Sorry! Double post :c

Suichi jumped when he felt Yoshikuni touch his shoulder. He turned to face her and a smile exploded on his face. He felt so relieved that she was alright. He hugged her, not entirely expecting his own action. "I'm glad you're alright." His tone expressed relief about the safety of his new found friend. The spacequake alarm going off pressed the urgency of their need to leave. He had done what he could to help the students here anyways. As he let go of Yoshikuni he heard Kasumi call him in.

He scratched his ear and while doing so pressed his earpiece and said. "OK," He then dropped his hand thus ending his transmission. "You're right. Let's get to safety. S-sorry about that." He felt a bit embarrassed that he hugged her so suddenly and blushed accordingly. Then a member of the AST, a familiar looking girl, directed them to leave. "Right, we're going."

He was unsure how he'd get out of sight if Yoshikuni was with him, which meant that he'd have to get separated from her somehow so he could get picked up by Kasumi. He would have to figure that out as they left the building. He began walking down the hallway to get to the exit with Yoshikuni.

Reika paused, the massive black scythe halted above her head. She was just moments away from hacking away at the paper-thin wall like bread in an attempt to put the rampaging Spirit in its place. However before she could enact such judgment, she felt a slight change in the air around her. Almost as if the Spirit had disengaged from her battle mode…

The sound of roaring jets made Reaper look up to see more AST units flying and entering into the school building. With a frown, she slowly made the decision to deactivate her own Astral Dress. She knew that those girls in their flying suits most certainly needed to be judged…but for now she wouldn’t give the other Spirit a reason to pin the blame on her.

Taking up her bags, Reika ran the long way around and into the school entrance with her regular school uniform covering her form. The place was utter chaos as both staff and student scrambled to run for the nearest shelter center, the Spacequake alarm still blaring like a hellish siren.

Her frown deepening, she ran past the corridors in the hopes of acting like a regular student. Of course, any sane human would be frantic at this point and would most certainly not have a stoic expression plastered onto their face.

Still, none of the AST girls that hovered over her payed any mind, simply deeming her as another pedestrian in harm’s way.

A good amount of running later, and Reika found herself slowing to a trot as a familiar sight met her gaze. The boy that had talked to her before, along with the AST unit that dared to face her in combat. It looked like the girl was directing the boy and…another girl? Reika’s senses bristled as she gave the other “student” a more in-depth analysis.

No. This was the Spirit.

Walking over to Suichi and the other girl, she latched onto the boy’s arm without warning before blankly staring at the other Spirit.

Reika was perhaps stronger than her; after all, Reaper was considered more deadly than Shadow due to her history of slaughtering humans. However, no fight would break out on this day, as Reika was tactful enough to know when not to reveal her true identity.

That much was noted from yesterday’s events.

“I’m lost,” she said to the boy innocently. “Can you please direct me to the nearest shelter?”

She gripped Suichi’s arm tighter.

Out of the corner of anyone’s eye-sight, a certain young male with cropped black hair kept a watchful eye on the entire exchange. His eyes danced from the boy to the two girls that clung to him. What a lucky guy to have girls like those fawning after him….how very interesting.

The black-haired boy would have to stay close to study further.

Yoshikuni was really surprised by the sudden hug from Suichi. She didn't think he was the hugger type, not that she minded too much. After he released her, she paid a bit of attention to the AST agent who told them to get away from there, missing the moment when Suichi replied to someone she didn't see. Moving to look back at him when he said that she was right and that they were going now. Before they could take a single step, another girl appeared and grabbed a hold of Suichi's arm. Another surprised look came to Yoshikuni's face.

"Kehe... You are really popular among the girls, isnt that right, Suichi-kun?" She asked before looking at the girl. Deciding to not pay too much attention to her, she started making her way towards the stairs "Come on Suichi-kun. Theres a damsel in distress that needs your help. I'll go ahead and get to the nearest shelter first, so you won't have to worry about two people at once. But if I don't see you, then you'll make me sad." Yoshikuni said and raised her hand in a quick wave before taking off towards the staircase.

After making her way down the stairs to the ground floor, she looked around. The AST appeared to have evacuated the building as well, and none of the students or staff was around. Perhaps making the Spacequake still occur wouldn't harm anyone, as it wasn't like her spacequakes were that strong. Continuing on her way outside of the building, she headed towards the nearest shelter and after entering it, she half wondered if she will run into the very well dressed man again, though she somewhat doubted it.

---

After taking the students to the nearest shelter with the other AST agents in the school building ensuring everyone was safe, Chou and the rest of the crew that was dispatched moved to stand on a building rooftop that would allow them to observe the area from far enough to be safe, but also close enough so they could access the place as quickly as possible afterwards and take care of the spirit swiftly, with a couple of agents covering the are with sniper rifles.

