Chapter Text
Chapter 8: Those Who Surround You.
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Diana was raised from birth to uphold herself with only the most proper and schooled disposition. She was trained and molded to embody and exemplify the meaning of grace, beauty, etiquette, and all the other descriptors that might be attributed to an upstanding member of the upper class such as the heiress to the Cavendish family name and fortune should be. Even before her mother’s… incident, she was learning how one must act to present herself as the best of the best -though the training had been far more lenient beforehand- and maintain all decorum in any situation that may rear its head, no matter how stressful.
But, as she found herself attending the planned dinner between their four teams, she found that her training was being taxed far more than it should have. And it wasn’t at the fault of any of the normal suspects that you would expect to tax Diana’s very sanity itself. No, normally the cause of Diana’s exasperated state would be any number or combination of the planned attendees; be it, Amanda, with her infantile behavior and incessant inappropriate jokes and jabs, Andrew with his sometimes infuriating nonchalant attitude and his barely hidden mischievous streak, Hannah with her superiority complex and haughty attitude even in the strangest of situations, or even Manbavaran with whom she had had a great number of problematic run-ins over the last week, most of which had included her seemingly trying to break into Arcturus forest unpermitted or attempting to spike a number of the refreshments served at the canteen. But in this instance none of them proved to be the main factor contributing to Diana having to employ all of her considerable will power -which she had more of than most living creatures considering her quirks reliance on it- in order not to school her actions and prevent herself from doing something that she might regret. No, the real issue at the moment was the very reason that she had been so excited to attend this meal in the first place. One Atsuko Kagari.
Now that’s not to say that she was an issue in and of herself, the girl wasn’t doing much of anything disruptive at the moment, it was more that her presence was affecting Diana so greatly that it was a problem in and of itself. The two had separated after their morning ride together which, might she add, had been heavenly. The sound of Akko’s voice as they spoke in hushed tones was still fresh in her mind and the melody of her subdued laugh rang in her head like music. But alas it had come to an end and they were forced to part ways to prepare for the very evening gathering that they were currently attending.
Akko had said that she needed to shower so she didn’t smell like a sweaty gym sock and put on some nicer clothes, a sentiment that probably applied to Diana as well at the time. What Diana hadn’t expected was for Akko to change into a pair of black skinny jeans so undeniably alluring in the way that it hugged her curves that it should be a crime. Diana was barely able to pull her eyes away enough to notice the white button-down visible underneath a crimson red and black two-tone vest. It was an interesting choice for the girl, refined in its components yet rebellious in its presentation, as she left the outfit slightly askew, with a few of the buttons at the top of the shirt open with the collar popped up and the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Strangely enough, she still had that strange… what had she called it? ‘Armings’? That sounded about right. She still had her armings on underneath.
But even then, her outfit wasn’t wherein the problem lay. No, the problem was not the incredibly attractive girl sitting next to her, nor was it her unnaturally attractive yet simple choice of attire. The problem was that that same girl that was currently taxing her heart's blood pumping capabilities simply by being present -dear lord what was this girl doing to her-, had asked for a “selfie”, a request so simple that Diana would be remiss to deny the girl anything of the such, and was currently sitting so close that she may as well be in Diana’s lap -‘ Don't react, don’t react, don’t react. I swear if I react in any other way that a simple smile I’m excusing myself and jumping off the most conveniently placed cliff I can find.’ Of course, Diana would never do something as brash as she told herself she would in her head.
Akko had her camera phone held high, so close and unperturbed by their proximity that their cheeks were ever so slightly pressing together. Once she had the camera app open, she spent a minute or so fumbling to tap the little icon in the corner trying to invert the camera while holding it up in the air -which in all honesty had been adorable- because she hadn’t thought to simply invert it beforehand or just lower her hand for a moment an use the other one to hit the button. She squeezed the arm that she had thrown around Diana’s shoulders, bouncing slightly as she finally hit the small icon, “Got it! Okay, ready?”
Diana’s response was a simple and concise nod followed by a strategic -yes strategic, an expression can be strategic- smirk and response, “I am quite ready Akko, though the five minutes you spent fiddling with the camera did certainly give me plenty of time.”
Akko spat out her tongue in a childish retort, but continued excitedly nonetheless, “Okay, okay! Say Cheeeese!…” But the snap of the picture didn’t come as Akko waited almost a minute before questioning, “Diana?”
“Yes Akko?” Diana responded the best she could while mimicking Akko in holding her own smile in place.
“You didn’t say cheese,” Akko whined while somehow holding her smile, not faltering even slightly.
“Is that really necessary, I’m already smiling and you clearly indicated when the photo was to be taken. You could have simply taken the photo and we wouldn't still be squeezed together smiling at your phone.”
“But you have to say ‘cheese’! It’s the rule!” Akko challenged as she perfectly continued to keep her fake smile in place.
