Worldwide

Over the next week Mia had felt a growth of host traits, those objective and not; her physical fitness had rapidly increased, her physical strength to ten-times the previous amount with no commensurate change in her body. Pain no longer affected her as it once had, nor the trauma of seeing gore. Her reaction times had rapidly lowered: conscious action lowered from 0.2ms to 0.0001ms, and Aimee told her this would exponentially lower as she grew in strength.

She would notice for years around her student friends that they would try to hide their hosthood around civilians; they would slowly grasp or reach slowly to things. And yet Mia was often the only one good at this, for she had been a civilian for long enough to know why they attempted to hide this shard of themselves.

More perplexing was the subjectivity of emotion, which reduced everything in its new chillness. Thoughts of violence flitted out and in from her mind, their existences seeming a thing of necessity, a dull beckon of bloodshed that told her to murder enemy hosts. But she had learned not all hosts felt this: Saya was a pacifist, as was Luna, and so she often felt confused over her own emergent emotion. Were these things she desired because she thought she should be feeling them?

For her first year as a host she was unsure how to appropriate the identity of student properly around herself; she had for much time nursed a conception of herself that was only a projection of the civilian Mia into the future, and yet now it had been redirected to a medium she knew not the texture of; naturally this led to some self-exaggeration, as with any newly found thing.

On August 20th she had been given a map of Urasaria, declined Aimee's escort, and soon awaiting with the first-years at a large empty room in the first-year building. The first-year students were lined horizontally, facing the second-years with Hirogane & Saya standing between them. Mia saw the redhead student from earlier in the second-year line.

Hirogane counted down the first-years and verified that none had died on the way to Urasaria. "My name is Hirogane. If you get injured, come see me or Saya in the infirmary immediately. I don't ask questions, so long as everyone is alive. During your first year at Urasaria, you will be given a second-year mentor. They'll teach you how to use your Revenant, hunt rogue hosts, and what protocol to follow."

A black-haired Japanese woman with thick eyebrows muttered something in the second-year line. Mia watched her brush an eyeball off her shoulder, no disgust coming at the gore.

"Mentors, call your proteges."

A woman with long black hair & a frilled rainbow dress spoke from the second-year line: "Mia Schultz. Mia-Mia! Come with me."

Mia stumbled forward and felt embarrassed, but realized the rest were likely staring at Marisa; she was a rather attractive woman, whose badge read 'LAVENDER MENACE'. They set off to a wall with a rack of melee weapons. "Sooo, nice to meet you. All good to summon your Revenant?"

Mia nodded; she had tested almost constantly since activation. "Nice to meet you, a-as well. Er, I believe so." Worldwide's scarabs appearing on her sleeves. "Worldwide. Er, they're... only flames."

"Okay, cool." said Marisa, having known it from her registration already. "Cute! So, like, I don't wanna tell you mine yeeet, 'cause I want us to duel a little first, and you can just try to counter some of my stuff. Okay? Remember, hosts are pretty durable, so don't be afraid of hurting me too bad. You can just start with a sword for now, if you want? You won't be using melee too much out in the field."

Mia nodded, picking one off the rack, and felt oddly familiar handling one.

Marisa ripped a part of her dress's fabric out, a sword forming as the material hardened in her grip. "Ready?"

"Y-Yes."

"Let's go!" said Marisa, and in the next instant -

- the two clashed with metal and rainbow blade, more familiar rushing in to Mia, grip & balance returning to her as Marisa's blade shot back -

- and her too-slow swipe caught only the flat of Mia's blade; a swift bash threw Marisa's sword off of her, and in a single sweep seeking her torso -

- that cleaved halfway through her dress and stopped right before her skin, Mia grunting as her sword swept out again -

" - Boudoir!" shouted Marisa; a dozen rainbow strands erupted out of her dress, pulling Mia's sword back in -

- and her dress hardened to trap the blade within the fabric -

- but a swift fire scarab set Mia's blade alight, forcing Marisa to release it as the two stepped back again. Mia swept her left palm over her blade, snuffing out the orange flame & leaving the metal heated as they clashed again. Inch by inch, the pressure of Marisa's strikes forced her further back, and as she swept back & against the wall -

- another rainbow web erupted out of Marisa's dress -

- but Mia swept left just in time to avoid it as it stuck against the wall. Scarabs swarming her wrists, her blade clashed with Marisa's again as the fashionista stomped down -

- and a strand from below yanked Mia on to her back; Marisa's blade craned her down as the two grunted, pressing hard against the other -

" - sure you wanna block like that?" said Marisa -

" - w-what?" grunted Mia -

- and the next scene was instant. Boudoir's sword softening, Mia's blade split it in half -

- and two Boudoir halves were at her neck in the next, swift strand coiling around her blade and leaving a grinning Marisa. "I can change Boudoir's consistency, so, like -"

- two fire scarabs flew in to Marisa's gloves and burst open -

- and the orange flame burnt clear holes through Marisa's gloves & hands; she shrieked as she staggered back, and Mia's blade was at her throat a second later.