The AST commander went and looked around the crew she had "Seeing we are dealing with Shadow, I think this is enough people. Shadow had never killed anyone, but everyone needs to be aware that we do not know of Shadow's full capabilities, as she always remained on the defensive. If she has any offensive capabilities, we do not know of them." She said before pressing on her ear piece "I want a report of all the agents who are ready to be taken out within a moment. Because of the spacequake, we do not know how much bigger this will get, so be sure to see how many agents can be-" Suddenly the AST commander stopped talking when she appeared to recieve certain news.

"I see. Then don't take those agents out of there. Let them hear what he has to say, just be sure to inform them afterwards of what happened." She said and then turned to look at the direction of the school with a sniper scope "Shadow's Spacequakes never occured after she had appeared... What is that spirit up to..." The commander asked herself, and Chou merely watched from the side, wondering how bad the Spacequake will affect the school.

---

Kasumi watched the screen which showed the things going on around Suichiro. Upon the arrival of a girl, he intstructed a check up on her background, just to be safe from any possible event, to ensure she wasn't the Spirit disguised as a human. She knew it would take a bit of time and that by then there is a good chance the girl would disappear from sight completely. Once she saw another girl arrive and grab a hold of Suichiro, he didn't even get a chance to ask and one of the people on board looked at him "Ma'am, this new girl's scans are a match to the ones of Reaper. It's her. If Suichiro were to suddenly disappear from her sight after being capable of approaching her yesterday-"

"Then we will be facing another spirit who will want to take care of those who made her new friend vanish in front of her face." Kasumi spoke in a clear voice and then turned to look at the screen. The pink haired girl suddenly went away from Suichiro in a light jog. Wondering what was the reason, Kasumi decided on a new action.

Approaching the microphone, she pressed it "Suichiro, new orders. Do not reply to what I am saying now. The girl who just grabbed a hold of your arm is Reaper in disguise, and it seems like she is capable of staying under the radar in a very well fashion. But, seeing her reactions yesterday, we cannot bring you aboard. Go with her to a spacequake shelter instead. Make sure she will be fine and try to see if you can get her to tell that she is indeed reaper. If she asks you any questions, then you can count on our help, but for now, just lead her to safety. Then we can worry about the smaller details." Kasumi pressed the microphone button to deactivate it as she kept her eyes on the screen.

This was turning out to be a situation more complicated than what she had hoped for.

Whisker purred, recognizing the Reaper immediately from the other day. Had she still been walking around between Suichi's legs she certainly would have taken the time to brush up against the Reaper's. Whisker wasn't the only one to remember the Spirit, as Suichi recognized the girl as well. He was quite a bit surprised as she latched onto his arm and asked him to direct her to the shelter. He smiled gently and nodded. "Sure." He was impressed about the fact that he wasn't blushing heavily, perhaps Mayumi's constant teasing finally had helped him calm down around girls.

It seemed that Yoshikuni was just as surprised by Reika's sudden appearance. Her response confirmed that surprise and all Suichi could do was scratch the back of his head and laugh nervously. He didn't know what to say at all. This had never really happened before. He was used to getting attention from Mayumi, but when it came to other girls he just was invisible. As Yoshikuni said she'd take the lead he received new orders from Kasumi. She confirmed his memory about this girl being Reaper. Man things were getting messy.

He began moving again, this time at a steady pace to keep Reaper with him. He was walking to the same shelter as Yoshikuni was, just at a slower pace. "So, what's your name?" He had never gotten the name the Reaper used while in human form, now would be as good a time as any. He saw the AST had set up a perimeter around the school building as he finally left it. He turned in the direction of the shelter and started walking there with Reaper in tow. He felt quite nervous as he recalled the things he had said to her before. There would be no way she'd forget those words, no way.

---

Kyoko was sitting in the auditorium when the Spacequake alarm went off. Twice in two days, that was seriously impressive. The students that were there collectively stood up and headed for the shelter. Kyoko immediately headed for the AST barracks to dress up and get equipped. Within minutes she was ready and heading to the high school. She reported to the Commander to receive orders.

"So, what's your name?"

Without warning, the Spirit known only to the world as Reaper lashed out to grab ahold of Suichi’s arm even further. She held it like a daughter holding her father’s arm for guidance and protection…or maybe it was an overly attached affection? Who knew. Still, that would explain why Reika glared in the direction Yoshikuni had gone, leaving them alone. As it should be, not Reika’s so called “glare” wasn’t really any different that her regular expressions seen everyday. Again, who really knew what went inside that girl’s head.

Noticing that the same cat from yesterday was present with its master as well, Reaper nodded in acknowledgement of the little beast. The animal was apparently delighted to see her again so soon, though Reika couldn’t fathom why. It wasn’t like the thing could actually smell out potential Spirits like that…right? Regardless, Reika waved at it all the same before looking up at the taller boy who she had ungracefully clung onto.