Diana, likewise, had no issues upholding her smile, but unlike Akko’s, it was a genuinely amused smile brought upon by their combined antics. “I’m afraid that I’ve never heard of this rule before.”
“Dianaaaaa!”
“Perhaps if you could show me a rule book or a pamphlet, some sort of citation would be greatly appreciated in this matter.”
“It’s in the rule book of ‘rules for friendship and how not to be a big meanie’!”
“Be that as it may, I’m afraid that I cannot comply with your request Akko.”
“Oh yeah, and why’s that?” Akko’s visage turned from her smile to a slight frown as she glanced at Diana. Now Diana couldn’t have that, Akko had too beautiful a smile to let fall.
“Ah, you see I’m lactose intolerant.” Yes, Diana was aware that most lactose-intolerant people could eat quite a few different cheeses, but she was simply trying to make Akko smile. The accuracy of the joke hardly mattered in this case.
“Oh really?” A small smirk graced Akko’s countenance as she raised a questioning eyebrow. “Diana, I saw you put milk in your tea when I was walking over.”
“Verbally lactose intolerant.” At this point, Diana had no idea what she was even saying. But all she could seem to focus on at the moment was the small laugh that Akko tried to smother with her hand. Well, that was certainly worth the silly nature of this conversation.
“Verbally lactose intolerant… really?” Akko deadpanned with a small smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.
“Indeed. And as you can imagine it’s a very challenging condition.” Diana daintily placed a hand over her heart as she subtly leaned into the hold that the other girl still had around her shoulders, seeking the gentle warmth that the embrace offered.
“Oh, I’m sure. It must make life such a challenge.” A roll of Akko’s eyes and a dazzling full-blown smile were the rewards for Diana’s efforts. She couldn’t help but wonder what other prizes could await her at the end of this conversation.
“It really does, I can’t even order dessert without being impeded.” Wiping a fake tear from her cheek Diana couldn’t seem to keep the smile off of her face.
“Such a sad ice cream-less life you must live! But don’t worry Diana I shall be your ‘dairy support Akko’!” her voice raised slightly above what would be considered appropriate for a public restaurant, but it hardly mattered given the volume of their current establishment, nor did Diana notice over the action of Akko pulling her arm that was still firmly around Diana’s shoulder to pull her into a jostled hug.
Apparently, Amanda had been permitted to choose the restaurant that they would be dining at. And while Diana personally wouldn’t have chosen the strange, dinner/bar/stage show mixture of an establishment that Amanda had chosen, she could easily say that the American could have chosen much worse. The whole place had a very energized feel to it; the front near the entrance -which is where their group had chosen an unreasonably large booth- was decorated rather pleasantly with dark, hardwood floors and furniture, all tied together with a lovely pre-war European design. Tan walls with dark brown lines forming intricate designs and finely carved designs in both the baseboards and crown moldings set the feel of the room. But as you moved further towards the back where the stage was set the restaurant slowly shifted to more of a club aesthetic, with dim blue lights and smooth black tile floors, two large bars parallel on either side of the room, and an impressively sized dance floor. All in all, it was an appropriate setting for their mismatched group.
Diana had been taking a small sip of her tea to try and calm herself down before returning to the conversation with Akko. Trying her best to smother a small chuckle, Diana successfully swallowed the sip of tea she had in her mouth. But her attempt to hide her amusement soon failed as she dissolved into a fit of giggles, shortly followed by Akko.
Their combined laughter was soon interrupted by the small sound of Akko’s phone camera snapping a picture. Both girls instantly ceased their laughter as they exchanged a glance. Akko speaking after a moment of silence. “Huh, guess I accidentally hit the button…”
Akko once again broke into another laughing fit, though much stronger laughing this time. Her full weight leaned into Diana as the taller girl managed to contain her amusement to herself this time. Diana took another sip of tea as Akko tried to calm down, her forehead pressed into Diana’s shoulder and her phone had fallen from her hand so that she could clutch at her stomach instead.
In all honesty, Diana would be content to spend the rest of the day like this, alone and enjoying her time with Akko. This was quite an adequate prize for all of her silly efforts. And normally she found this kind of behavior ridiculous, all the little jokes and honestly stupid jokes. But as she let the other girl's presence sink in she found that she didn't particularly mind all the silliness if the warm feeling in her chest was what she got out of it all. But alas, this was a group dinner and despite that fact, Diana and Akko seemed to be left inexplicably alone as the rest of their group had dispersed throughout the room.
When Diana had arrived with Hannah and Barbara, Amanda and her team had been waiting and already chosen their booth while waiting for everyone else. Upon seeing Amanda at the booth Hannah diverted to the dance floor with the excuse of “I am spending as little time with that oaf as possible,” dragging Barbara along with her. Originally Diana was slightly disheartened to see that Akko had not arrived quite yet, but being one to observe her manners, she made her way over to their booth and greeted the green team. Jasminka had very kindly said hello to her before excusing herself so that she could see the musicians on stage, making her way to the front of the crowd while being tailed by Constanze -who was working on some sort of rectangular device that she had brought with her… at least she hopes the girl brought it and hadn’t just stolen and vandalized something from the restaurant.
