier?"

Mia looked up. "I do not like you touching me like that, even for training."

"I only meant it to provoke you, and it succeeded." said Matoi. "There's no point in restricting your methods. It's -"

" - I don't care if it was meant to provoke me, there's no fucking reason to do it using something… something so, so inapplicable to any actual situation. I'm in a relationship, and here you are asking me to…" Mia sighed. "…I'm not asking you to apologize, but -"

" - no. You're correct." said Matoi, surprising Mia a little. "I… I hadn't planned for my Ryumi comment to not provoke you, and I assumed that…" She sighed. "I made you uncomfortable in a way that was likely inapplicable, and I apologize."

"…thank you." muttered Mia. "That - means a lot to me."

For a moment, Matoi stared in to her broth, and did not like the way her expression slightly tinted. Three months had not thinned her stubbornness. Her momentary tilt in to January subsided as she thought of her protege, knowing that they both would appreciate her training in difficulties not yet corporeal.