“There is no need to be subtle,” she whispered blankly to him. “I am indeed the Spirit you call Reaper; though in this form, I prefer to be called by my working name.”

Working name?

“The name I must use when in the presence of fellow students and those pertaining to my workforce occupational wise.”

…so her job then?

“I am Reika. Only Reika. Nothing else. At least, I don’t think so.”

Great. It was gonna be one of those days. Still, the happy “couple” did attract some lively attention. Mainly, the black-haired boy from earlier who had displayed hidden interest in both Reika and Yoshikuni. Seeing as the silver-haired girl was now with someone else, the boy casually shrugged before following after Yoshikuni.

It didn’t take very long to follow her to the shelter, and he even managed to slip by while the entrances began to lock down. Pointing her out to himself, he slowly approached her, making sure to stand right next to the Spirit. Shaking his head, he sighed with exasperation.

“Aw jeex, all these Spacequakes,” he muttered. “I’m supposed to be studying for a Geometry exam right about now. Though I guess it’s for the best…hey maybe no test next week!”

He turned to Yoshikuni.

“But, uh, do you know how long these things usually take?”

Elsewhere, the AST agents would be receiving a message carried through their communication networks. The voice was different than their usual orders, in that it was male and light, as if he was ready to burst out in laughter at any second now.

“Attention all deployed AST Units: Please make yourselves known back at your headquarters effective and immediately. I understand the brevity of your current mission right now; however, I also understand Shadow’s past tactics and how her Spacequakes have been nothing but minor scare tactics. Please attend this serious meeting, as it pertains to your future under our employment. DEM Industries.”

By now they were about halfway there. Suichi had been listening to her mostly in silence. He already knew what she was, but he wanted to learn about who she was. He found it a tad amusing how she called the name she used while in human form her working name. He smiled lightly. "Reika. That is a good name. Much better than Reaper." As no one else was nearby he spoke in a normal tone of voice. The Spacequake alarm was still going on in the background to help prevent their voices travel too far.

Whisker yowled once in complaint about the noise. Suichi roughly pet the cat's head with his free hand. "Oh shush you. We're fine." To which the cat purred in response.

He looked at Reika as they walked. The way she clung onto his arm reminded him about how Whisker hung onto him constantly and he had to hold back a laugh. He couldn't hide his smile though. When he finally mustered enough control to speak normally he spoke. "So, how long have you been here, on Earth?" He hated how he started every question he had with "so" it felt odd. "I can't imagine it has been easy living here. Have you been by yourself the whole time?"

He wanted to know more about Reika, so he could understand her, and even have some insight as to how Spirits behaved.

---

Kyoko heard the order. From a guy? Since when were there men on the AST? What was DEM Industries? Something didn't feel right here, but she couldn't ignore these orders either. What was with this guy's levity too? No Spirit should be taken so lightly, even one such as Shadow. Nothing was minor about a Spacequake, several of her comrades including herself had suffered loss to them. She immediately didn't like this guy. She changed her course and headed to headquarters where some others had begun to arrive.

She called out to a couple of them. "Do you know what's going on?"

They shrugged and shook their heads as they entered headquarters. She entered the debriefing room where all meetings were had by AST members. Only a few had returned from the Shadow incident. Kyoko nodded to her comrades, which had an equally confused expression on their faces. She took a seat in the middle of the room and off to the left. It was here she decided to wait.

After arriving at the shelter, Yoshikuni let out a fake sigh of relief. She had no intention of letting down her guard now, and she soon saw it was for a good reason. A boy approached her and let out some kind of a remark on a test that might be canceled and then pretended to be dumb and ask how long the earthquakes usually take. Rolling her eyes a bit, she look at him "Its kind of hard to say. I think its different each time. No idea why though." She said, playing innocent and dumb.

She then turned away from the boy and went to take a seat on one of the benches in the shelter before looking around. She wondered what was taking Suichiro so long, because she knew that probably less than a minute until the actual earthquake occurs and a part of the school will be taken out. Yoshikuni wondered if anyone else was up there and still headed to the shelter or not.

---

Hearing the sudden order from the man made the commander let out a curse before kicking the roof "Damn DEM, why did they have to interefere now..." She said with an angry tone before pressing the earpiece "Every spirit must be taken out, because all of them pose a threat, regardless of how big or small their earthquakes are! Even if Shadow doesn't kill, she still harms people, making them unconcious! Then they need to spend time in the hospital to recover just because of that, which is time the doctors could spend on other people who need the help more urgently!"