Amanda left shortly after without so much as an “Oh hey, gonna dance. Bye!” Leaving Diana to order her tea alone, not that she particularly cared mind you. Amanda was a handful at the best of times nowadays. As far as Diana could tell Andrew and his team had yet to arrive, so she was left alone to order herself some tea. Luckily Akko showed up shortly after -stealing Diana’s breath away momentarily with her outfit- and slid into the booth to the right of Diana, saying that Ms Yansson and Manbaveran were on their way. The waiter came back around shortly afterward and Akko asked about and then ordered two cups of a tea called “Ume”, before suddenly requesting the self from Diana. Now Dian just couldn’t help but wonder where everyone else had ended up as they waited for the rest of their party.
She could see Hannah and Barbara at the bar to the left of the dance floor, Constanze was close by seemingly ignoring the curious glances from the bartenders and adoring coos from some of the restaurant patrons, likely thinking she was a lost child of some sort given her childlike size and appearance -if only they knew that she regularly wielded absolutely massive weaponry during training-, as she worked on her small device. Jazminka seemed to be talking close by to some boys trying to catch her fancy, it was actually a bit comical how they tried to boast and puff out their chests to the giant that was Jazminka. Even from here, she could guess that they were boasting about some of their feats of strength or their family names if their unnecessarily obscene and expensive outfits and postures were any give away, which only made it all the more entertaining especially considering that the girl could likely bench press the entire building and then the fact that the bar they were trying to buy her drinks from were more than likely filled with alcohol from one of her family’s distilleries.
The only person missing, of those that had already arrived, was O’Neill. Fitting that the most troublesome person present would be the one who disappears without a trace. Diana would normally spend the time to look for the girl in an attempt to prevent any trouble she may cause. But that was hardly the thing on Diana’s mind at the moment.
No, at the moment, the only thing on her mind was Akko -who was finally coming down from her fit of laughter- and how she had her head pushed into the side of Diana’s cheek, the sensation of Akko’s breath coasting over her neck nearly stopping Diana’s heart a few times over. Dear Nines, why this girl affected her so much she would never know but she could only hope that it wouldn’t lead to her demise. And for a moment they just sat there just like that, Akko seemingly not caring about their close proximity as her last giggles died out.
But of course, the moment couldn’t last as the question of O'Neill's absence was answered a few moments later as Amanda came out of seemingly nowhere, slamming two cans of some unidentifiable drink down on the edge of the table and spooking both girls. O’Neill’s breathing was ever so slightly labored and she was sweating noticeably. Not a whole lot, but still enough to recognize.
“YO AKKO!” The redhead was practically shouting as she reached the table. “What are you doing stuck up here with the snob?” A not even slightly concealed thumb jabbed in Diana’s general direction let her know exactly who the ‘snob’ was, even if it was easy to guess anyways. “Chug some of this sh** and come shake your a** on the dance floor with me! I need a good partner and trust me, Jazminka is great and all but she doesn’t get nearly as into it as I need someone to.” She finished by opening the drink and shoving it rather forcefully towards Akko.
Akko, simply looked between the drink and Amanda, startled for a few moments, but before she could speak up, Diana did “Miss O'Neil, I’m fully aware that you’re allowed to speak however you wish, but please refrain from such crude language. And please ask for things politely, it’s only proper after you invade a conversation as you just have.”
Amanda’s attention switched from Akko to Diana with a mischievous smirk in place. Her mischief streak was a trait of the American’s that Diana had long since grown tired of. “Oh, I’m sorry Princess.” Amanda exaggerated her American accent to a comical, or perhaps a more appropriate word would be annoying, proportions as she spoke. “Did mah southern dialect traumatize the poor aristocrat’s ears? Well ain’t that a mighty shame, guess I’ll have to use some’ them fancy words y’all palace people got. Hows about ‘rear’ or ‘phany’? Maybe faceties?” Annoying was most definitely the appropriate word.
“It’s pronounced faeces,-” Diana took a small sip of her tea, savoring the subtle flavors as she mentally prepared herself for a conversation with the American. Such a lovely blend, shame its experience would be sullied by the impending conversation. A jasmine and chamomile combination funnily enough, honestly it might be better with just a tiny bit of sugar but Diana wasn’t one to add much to her tea beside the occasional dollop of milk. Besides Akko had just ordered her a cup of a special blend of tea that she claimed would ‘blow your friggin mind!’ and Diana figured that she might as well wait.