"Haha, shit." said Marisa.

Mia saw the dripping holes, ghastly apertures with charred veins; an inherited disgust came upon her, yet was filtered through her new current satisfaction with violence. "I- are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Saya!"

Mia sighed, and allowed herself a bit of fervor. She held the grisly image in her mind and wondered how it would feel to replicate it upon an enemy host. Saya came over and used Blackburn to refill both their wounds. "Is Worldwide working alright, Mia?"

"Apparently." Marisa grinned.

Mia nodded. "It is. Thank you."

Saya left, and Marisa laughed. "Jeez, though. You're really good with a sword! Did you practice before today?"

"I-I used to be a civilian, so no." laughed Mia. "Could that be the Revenant?"

"Maybe. Reaction times and agility helps, but sometimes, it's just... iunno, Revenants tend to be tuned towards what they can do, I guess? Like, if you can summon a sword or something, you're usually better with it? I dunno. Still, I wanna try something real quick, like." Marisa ripped a ball from her glove and handed it to Mia. "Set this on fire?" A single scarab set it alight, and was just as quickly snuffed when Boudoir's ball hardened. "Awesome. Sweet. Yeah, so like, I can extinguish for you and all that too, right?"

"That sounds good, yes."

"Sweet. Let's train some more, Mia-Mia."

Two hours later, they walked out together from the first-year building. Marisa tried to keep note of anything to tell Aimee later: she had been told to do so, although she suspected it was not for purely platonic purposes. That was no obstacle: Marisa would love to match-make a lesbian couple given it would allow her to ignore that she was not in one herself. "So, classes start tomorrow, but they're all super easy. It's just about uses for your Revenant, so it's nice to attend for your first year. Payment is monthly, umm..." She pointed out near the fourth-year building. "There's the cafeteria. Never eat there. Just go to Luna. Do you know her?"

"Yes, her and Saya."

Marisa smirked quite homosexually. "Aww, yeah, they're so cute. Did she tell you about where she worked before Urasaria? Uh, also, like, before I forget, one-star housing is really shit, but I'm two-star, so, wanna move in with me for the year?"

"Is that allowed?"

"Probably not, but everyone does it."

Mia laughed. "Er, I'd prefer to see my housing first to decide, but otherwise -- yes."

They came up to Mia's assigned housing in the one-star row. Her key readied, Mia unlocked it and tried the door, and the doorknob fell off. She turned. "You win."

"Yeeep. Kinda wish Aimee could like, change that rule, but they already spent enough money purposefully making the housing shitty as a punishment, so hey." shrugged Marisa as they walked into the two-star row of presentable housing.

"You know Aimee?"

"Kinda! Uh, mostly when she calls me up to her office. Like, that's not her fault, but she's 'supposed' to call every student who gets reported by civilians up to her office, umm... aaand I get reported a lot because I steal shit for my family. Y'know, legal immunity and all, but yeah. You don't mind, right?"

"No, I understand." But Mia frowned slightly, for Marisa's tone had indicated that she already knew of Mia's father; that of course Mia would have no issue with this, and although she did not, it did not lessen the slight guilt she felt as the daughter of her 'crooked father'.

"Yeah. I just hate that they can't enjoy life without feeling guilty. So, I steal stuff for them." said Marisa. "Um, and for myself, too, but that's because our salary sucks."

"$500 a month." muttered Mia.

"I make $1000, but yeah. But I love being a student. You get to have superpowers and be surrounded by other lesbians."

"I did notice your hero name." Mia smiled. "It's -- it's a reference to her, isn't it?"

Marisa grinned. "Yeah. Only 'exceptional students' get to choose that as their hero name."

"So you were the top rank of your year?"

"No, I was 5th, everyone else declined it."

Mia frowned.

"I'm just kidding: I was 3rd." beamed Marisa. "But yeah! I mean, maybe it's a bit weird that a woman who probably killed like thirty students gets made into a reward for female Urasaria students, but, y'know, I try not to think about that too much."