After finishing to shout at the man on the other side, the commander let out a sigh while the group of AST agents around her looked at her with a confused look "We will be there in five." She said and removed her hand from her ear and then made a wave to all the AST around to follow her "I swear, if its another DEM lecture, I'll blow myself out. Last one was only for the commanders, now they want all of the AST to be present? What are they planning?" She muttered to herself.

Chou followed the commander in silence and shared confused looks with a few other agents, and after five minutes they were indeed at the AST headquarters, entering the debriefing room. All of the agents that weren't present at the school were there, all in their CR-units, and all of them shared a confused look. Chou spotted Kyoko and went to sit next to her while watching the commander go to the front of the room, where all of the agents could watch her.

"Before this begins I should explain something quickly. DEM, Deus Ex-Machina Industries, are the ones who are incharge of supplying the AST with all of the technology we use. This is through a contract between the government and DEM, which also makes DEM our superiors, besides of the government. The man you just heard speaking is a man from DEM, which is why I assume all of you were confused. Due know that the next time you hear this voice, you need to simply obey it, as DEM can get each and every person in this room fired from the AST and possibily harm any kind of future you had planned." The commander said before looking around.

"Seems like the man who called for this is getting ready. Until he is ready, sit in silence and behave. If I hear even a hint of a whisper, you will have my wrath on your head. All of you." The commander said before moving to take a free seat in the front row. Most of the AST agents simply looked around, understanding now but still confused as to the purpose of this, as it appeared the commander did not know either. Chou looked at Kyoko with a slightly confused look, wondering her friend had any idea what was going on.

"So, how long have you been here, on Earth? I can't imagine it has been easy living here. Have you been by yourself the whole time?"

Reika frowned deeply at the sudden bombardment of questioning. She figured her would probably want to discover more about her powers either way, but she didn’t expect him to be so casual and perhaps a little too open about it.

“Reika has been alone in this world from the beginning. Actually no, that’s a lie. Reika apologizes. Reika remembers arriving at night a long time ago with many killings and…”

Her frown only deepened as they finally reached the bunker shelter. By now, the blares of the Spacequake alarms had ceased from their howls and retreated back into silence once more. Reika suspected as much, as the other human-disguised Spirit had long since abandoned the use of her powers and Astral Dress. Perhaps even the AST had been called off as well?

“Reika is deeply sorry, but Reika does not remember anything from that last night,” she finally answered, reaching out to pet Whisker’s with a curiously blank expression.

Rather, it was more like she was going to say what happened.

Back at another shelter, the people who sought refuge inside were now glancing up at the bunker’s ceiling, faces narrowed and contorted in surprise. The alarms had stopped? Well that was rather quick. Time to get back to their lives then. As the crowd began to move back towards the outside world, one boy and Spirit remained waiting for the rush to lessen.

"Its kind of hard to say. I think its different each time. No idea why though."

“Ah, well it looks like it’s done now,” he answered with a nervous chuckle and a scratch to the back of his head.

“Hey wait, aren’t you in my third period class? History right? I’ve seen you in the hallway by yourself all the time. You’re… Yoshi-something, right? Sorry, I’m never good with names or faces!”

The boy offered his hand to assist her but was prepared to reel it back if she proved not to like his insistence. He couldn’t help it really. Tako was a nice guy after all.

Within the AST headquarters, a grand meeting was about to commence. Or rather, that’s what everyone was telling everyone, passing around gossip through whispers and hushed tones.

DEM Industries were visiting them. Weren’t they the employers? The big guys on top who, at the end of the day, determined each girl’s salary? Was it another protocol meeting? Can’t be, seeing as everyone was called back to HQ. So then, what was it?

All these questions and more went unanswered for a time until finally, a man walked into the briefing room, instantly hushing the whispers of those around him. The man was tall and a little lanky, but a certain aura that did not resonate with anyone else in the room leaked off of his figure. Dressed in a well-ironed suit with a black jacket that had ends that reached down to his hip, the man tipped his gray fedora backwards to get a good look at all the ladies present.

Steel boots clicked on the floor as he walked to the very front of the room. Taking off his fedora, he bowed slightly to the AST agents, revealing short black hair and green eyes.

With a single snap of his fingers, the very roof of the AST briefing room began to open up. The sound of large machinery moving filled the tiny room as the sky suddenly became exposed to the people below. Several more seconds later, and a helicopter began to deposit something big and covered in a thick cloth towards the ground. Landing with a thud behind the speaker, the man smiled innocently as he began to prepare his speech.

“Hello there everyone! I’m afraid it’s that time of the month again. Just another little seminar hosted by your compassionate employers! I’m Kenji Nagato, your DEM representative for today.”

Although his voice sounded genuinely nice, there was just something…off about him. Something that made instincts tense up and skin crawl on an unconscious level. To all of the ladies in the room, something just felt…wrong. Not wrong in any perverted sense like the boys at the local high school, but….something that didn’t quite belong in the room.