… Ah… A warm cup of tea always works to calm her nerves. Now, back to the matter at hand. “-and that won’t be necessary. I just ask that you be a bit more careful with your choice of words. I’m sure that it’s nothing you can’t handle.”
Diana moved to carefully place her teacup down but was startled by the shaking of the table as Amanda slammed her foot down on top, leaning her arm against the knee of her perched leg. Her exaggerated accent was still in place as she spoke, “Well I ain’t entirely sure that I can do that Miss Cavendish.” Amanda leaned down, moving her face closer to Diana’s in an attempt to either make her uncomfortable or just to simply antagonize her by adding to her rude behavior. “Ya see, we common American folk don’t take kindly to you old blue blood Brits harsh’n our fun. So I’m gonna have to decline your proposition. Now if ya don’t mind I’ll be takin’ my new dance partner. Right, Akko?!”
But her face, originally her signature smug smirk, dropped in confusion as she glanced at Akko to find that she seemingly hadn’t paid any attention to the conversation so far. She was very intently examining the drink that Amanda had so rudely shoved towards her, regarding it as if it were some unknown concoction presented to her by a bog witch of some sort… In all honesty, it looked like how she regarded some of the ‘potions’ -as Manbavaran herself had referred to them- Diana had seen Sucy try to get her to drink over the last week…
And just as with some of the potions Akko tipped it slightly towards her and took a small sniff and almost instantly her face scrunched up in disgust and she shoved the drink as far away from herself as possible, accidentally spilling some across the table as she did so. A hand went to cover her face as she wretched slightly.
“Akko!” Diana, who had already been right next to the girl, was quick to tend to her coughing friend as a short string of Japanese sputtered out of her mouth too fast for Diana to comprehend much less translate. She gently rubbed the girl’s back as she removed the can from her hand. “Are you okay?”
“Geez Kagari, can’t hold your alcohol?” Amanda was grinning like a jackal from the table front, and only seemed mildly amused by the pointed glare Diana sent her way.
“Can you do anything useful, O’Neil? What in heaven’s name did you even give the poor girl?” Diana turned the can around in her hand to find any form of name on the label but all she found was a small logo of a black crocodile(?) head.
“Just a little ol’ can of Bolivia goodness,” Amanda replied nonchalantly as she opened and took a small sip of her own matching can. “It’s got a bit of sugar mixed in to help the taste though.” She grimaced only slightly as it went down, shaking her head afterward as if it would do anything to help the effects of the drink.
At this point, Akko had calmed down enough that her speech was somewhat comprehendible, altho it was still in Japanese, “Smells like underneath the train tracks of Koenji Station on a Sunday morning, blegh .” She slumped forward a bit as she grumbled on and shot an angry glare at a very amused Amanda.
Curiosity overcame her and, against her better judgment, Diana brought the drink up to her nose and got a very small whiff of the substance. It smelled like pure paint thinner. And Diana had to suppress a cough of her own as she gently placed the can down.
“Why would you want me to drink that!?” Akko shot up as she pointed an accusingly angry finger at Amanda, seemingly not realizing that she was still speaking Japanese. But her angered glare seemed to only encourage the rebellious American, as she simply sipped her own drink with a cocky smirk and raised brow.
“Hold up wonder woman, if you’re gonna scream at me at least do it in a language I can understand so I can appreciate it.” She finished with a suggestive wink that Diana didn’t appreciate. But Akko didn’t seem to pay it any mind as she continued.
“Were you trying to poison me?! Why would you try to make me drink that?!”
“Well, like I said, I need a dance partner.” Amanda smashed her now empty can against her head, crushing it dramatically before slamming the crushed remains down harshly on the table. “And dancing is always more enjoyable with a little dizzy juice in your system. So I figured we’d spice this up a bit and that you’d be down for a little boogie action. So-”
“Miss O'Neill, if I may be blunt-” Now Diana was a proper and patient person, so normally interrupting someone, even if she’s technically already part of the conversation, was a practice that she would refrain from. But in the case of O'Neill there were some instances that could call for a momentary disregard of the convention of social and conversational politeness. “-the flagrant disregard that you’ve shown for Akko’s wellbeing and for proper behavior in general is, as usual, rather reprehensible. And this-” Diana gestured disgustedly towards the literal poison masquerading as something resembling an enjoyable beverage “- ‘dizzy juice’, as you’ve referred to it, is nothing short of pure alcohol. I would even hazard to say that consuming this drink would sooner kill her then make her anything resembling intoxicated.” Diana finished her short, well tirade seems a bit harsh… Lecture? No… Well, it seems that Diana could only call it a tirade. Diana punctuated her tirade with a calm yet unapproving glare sent Amanda’s way (one that seemed to have no effect whatsoever).
Amanda opened her mouth, surely to continue her trickery as opposed to apologizing, but her attempts at mischief were cut short by the arrival of Andrew and Frank. Both arrived at the table before any of the current occupants could notice them.