"Well, but it was a different time."

"Yeah, back then Urasaria didn't have any lesbians that weren't traitors."

Marisa set her glove to the doorknob for her house, Boudoir's strands unlocked it, and in they stepped; it was better than the one-star housing. "So yeah, we can just tell them to update your key and mailbox and everything. Guest room is second to the left."

"I still need to get my stuff out of the infirmary."

"Need any help?" (Mia's head shook.) "Cool. I'm gonna shower, but uh, use these, or..." She ripped her key-strands off and handed them to Mia. "Or just knock really loud."

Mia went outside and left for the infirmary. For a moment, she wondered if Marisa's forwardness was indicative of some crush on her, and resolved to be more assertive this year. As she was returning with her clothes to Marisa & her's home, she ran into Aimee, who asked her if they could go to dinner together, and as Aimee was her first Urasaria friend, she accepted. Aimee texted Marisa before they walked out of Urasaria's main gate, and she talked with Mia mostly about how hosting Worldwide felt.

As they came out in to the streets, Mia asked Aimee about Marisa's history of theft. Her situation wasn't entirely unique among students; Aimee had become known as a president who usually allowed such non-violent abuses of legal immunity. She figured it wasn't her place to lecture any student who made half of what she did, much as she came in to conflict with Urasaria's staff over it. In private, they spoke of her as a woman whose only inheritance from her wealthy parents was a firm sense of guilt.

"Er, have they made any progress on the investigation?" said Mia as they turned the sidewalk's corner.

"Not yet." Aieme winced. "Sorry, um. Urasaria's staff is kinda shitty. Sorry."

"Is it alright if I mention it to Marisa?"

"Um, sure, yeah. What, um... what do you... think of her, anyway?"

"...well. She's a little excitable, I suppose, b-but I believe we'll work well together. She seems kind."

Aimee nodded and attempted to suppress her envy. Makoto had again been pushing her to try with Mia; otherwise she might have wanted to give up on dating entirely; by retreating inward her nature would not be true, but it at least could not be harmed. But she spoke with Mia as they continued to walk, asking her more of hosting Worldwide, and had learned that Mia had similarly retreated as well as a teenager upon learning she could not host a Revenant; the recent weeks had done well for her mood and suppressed fantasies of life as a student, however socially awkward she still was.

They passed by a glass-faced diner, and in the next instant, glass shards burst out of the diner's window and shot towards the two; Aimee pulled Mia down with her as the two hit the ground and the shards sailed uselessly overhead, Mia shrieking at the sudden attack -

- then blushing a moment later as she felt Rider's tendrils dip into her veins, the world slowing as if a disturbed pond. Aimee helped her up as they stepped back from the diner, seeing the patrons ahead scattering under their tables & one man standing 30ft away inside; he realized who Aimee was now and seemed afraid, but had nowhere to flee.

"You got this." whispered Aimee. "Rider will keep you safe."

"What should I do?" panted Mia, and in the next instant -

- a spike of glass formed from behind and extended towards her, but a swift set of fire scarabs set it molten and burnt it to death before it could reach her, Worldwide's enhanced senses in her mind as her & Aimee sidestepped another glassy barrage from the diner.

"Control over glass." muttered Aimee. "Could light a chair on fire and throw it at him."

"I-I suppose there's not much else." muttered Mia, a little bitterly.

Rechecking to make sure Aimee was keeping pace with her, she rushed inside the diner, and as the man lifted his hands again -

- spikes of glass shot up from the floor and blocked Mia's step -

- but the keen end of a burning chair went through his chest and sliced him in half, and Aimee nodded at Mia's side as he fell dead ahead, charred torso sliding off of his burnt legs. Mia blushed as a few diners applauded her; whether they were sincere or wags she did not know.

"You okay?" whispered Aimee and Mia quickly nodded, a little embarrassed. "Okay. I'm gonna take his corpse around the corner, just to... less people around."

Aimee disappeared, and Mia realized what she meant as the corpse disappeared with her. She tried to keep her hands silent as she walked out and passed the corner, seeing Aimee crouched over his corpse with his still-beating heart carved out.

"First fight down, right?"

Mia sat against a wall. "Y-Yes. I'm sorry, I'm... still a little nervous."

"I promise it'll get easier. First fight is always the most stressful one. Right?"

"Y-Yes."