“Now before I begin and lay the groundwork for today’s presentation, I need a volunteer from the audience. So how about…ah, you’ll do just fine!”

Kenji pointed a finger right at Kyoko.

Reika said “Reika has been alone in this world from the beginning. Actually no, that’s a lie. Reika apologizes. Reika remembers arriving at night a long time ago with many killings and…”

Suichi matched Reika's frown with one of his own. Alone. This whole time. That was kind of sad actually. Suichi had always had his father... and Whisker, so he had never really experienced the feeling of being alone. It was a shame that she had to kill. Suichi honestly wanted Spirits and Humans to get along.

Reika said “Reika is deeply sorry, but Reika does not remember anything from that last night,”

Whisker purred at Reika pet her. She pushed her head up against Reika's hand happily closing her eyes while accepting the blank-faced affection. They entered the bunker safely much to Suichi's happiness. He smiled and looked at Reika. "That's alright. You don't have to remember." Suichi looked around the shelter to see if Yoshikuni was there, and he noticed that she wasn't there. Had she gone to a different one? He had intended to go to the one that she went to. Did they go a different path or something? Suichi felt a bit disappointed, he had made a promise to meet her at the shelter when they got there and he had gone to the wrong one.

Suichi then realized that he didn't have her number, so he couldn't email or call her. The shelter was pretty crowded, but there were still seats open, so Suichi found a spot with two seats for the two of them and took a seat. Whisker hopped down onto his lap and curled up. He looked at Reika again and smiled. "Last we met we made a promise to help you understand people." Now that he thought about it, that would be a pretty daunting task, but he wasn't about to go back on a promise. "Where would you like to start? I can't say I know all the answers, but I can certainly help you out."

---

Kyoko hesitated. She was all for volunteering, but this guy... something felt off. She didn't like how it felt off. After a few moments she finally stood up. She wore a light smile. "Alright." She stepped up next to Kenji. A little bit of nervous excitement jumped up and down her spine. It was a feeling she was used to being in many clubs including the theater club of her university.

She smiled at the crowd. These were all people she knew, so there was no need to be nervous in front of them. She then glanced at Kenji. "OK."

Hearing the boy was still talking to her even while she thought she made a clear sign she did not wish to talk to anyone made Yoshikuni sigh. So he tried to claim she was in his history class. How was she supposed to remember everyone who was in her class if she didn't talk that much to everyone? She rolled her eyes under her closed eyelids before opening them, looking at the boy and shrugging, not fully replying to him.

Suddenly the spacequake alarms had stopped. It seemed that because she had not maintained and activated the spacequake then it just stopped occuring a short while after she had went to her human form. Considering the fact it didn't went off made Yoshikuni think that the AST might underestimate her next time she encounters them, which means she could easily surprise them with her more offensive ability. Smiling upon thinking about that, she got up from the seat and while ignoring the boy, she went and blended in the crowd of people who started leaving the shelter. Unfortunatly, she didn't manage to find Suichi-kun, so she figured she went with the other girl to another shelter.

As the students begun leaving the shelter, they were instructed to go back to the school, which remained in one piece, and that the lessons will resume shortly. Slightly annoyed, Yoshikuni made a frustated sound before heading in the direction of the school. She thought that maybe the school day will end, but it seemed like that was not going to be the case.

---

Hearing the man that came in and decided that Kyoko would be his volunteer for a little something, Chou wanted to protest, but Kyoko had already stood up and went to the stadium. Thinking about what the DEM said more thoroughly, Chou stood up, making many eyes turn to her, including the commander "I'm sorry, but all of the seminars held previously were always by the government, not by DEM. The seminars were always announced a week prior as well. What caused these sudden changes?" She said in a solid voice, and only a couple more AST agents nodded in agreement, wanting to know what happened.

The rest had caught the look on the commander's face upon seeing Chou and hearing what she had to say. The commander stood up and looked at the DEM person for a second "This will only take a moment." She said, before approaching Chou and then hitting her on the head with a karate chop "I told you that you will have my wrath. After this, to my office." She spoke in a clear and loud voice, making several of the surronding agents shiver a bit, and Chou went back to sitting, rubbing her head a bit.

The commander went back to sitting and then gave Kyoko a reassuring nod "Please continue, Mister Nagato-sama. She said, though there was a hint of disgust in her voice when she said the word 'sama'.

"I'm sorry, but all of the seminars held previously were always by the government, not by DEM. The seminars were always announced a week prior as well. What caused these sudden changes?"

Kenji tipped his fedora to reveal a single golden eye as he stared down the one girl who questioned the meaning and point of this assembly. Before he could say anything though, the AST commander herself solved the problem by rectifying the poor girl via a chop to the head. However, even as the commander apologized to him-with a little hint of repulsion he noted-Kenji felt no dissatisfaction. Instead, he simply maintained his innocent smile.