“Well, you all certainly seem lively,” Andrew spoke with a bemused smile and a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, we could practically feel you girl’s arguing from the door.” Frank slid into the circular booth on the side opposite to Akko and Diana.
“Less an argument and more that the little princess here is upset that I tried to show ‘runs-faster-than-a-car-Kagari’ a good time.” Amanda flashed a quick but taunting glance in Diana’s direction before looking back towards the boys, a confused expression covering her countenance. “Hey, isn’t there supposed to be another guy with you two?”
“Oh, yes well Marito was quite excited to attend this evening but it seems that something's come up last minute.” Andrew settled himself into the booth beside Frank, both of them making sure to leave enough room for everyone else to slide in. “But may I ask where the rest of our party is this evening?”
“Hold up, I’ll text Jazna to round everyone up, but I think we’re still missing some people.” Amanda fished her phone from her pocket as she slid into the booth herself.
“Oh!” Akko perked up as she picked up her phone from where it had fallen on the booth previously, “Sucy and Lotte said that they were on their way! They had to stop off somewhere for something first. Not sure what but they should be here soon.”
“Cool, so have you ordered anything yet?” And almost as if this whole instance were being influenced by some outside force with a tacky sense of humor and no sense of pacing, the waiter returned with Akko and Diana’s tea, placing the cups down as she asked.
“Here’s your ume tea. Is everyone ready to order then?” The waiter smiled, producing a pad and pencil as she spoke.
“Not quite, we’re still waiting for a few. But thank you.” Diana looked back at their group as she answered.
Sure enough, the waiter still took the other’s orders for drinks and Jasminka returned with the remainders of the blue and green team. Throughout this whole time, whatever concoction Amanda had tried to poison Akko with had remained at the table, untouched and unnoticed by the arriving group members. That is until a few moments had passed and everyone present had shared their greetings, at which point Frank noticed the can sitting awkwardly towards the center of the large table and took it upon himself to investigate. “Hey, what’s this?” He asked as he reached over the table and grabbed the can.
“Some poison that Miss O'Neill attempted to feed to Akko.” Diana practically scoffed out her answer as she remembered the offending incident.
“Hey, it’s not my fault that Kagari over here can’t handle her liquor.” Amanda put very little effort into defending herself as she leaned back in the booth with her arms behind her head.
“Hey,” Frank began hesitantly as he looked over the can, turning it so that the crocodile's head was visible to everyone. “isn’t this Cocoroco?”
“Yeah, what about it?” A very disconcerting smirk spread across Amanda’s face as she answered. “You want a chug off or something?”
“ HAH , only if you wanna die! I’m pretty sure this stuff is, like, ninety-six percent alcohol or something.” Frank gave another laugh as he continued, “Not thanks, but I’d rather be conscious enough to order when the waitress comes back around.”
“Ninety-six? That’s interesting, considering that Seventy-eight percent is the legal limit for any alcoholic beverage these days.” Andrew hummed in thought as he shot a teasing glance at Amanda. “Are you perhaps trying to avoid paying by necessitating a police raid? That is a pretty hefty law that you’re breaking after all.”
“Hey! That law hasn’t been enforced since Carlisle threw a riot over ‘em! And I make good on my word! I lost that bet fair and square so I’ll pay, fair and square.” Amanda seemed to defend herself a little more vehemently now that something she deems substantial to her reputation is on the line. Though how she considers being known as one to pay up for a bet more important than not being known as someone trying to inundate another with high levels of alcohol is beyond Diana.
“ Hah, ” Hanah very loudly scoffed as both a response and a rather rude means of entering the conversation. “As if you could keep your ‘word’ on anything! We all know you only want to cause trouble.”
“Oh, I can show you some real trouble.” Amanda cocked an eyebrow as she leaned forward, “If you want some trouble just spend a night with me darlin, but I have to warn you, ya might get more than you bargained for.”
“Why you-” It wasn’t unusual for Hannah to get so worked up by the American’s taunts that she would usually end up seething, but it was an occasion when the girl’s face actually would go pure red with rage. Honestly, it was rather interesting to try and decipher what specific comments lead her to be so enraged, even if it was probably rather obvious.
But before Hannah could even begin the hour-long tirade, it’s bad enough in the empty hallways let alone a crowded restaurant, Amanda was already speaking again. “Of course I wouldn’t mind getting in trouble with a few people here.” And it was almost as if Diana could see the future as she could easily tell where the girl’s glance was going to end up as it scanned their group landing on Akko where she sat right next to Diana. “What do you say Kagari, wanna have a go?”
Diana could actually feel her blood boil at the salacious look Amanda was sending Akko’s way. But as she glanced to the girl, about to speak up on her behalf, that same anger turn into confusion at first and then utter amusement as it became unmistakably clear that Akko hadn’t been paying a single ounce of attention to the conversation. She was currently staring intently at her phone, typing something out as she swayed side to side in excitement.