Mia thought she'd have more to say after killing someone, but maybe the bacteria touching her heart were keeping that suppressed, or years on Urasaria fan forums had solidified her correctness. Laughing a little nervously, she said: "I-I did get him good."

Aimee smiled. "Yeah. So, I'm gonna scan the Revenant so you get credit, and we can just leave after. Government has a professional that picks these up after scan. Okay?" Mia watched as Aimee pulled out her tablet & scanned the heart. Trying some humor, Aimee said: "Still got an appetite?"

+++

After class the next morning, Sylvia (an orange-haired muscular first-year) had approached Mia asking if she & Marisa would accompany her to a local gay bar. (First-years weren't allowed outside without a second-year or higher.) Two things stuck with Mia about this request: one, that Sylvia's mentor was male & Mia's first words if she met him should be "I'm a lesbian," and two, that Sylvia had remarked only desperate women would be drinking on a Tuesday. When Marisa asked if she included herself in this, she only mumbled affirmatively.

On the way there, she had stuttered through a pass at Marisa, precipitating her next half-hour of failures. Thinking Mia & Marisa would think worse of her if she didn't, she was one or two drinks in when a fourth woman sat next to her.

"Hey." muttered the new arrival, her hair swept over her eyes.

Sylvia nodded, cheeks the color of her target's hair.

"I - h-hey. How - how are you?"

"Good, good. Yeah. All good."

"S-Sweet. I like seeing beautiful women like you smile. Uh. Not that I. Never mind."

"What do you mean?"

"U - Uhm. You look nice. Are - you single?"

"Uh, maybe."

"M-Maybe? What does -"

" - hold on." said the woman, tapping her ear for a moment and setting her eyes on Sylvia. "Do you mind? I'm trying to talk to someone here."

She swept her hair back over her left ear, revealing her headset, and walked off with a huff and a pout -

"My - my fucking god -" - laughed Mia -

"- I mean - " - Marisa laughed - "she's a total weirdo for using those, but damn. That's cold."

Sylvia was a limp corpse in her seat.

"… T-This bar sucks." she muttered. "L-Let's try somewhere else. With no phones."

With no desire to protest, the prodigal pair nodded and escaped with Sylvia out to the street, alleys flanking them as they walked down the sidewalk.

"...there's a place a few blocks over, I guess." muttered Sylvia, and in the next instant -

- Marisa hit the ground, and two strands yanked Mia & Sylvia down -

- just in time for the crescent blade to miss their heads from behind, thrown and flying ahead, and as it started to fly back -

" - Equivalence!" they heard a man's voice shout behind, and as a geyser of acid shot out of the blade -

" - Magma!" shouted Sylvia, Magma's tongue growing out of her palm and tapping the corrosive spray -

- and turning it to solid and to a dense, three standing and turning as it fell limp behind, seeing their foe a hundred feet away, his Kabuto helm catching the crescent blade again.

Mia winced as Sylvia's right-arm glowed red, bursting open like a maw, three holes drilled through it and an enormous tongue growing out of her palm.

"U-Uh, gas - liquid - solid - save stuff up." whispered Sylvia, and Marisa nodded, Boudoir's sword readied. Ahead, their foe threw his blade towards them again as they started their rush forward, lampposts flanking them as the projectile flew close -

" - Boudoir!" shouted Marisa; a strand erupted from her glove and grabbed the midair blade -

- and a second strand tethered it to the lamppost as they ran underneath it; Mia's scarabs flew back and lit it alight -

- but a spray of water erupted from the blade's end, dousing itself, slickening Boudoir's grip and freeing itself again as it flew towards them -

" - Magma!" shouted Sylvia, sweeping her arm back with fifty feet left, and a puff of acidic gas hit the blade & corroded it away; ahead, their foe staggered as Marisa came in range, and as Boudoir's strands gripped his neck -

- she ripped his head clear off in a geyser of blood, Sylvia laughing beside as his neckless corpse fell, his hands still outstretched as it hit the ground.

"All good?" said Marisa, glancing back as Mia & Sylvia came up.

"Y-Yeah." laughed Sylvia. "F-First fight. J-Jitters."

"Cool. You okay, Mia-Mia?"

"...yes." said Mia, trying not to frown.

"Alright. Uh, I'm gonna make an incision, and scan his Revenant." Marisa crouched down and scanned.

===

At such ventures in her life, and with her crush reaching a critical point, Aimee sought the advice of a woman who was experienced in matters of romance & sex; whose wisdom could help her in times of difficulty. Unfortunately, she could not find such a woman, so she settled for her friend Makoto instead as they sat together in her mansion.