“Oh no need to be so formal Commander. ‘Sama’ is hardly fitting for me. However, I do feel the need to address some of the points brought up by your subordinate,” he said, glancing back at Chou.

“You wanted answers, yes? As of now, the Japanese government and DEM Industries have partnered up due to the rapid influx of Spirit activity in the past few months. That’s part one of this little gathering; part two is a gift from DEM to the AST!”

With a snap of his fingers, the men around Kenji moved forward to remove the cloth around the hidden object, revealing a new and pristine suit of armor. A brand new CR-Unit.

“As a token of DEM’s good will, we felt it was necessary to provide you the newest and latest innovations in Spirit combat. Thus, I give you <Aether> from our newest Ragnorak-classed set.”

After a few moments of expected applause from the various AST agents, Kenji looked over at Kyoko.

“And you young lady get to be the first one to pilot of such a machine. But…of course, we couldn’t really prove its superiority to the latter models without a show of demonstration. Therefore, I believe a sparring match is needed to show you just how powerful an ally DEM can be. Young lady, please place on the CR-Unit while I choose your opponent….ah yes. You will do just fine.”

Kenji looked straight at Chou.

Back in two shelters, events were slowly coming to a halt. In one of them, a boy with black hair did not respond harshly as Yoshikuni essentially ignore him. Nor did he react whatsoever when she promptly left to go tend to other business. That was quite fine by him actually, as this not so chanced meeting would be valuable information to report back to his own superiors.

They had located Shadow.

At another shelter not too far away, the Spirit known as Reaper began to wrap her arm around Suichi’s once more and clung on like the child she somewhat resembled.

"Last we met we made a promise to help you understand people. Where would you like to start? I can't say I know all the answers, but I can certainly help you out."

“Reika does not care for the specifics; only that it is spent with you. Reika feels that you are being led by someone higher? If it is alright with you, Reika would like to meet your superior in person, though Reika thinks that will prove most unlikely given Reika’s status as being…non-human.”

She looked up at the boy with a curious, red-eyed look.

Suichi could only express surprise at Reika's instincts about him having a superior. Then again it kind of made sense to come to that conclusion. "I'm not really the one to make that call." Then he noticed that people were beginning to leave the shelter. It seemed that things had finally calmed down which was a relief. "I'll have to ask."

Now that people were moving it was getting noisy enough for him to comfortably speak with the Commander. He pressed his ear piece. "Uhh... Commander, Reika... the Reaper. Would like to meet you." Had the Commander ever met at Spirit in person? Were they even allowed on the Ratatoskr headquarters? He hesitated a moment while he waited for a response. Then realizing how unnatural that hesitation was he began to move with the crowd outside. He noticed the school building hadn't taken any damage which was quite a relief.

He didn't head to the school building right away as he waited for Kasumi's response.

---

Kyoko blinked at the new CR-Unit. Would she be capable of using it? She looked at Kenji with a curious expression. "Is it possible for me to use this? I only have a B rating for my magic power." She knew that certain CR-Units responded only to those with high magic ratings. The higher class CR-Units only worked effectively for those with an A rating or higher.

She also wasn't looking forward to sparring with Chou. If Kyoko was able to use the new CR-Unit that might put Chou at a huge disadvantage unless she could use one too. Seeing as there was only one Aether here, she believed that Chou would have to use a standard unit. While she wanted to keep a generally positive attitude here, things felt off enough to keep her down.

As she walked for a short while back to the school, Yoshikuni looked around in an attempt to find Suichi-kun, but she could find him. Sighing to herself, she kept walke in the direction of the school. After a short while she sat down in her seat in the class with a slightly disappointed look, wondering if he decided to just take off with the other girl or not.

---

Chou was looking down after her commander had made it clear she was in trouble, only for her to suddenly hear from this Kenji person that he was still going to answer her question. Looking up at him, she watched with curiousity as he answered the question and then presented the new CR-Unit. It looked rather good, and she wondered how well would the higher ranked AST agents be capable of using it.

Suddenly, without realising it, Kenji looked right at her and said that for showing it off, Kyoko would be using it against her. Not really wanting to fight her own comrade, Chou hesitated for a second, only to realise a lot of the girls around her were watching her. Feeling a bit nervous, she stood up and made a nod towards Kyoko "Very well. Seeing as the two of us are in the same rank, I believe it would only be fair for both of us." She said in a calm tone, but deep inside she felt rather worried.

Their commander, in the meanwhile, watched as Chou moved to stand beside Kyoko "Everyone else, remain here. I will bring up the camera footage so we will be able to observe everything that will happen in the training area." She said before standing up, walking to a computer at the back of the room and beginning to type on it "I do not wish for any of the agents who will not participate to be placed in danger, if that is fine with you, Kenji." She added, and appeared to be somewhat pleased that she didn't have to call him 'sama'.