After a moment or two of everyone staring at her and Akko not seeming to realize whatsoever, Amanda took it upon herself to remove the girl from her phone conversation and return her to their own. “Yo! Kagari, are you in there?”
“What? Yeah, I was totally listening.” Despite her insurance, it was rather difficult to take her seriously when she wouldn’t even look up from her phone. But before anyone could say anything else she was standing in the seat, rocking to and fro as she scanned the entrance for something. “Sucy and Lotte said that they’re right down the road.”
She continued to stand like that while she waited, “Hey Kagari if they’re down the road it’s gonna-”
“There they are!” Akko spoke as Ms. Manbaveron and Jansson entered the restaurant. Diana had to admit, it was rather humorous to see Amanda be cut off so easily, as if Akko had no regard for the words leaving the girl’s mouth. Of course, Diana could tell that it was actually just that she had a hard time paying attention but still, it was amusing to watch as the American was left so dumbfounded that her signature snark was nowhere to be seen.
Apparently, the others found it amusing as well, as Hannah taunted from next to Barbara, “Oh, what’s wrong? It seems like the ‘ lady killer ’ can’t handle being ignored.” Her comment was followed by a round of snickers from Barbara and Frank, an amused smile from Andrew, an uninterested glance from Constanze and a reassuring pat on the shoulder from Jazminka.
Amanda grumbled something indistinguishable under her breath before opening her mouth to speak once again. “Oh, trust me. No one can ignore-”
“Hey, guys we’re over here!” And once again she was cut off by Akko, who was excitedly waving at her teammates as they began searching for the group’s table. Not a care in the world as to what Amanda, or probably anyone else at the table in all honesty, had been saying.
This time Amanda waited a few seconds, seemingly to make sure no one else was planning on speaking, before opening her mouth again. “A-”
“What took you both so long?” But it seemed that some mystical being somewhere wished to annoy Amanda as often and ironically as possible. As fate -or whoever this unnamed reality orchestrator was- would have it, Sucy and Lotte had made their way to the booth in the interval that Amanda had used to make sure no one else needed to speak and Akko, as was becoming rapidly apparent, had little impulse control in social situations.
But instead of trying again, Amanda simply slumped down in the booth, grumbling as she made room for Lotte and Sucy to slide in. Pointedly ignoring the taunting glances and snickering from Hannah and Barbara.
“Sorry Akko, we lost track of time and-” Ms. Jansson began, but was quickly cut off by Sucy.
“Don’t lie idiot. You should be resting your voice, not trying to make excuses.” It was immediately clear that something had happened by both the hoarseness of Lotte’s voice when she had attempted to speak and the hint of annoyance that was present in Sucy’s perpetually monotone voice. “Beside’s, you can’t hide anything with your voice sounding like that. Now sit and wait until we can get you some tea, it’ll help with the soreness.”
“What happened!? Are you okay? Did someone hurt you? Did you hurt yourself? Are you sick? Are you okay?!” Each question shot out of Akko’s mouth so fast Diana could barely follow the line of thought. Luckily Sucy apparently could.
“Calm down numbskull.” Diana took a brief moment to ponder on how many ways Sucy knew for calling someone and stupid, before tuning back into the conversation, “She pushed herself too far in training. We were late because I had to get the ingredients to make her medicine. Apparently, I forgot to stock up this week.” Sucy grumbled out the last sentence as she took her seat on the very end of their booth, exactly opposite to Akko.
The next few minutes consisted of Akko, much to Sucy’s irritation, interrogating Sucy about Lotte’s wellbeing, whether or not Sucy actually tested one of her concoctions on her and the possibility of whether or not Sucy was trying to cover it up. After about the third time of Akko very obviously and loudly whispering to Lotte to “blink if she’s holding you hostage”, the logic behind which Diana couldn’t even begin to approach, the waitress returned, bringing everyone’s drinks as well as extra menus and they placed their orders. So far, despite the rough start, this evening was shaping up to be rather enjoyable.
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Today was absolutely horrible.
She couldn’t help but think that as her scalpel carved into her sixth subject of the day, it’s now dulled blade more ripping the flesh and muscle open rather than actually cutting. The stench of blood and viscera wafting unimpeded into her senses despite the thick mask she wore over her face and sweat pooled in all the nooks and corners of her theatre blues, irritating her skin as she worked in the damp room. Adding onto her further discomfort was the humid room and the constant rain pouring into various parts of the decrepit building that they had been forced to use as a temporary base of operation after Cha- no, Ursula had discovered their previous one…
… Ursula, huh…
Croix angrily stitched up the last of the incisions she had made in the body of her current subject, flipping the three switches on the machine next to her and pumping the various bodies full of the newest iteration of her serum.
She let out an exasperated sigh as she dropped into a chair behind her, too tired and angry to bother much when one of the springs in the old, broken chair scraped against her back in an annoying manner. It had been an exhausting few days, to say the least, and the fact that she had hit a lull in the progress with her research didn’t help.
Slowly, the amber liquid filled the tubes of the makeshift infuser -she had cobbled it together with a series of IV bags, tube, rubber sealant, smoke alarms, and pressure motors all attached to a mobile console- and travels into the bodies of her subjects as she reflected on her poor state, or more so the poor state of her operation at the moment. While doing so she was forced to use her considerably drained focus to try and ignore the painfully loud and obnoxious chatter coming from the poor miscreants she was forced to use as underlings that were housed farther out in the complex. Their previous location had been almost perfect, a solid building with all of her hand-built equipment neatly and perfectly stored inside, most of which was left behind considering they had only been able to take the smaller, none-bolted down equipment from the base when they left. It had been a bit small for the number of people housed inside but other than that it was fine.
Of course, she had known that they wouldn’t have been able to stay there forever but she would have liked to at least stay long enough to complete this portion of her research. But once she knew that Ursula had not only found but was watching the base, well there was no reason to stay at that location much longer. Sure they stayed for a bit to let her think they didn’t know of her surveillance, but still. In all honesty, she hadn't expected Ursula to follow her out of Japan. Every time she had left the country to further her work Ursula had stayed put, seemingly content trying to fix the damage they had done rather than move past her mistakes.
It was honestly a bit admirable, or at least it would be if it wasn’t so foolish. Don’t get the wrong idea, Croix wasn’t blind to the cost of her decisions. Thousands had died and hundreds more were left in such a sorry state that they might as well have. But Croix's attempts at repaying her crimes had been much more practical. She had established and funded special hospitals all throughout Japan -and outside more recently- for that reason… well that and one other reason, but that didn’t matter! Sure, Chariot could help a few tens of people by herself but Croix was working on something to save the world! If only that damned woman would see that, they could be doing it together!
But as her rage subsided, a moment taken to gather her wits amidst her rapid thoughts and the ever-present beeps and hum of her makeshift machine, another question posed itself. Why had Cha-Ursula finally decided to leave Japan? She had spent so long there, so why leave now. Don’t get Croix wrong, she was more than happy that it finally happened -Ursula had spent too much time moping around there as was- in fact, it was one of the happiest moments she’d had in a long time. She was finally moving forward.
But that still didn’t mean it made sense. From the last intel Croix had collected she was working at a school to prepare young heroes for their training… Perhaps… Maybe she found something worth leaving for. Or someone…
“BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!” The alarm of one of the machines goes off, bashing Croix from her thoughts as she clambers to her feet in a panic. She’s at the console as quickly as she can manage. But as she checks the statistics on the screen she’s hardly surprised anymore. One by one the vitals of each of her test subjects drop lower and lower until flat, incessantly irksome tones are the only noises audible from the machines. All failures. Again.
The bodies deteriorate as they always do, lesions ripping themselves open along their bodies as the muscles bulge too large for the skin to contain momentarily before shrinking down again. Blood leaked from their orifices and the air was forced from two of the now corpse’s lungs. Luckily she hadn’t tried to utilize Stencil’s quirk this time, she really didn’t feel like cleaning up the mess that the failure would have caused.
She wanted to react, to scream, yell, to let all the emotions she felt building up with every subsequent failure finally just boil over. But… It wasn't necessary. She had expected this since the failure of her previous subjects this morning. And Croix was never one to let failure trump her, no, it simply meant that she needed to shift her focus. So it was with a quick and decisive stroke of her fingers on the console screen that she turned off all the machines and brought up her schematic archives for review, detaching the console face from the machines and once again taking a seat in her horrible chair.
She had been seriously underutilizing her quirk for quite a while, before even their move to the new location. While there were probably more pressing matters to attend to at the moment, she needed time to think. She needed something to tinker on and build to help her refocus her efforts. And in the process, if she could devise a way to utilize her quirk for her benefit then all the better. But as she scrolled through the several sets of blueprints and notes on ideas for possible inventions, she found her attention continuing to drift despite herself. What happened to lure Ursula out of Japan…
“Another failure?”
It was with a swift, startled jolt that she was out of her seat and facing the source of the voice in less than a second. Her guarded stance gave away her shock but it relaxed, if only slightly, when she discovered the source. Standing by the entrance of the room was Chiron. A tall, pale man with slicked-back white hair, yellow eyes, and pointed ears. His white-feathered cloak -honestly this man's fashion sense was a bit dramatic, and that was coming from Croix - fell around his shoulders, held closed by a series of silver chains and a pendant over his chest with a unicorn head emblazoned on the front. It obscured most of his body from view as he slowly stalked into the room. She relaxed a bit further as he seemed to be in a pleasant enough mood, he could be rather hard to deal with when something had him worked up, and sunk back in her chair as she continued her scrolling.