---

Hearing everything that is going on between Suichiro and Reika, aka Reaper, made Kasumi go and change into more casual clothes. She had already assumed from the attitude of the spirit that something like this might happen, so she had the vice commander take charge while she was sent to the surface. Kasumi, in the meanwhile, went to the school and ensured that Suichiro and Reika will not need to attend school for the rest of the day due to some 'Personal Issues' Regarding each one of them.

The vice commander, named Takeru, went to the microphone and pressed the button "The commander has already went to the surface. She is hearing everything we are saying but is setting things up so you and the spirit will not have any troubles with school, as you were instructed to go to class. She will meet you within 10 minutes at the nearest coffee shop, which is a kilometer away from where you are. I'll guide you there, and also try asking the spirit the following question." He said and took a deep breath before looking at the advicers around the bridge, who all nodded in agreement.

"What made her decide that humanity needs to be punished?" The vice commander spoke in a clear voice, with the question making a clear reference to what Reaper usually said before killing people.

"Is it possible for me to use this? I only have a B rating for my magic power."

“Oh? Ah, not to worry friend,” Kenji answered all too enthusiastically. “You see, the Ragnorak series was specifically made with all magic power level ratings in mind. In theory, all of the CR-Units are able to adjust and adapt to their user’s power levels.”

He tipped his fedora to linger his gaze on Kyoko a little longer.

“In theory.”

"Very well. Seeing as the two of us are in the same rank, I believe it would only be fair for both of us."

“Wonderful,” Kenji said with a happy clap. The men in suits were already beginning the process of assisting Kyoko into <Aether> and the AST agents soon followed the orders of their commander, settling down comfortably into their seats to watch the battle commence. Kyoko vs. Chou? What was cooler than that?

"I do not wish for any of the agents who will not participate to be placed in danger, if that is fine with you, Kenji."

“Oh not at all Commander,” Kenji replied, taking note of her apparent relief in her acknowledgment of him. “Now then ladies, put on a good show for the AST, DEM, and your country’s government!”

The tall man placed his hands in his pockets and awaited for both girls to get ready and for the match to begin.

This would be very interesting.

Suichi nodded once as he heard his response and then blinked a moment. He knew the coffee shop well, but he felt that asking the question that way might upset Reika maybe. He glanced over to her. "Alright, she'll meet with you. I'll lead you to her." With that he started to lead her to the coffee shop.

He didn't want to stop any conversation, even though she seemed not to really want to talk too much, and the question he was told to ask was a pretty important one. He put his free hand into his pants pocket as they walked together. "I, uh, was wondering. When we first met you said to those punks that they needed to be judged. Why did you say that? Why do you need to judge people?" He felt that was a better way to ask and he himself was curious as to her answer as well.

He was beginning to get uncomfortable about her clinging to his arm, but he was too much of a pushover to ask her to stop and he knew it. He could tell some people where staring at them and whispering to each other. He imagined they were wondering what kind of relationship they had. If they were brother and sister, or if they were a couple. As his imagination ran wild his face turned redder and redder. Why was he having such unnecessary thoughts? She was pretty, but he had never put much thought into girls. When he first joined Ratatoskr, he certainly didn't expect something like this to happen.

Whisker interrupted his thoughts by yowling loudly into his ear. He winced and then glared at the cat. "Shush you, you're heavy." He muttered at the cat absentmindedly. Whisker responded to the attention by purring and rubbing her face against his cheek. He simply sighed. He felt partially grateful to the cat for bringing him back to reality.

---

Kyoko gazed back at Kenji cautiously. She didn't like that her being able to use this was a theory. She finally smiled brightly to shake off any doubts she had. "Alright. Lets do this." She clapped her hands twice and hopped up and down to get herself ready before she got assisted into the new CR-Unit. A battle between her and Chou would prove interesting. She had never seen Chou's combat style personally, she wondered how it would match up against Kyoko's vanguard style. Kyoko had proven to have quite some talent at close-range combat with No Pains and decent skill with mid-range with Auldists.

They were set up in the arena and Kyoko felt some excitement. She rather enjoyed being in the spotlight. She saw the countdown to start and into a stance to charge.

3.

Her heart pounded anticipating the combat. Time seemed to slow down.

2.

She got ready to charge straight at Chou.

1.

Almost. Almost.

GO!

Kyoko launched herself straight at Chou to close the gap between them as quickly as possible. Her No Pain was now active and she swung it forward as part of her charge. Her plan was to hit Chou as soon as they collided. It was an open and honest attack. Something fitting to the young woman herself.

After standing in the training ground, and Kyoko move to stand in front of her, Chou waited until she heard the countdown. She was already figuring that due to the higher level of the CR-Unit that she will most likely need to try and be on the defensive from the very beginning, but that would also depend on what kind of strategy Kyoko was going to use.

3.

She kept her eyes focused on Kyoko.

2.

Taking a deep breath, Chou blinked once, not wanting to accidently miss the first action of Kyoko.

1.

And...

GO!

Within an instant, Kyoko was charging at her with her No Pain. Her speed was definetly higher than usual, so Chou had just an instant to raise her defensive territory which made Kyoko's hit push her back. Looking at Kyoko with a stern look, she took out her Murakumo and activated it while deactivating her defensive territory. She wondered what would be Kyoko's next move, so she decided to jump and move to above ground, see how Kyoko would react.

Reika said nothing more, simply letting Suichi guide her to wherever they were supposed to go. She didn’t even question the coincidence of her relieved absence; she had been gone a good majority of the day after all. Skipping it entirely wouldn’t do much, although it would subsequently damage her overall attendance record.

Oh well.

Back at the AST headquarters, Kenji smiled brightly as the two battle-ready girls went at it. Tipping his fedora back, he watched the both of them very closely, scanning for any signs of weakness in <Aether’s> form or stance.

“Nice day for a sparring match, no?” he casually remarked to the Commander. “Tell me Commander, what do you think of DEM’s latest model? Do you think it’s something you might consider using on the field?”

Suichi didn't complain about Reika's silence, although her not answering his question somewhat left him disappointed. Oh well, he was told to ask it, not to get answers. The walk to the cafe took a few minutes. When he got there the Commander had not yet arrived, so he looked at Reika to tell her. "She's not here, yet so lets take a seat and wait for her to get here. She should be soon." He suspected she was getting back from whatever strings she had to pull to get his free time off from school.

Then he moved to an open table and waited for Reika to let go of him so they could sit down comfortably. "While we're here we can get some tea or coffee and maybe even a snack." He then remembered that he hadn't eaten lunch yet. "Err... Lunch."

---

Kyoko wasn't surprised about Chou moving to take the high ground, well in this case the sky. She felt quite confident actually about this battle. Something about <Aether> felt easier than her standard CR-Unit. Kyoko understood Chou's reasoning behind her defensive position. Kyoko knew her options were to either draw Chou out, or try and break her defense. She decided to take up the latter option, because she felt pretty confident right now.

She backed off to get some distance and to fly to be level with Chou and activated her secondary weapon. She fired her Auldist and kept firing as she steadily rotated around Chou searching for an opening. Chou's territory held up pretty well to her so far, but Kyoko had pushed her back which meant she had a good advantage. She let go of the trigger for a second before dashing forward to close the distance between them and strike with her No Pain again. She prepared for some sort of retaliation since Chou said they were about the same level, and even with the new equipment there was always a chance.

Her defensive territory had managed to keep itself steady against the shots from the Auldist, so at least that was something. And then Kyoko stopped shooting and dashed towards her once more. Chou brought up her Murakumo and stopped the incoming No Pain before pushing herself downwards and spinning the Murakumo above her head, trying to hit Kyoko where she would the least expect it before moving even further downwards and then taking some distance away from Kyoko. She then brought the Murakumo to in front of her face and tried to figure out what will be Kyoko's next move.

---

The AST commander watched in silence as Kyoko and Chou sparred. Seeing her agents sparring wasn't anything new to her, seeing it was a routine. Then she turned to look at Kenji as he asked her about the weather conditions and what she thought about the new model.

"Right now, I've noticed 'Aether' has made Kyoko's movements somewhat lighter and faster, which could be something very useful, but I've yet to see if it also affects the physical impacts or how its territory operates. So, I wouldn't mind using it, but I wont be giving it to all of the agents and only to those who come into the action last, to ensure they can finish things up swiftly without any trouble. If the territory proves to be more efficent than the usual one, I will put it on those who go in second, to try and surprise any spirits with agents that are suddenly a lot tougher to deal with." The commander responded in a neutral tone "And of course, I would call the first agents to retreat in such a case." She added and then moved to look at the screen once more.

---

Kasumi kept moving between the different alleys until she finally saw the coffee shop. Spotting Suichiro was easier after that. She went and approached him and Reaper with a much more casual step now before moving to stand in front of the table Suichiro chose "Good job Suichiro. You can order whatever you'd like, its my treat. You too Reika." she said before moving to sit down in front of Reika, hoping everything will go fine now.

She then looked at reaper with a serious look, figuring that she needed to maintain such an approach to ensure the spirit understands she is really the one in charge "Okay then. Reika, you asked Suichiro to speak with me. So, feel free to ask whatever it is on your mind." She said before motioning to a waiter to give them a couple more minutes to decide.