“Hello Chiron, how are the troops?” She didn’t particularly care how their recruited manpower was fairing, for the most part, they were scum and villainy of little notoriety, nothing worth taking note of except for a few particular individuals. But one such individual was the man she was presently speaking to, and out of all of the people that had joined up with her he was the one she felt the most obligated to humor with a conversation. Besides, out of everyone in her little army, he was by far the most dangerous.
“They are as raucous and obnoxious as usual. Honestly, I don’t know why you bother with such low lives. They serve little benefit other than manpower and…” He sent a disturbed glance at the row of fresh corpses lined up on Criox’s examination tables, his hair bristling almost like an animal's fur when agitated. “… experimentation fodder…”
“That’s exactly why I need them. It’s hard to find good test subjects, and it’s easier to assemble a hideout with more people.” Croix’s response was more of a muttering than anything, as she continued scrolling through her archive. But she was still unfocused and it was then that an idea entered her mind. “Tell me Chiron, what do you know of the hero ‘Star Light’?”
Chiron was many things, most of which were useful to Croix’s goals, and one of the many things he was included ‘knowledgeable on any and all notable heroes, villains, and proteges of either or’ -his exact words mind you-. And she found that that was horrifyingly accurate most of the time. Somehow he was able to keep tabs on almost every and any hero, sidekick, villain, or anything in between that she had asked him about. “Ah, the newcomer?” He meandered slowly over to the corpses laid out on the examination tables as he spoke. “Or should I say the returning participant?” He sent her a knowing glance as he walked along the row of cadavers. “Not much in particular, she’s strong. Physically at least, her mental aptitude has yet to be determined. But up until recently, she was based out of Japan and not an active hero. Though she has had a few run-ins with various villains over the intervening years.” He paused at the second body, taking in it’s grotesquely bloodied form before speaking again. “Has she piqued your interest?”
There was a beat of silence as she thought. She had to be careful about what she said. “No. I want to know why she’s left Japan. That’s all.”
From across the room, Chiron sent her a scrutinizing look. Seemingly sizing her up. After a moment he looked back as he raised a hand from beneath his cloak, dark green energy swirling in his palm and coming to rest like a gentle liquid. Before suddenly it was energized. In an instant, it went from a calm gyrating state to a deep crimson fire. It sprung from his palm, crackling with the intensity of a force of creation, so bright and powerful that even across the room Croix felt the need to shield herself from its heat. And with a swift and fluid motion, the fire leapt from his hand and ignited all four of the corpses at once.
Croix looked on unimpressed, “I still needed to study those.”
“I don’t particularly care, their stench was bothering me.” He spared a glance back at Croix before continuing. “And as for the hero. I don’t know why she left Japan. But perhaps it has something to do with her protege. I believe she enrolled at the hero school, Luna Nova. The same place that Ms. Callistes has taken up a position as an instructor.”
Oh… Now that was interesting. “A… Protege you say? And what do we know of them?” She continued scrolling nonchalantly as she spoke, stopping as something finally caught her attention. A mobile nanobot fabricator.
A wicked smile crossed his features at her inquiry. “She’s quite an interesting case, and one of particular potential. Her name is Atsuko Kagari-”
Luna Nova Personality Profiles: Barbara Parker
Team: Blue
Nationality: British
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 57kg
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Teal
Hero Name: Crescent Knight
Costume: Commissioned from London Hero’s, this costume was designed to allow her full range of motion when using her quirk. Consisting of a segmented body suit, the top is purple and leaves her arms, and stomach uncovered. The bottom is a black and silver pair of stretchy pants that end right above the knee. The only other portion of the costume is a utility belt containing first aid supplies, food rations, and a length of capture tape. The original design for this costume was much more detailed and intricate, but she had the designer restart as she thought her transformation would stand out enough and the complicated costume design would only subtract from her quirk.
Quirk: Wolf Form
Effects: Can transform into a giant wolf and gain all the abilities associated. These include increased senses, strength, stamina, durability, speed, and acquired claws and fangs. A full transformation is difficult to maintain so she often only transforms part way.
Relationships:
Diana Cavendish: Childhood Friend
Hannah England: Childhood Friend
Andrew Hanbridge: Acquaintances
Avery - Friend
Frank - Acquaintance
Companions: None
Likes: Nightfall, Romance books, Swimming, Fruity teas, Cake, Pop music.
Dislikes: Cats, Action movies, Sand, Gum.
Background: Born to an old and affluent aristocratic family, Barbara is the first in her family line with her particular quirk. It seems that her quirk is actually a mutation, originating from neither of her parents. Because of this, she was passed up as the successor of her mother’s hero name, that honor instead going to her younger sister. But she still remained the heir of the family fortune and as such chose to keep the term ‘Knight’ in her hero name as a reference to her family’s heroic history.