"Well, so far, what do you know about her?" said Makoto. "She's tall, beautiful, intelligent, kind, sexy, mature, probably dominant, but she does have a big nose, so personally I'd rate her an overall 6/10."

"I don't even know if she has a girlfriend yet." muttered Aimee.

"She just became a host. If she's dating a civilian, they'll break up after she thinks a romantic photo for Valentine's Day would be her ripping out someone's heart."

Aimee frowned. She imagined Mia sending her such a cute photo. "Maybe she'll have a thing for ugly butches. That's about my only hope here."

"Oh, c'mon. You're not that butch."

"I already know I'm ugly, that's why I lift."

"And how's that gone?"

"Before I started lifting, I had 0 girlfriends." said Aimee. "After I started lifting, I have had 0 girlfriends."

Makoto mused. "Well, maybe you're right. I guess you can hope she has a fetish."

"For a 3000lb bench?"

"For low self-esteem. I mean, shit, I wouldn't want to date you even if we were on a deserted island because you don't believe anyone wants to date you. If you can't convince yourself, I dunno how you're expecting to convince other people. Self-pity is not an attractive trait."

Aimee frowned. "Since when the hell did you start giving good advice?"

"I'm not always a dick, just most of the time."

Aimee sighed. "I don't know. Maybe you're right, I just prefer the qualities I can measure as being good, like strength, or-" Her phone vibrated.

(Mia) "Can I talk to you about Worldwide when I get back?"

(Aimee) "Sure. Are you feeling okay?"

(Mia) "Not really."

"She's in a bad mood." muttered Aimee. "Wants to talk alone."

"Wow, can you say clingy?" Makoto shuddered. "Yuck. 5/10. She'd be lucky if she gets a woman with a 30lb bench."

"Please get out before I punch you."

"Just trying to soften her down for you."

Aimee rolled her eyes. She went Makoto away and waited at the gate for Mia, who peeled off from Sylvia & Marisa and went off with Aimee to her mansion. She could tell that Mia was rather impressed, and mentioned to her that it was the reward for 3-star housing, along with a few extra rooms for the presidential mansion.

"It's very nice. I'm sorry, I'm just..." Mia sighed and sat down. "...I'm sorry. Worldwide is just frustrating me. I didn't realize how narrow its ability was until -- until I had class this morning. Yuruko can create any element at her hands and feet, Sylvia can swap between states of matter, and -- and all I have i-is fucking fire. I can't even extinguish it without l-looking like an idiot, a-and..."

Aimee frowned as she saw tears forming at Mia's eyes, and though she had been directed by Hirogane not to tell, she decided to do so here. She placed her hand on Mia's back, felt anxious, then quickly moved it to her shoulder. "...hey. I want to tell you something about Worldwide. Remember when Hirogane checked you? Um, when it activated?"

"Y-Yes?"

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you, but -- Marisa knows this, too. Your colony isn't complete. I- we can go talk to Hirogane about it, but that's what he said."

"What does that mean?"

"...umm. We kinda don't know either. But we were talking, um, with Saya, too... about what it might be. It's not a normal size for a Revenant."

Mia sniffled. "Does that m-mean it isn't fully activated?"

"That's one theory we had, yeah." quickly nodded Aimee. "But that might mean, you know, maybe there's some other phases to it or something. Maybe in strength, or more abilities, or..."

Mia slowly nodded. "...p-possibly. A-And I suppose I do have the gene for Volgari proteins now, so even if... I can still swap for another Revenant later, if needed..."

"Yeah. Students get free swaps, right? Maybe the guy who gave it to you would know, too, um... one of the security staff, Renault, wanted to talk to me tomorrow about that."

Mia smiled to Aimee (who nearly panted in response). "T-Thank you, Aimee. That all really makes me feel better."

The following Morning, Aimee & Marisa & Mia set out on one of the trains out of Urasaria. Renault (or more accurately his wife) had relayed to Aimee that her husband's Revenant -- Rewind, whose fireflies acted as Urasaria's cameras -- had seen an invisible figure drop Mia's body off at the gate, with some blood on her mouth. To no apparent sense, the figure had revealed himself before leaving the edge of Rewind's sight; he had turned deliberately to reveal his face, allowing them to find that his name was Doppori and at what apartment he lived.

The three stepped into an urban district that had been rural forty years ago, and Aimee led them to his apartment complex. The three came up to a door on the third floor, and in the next instant -

- a gust of wind blasted it into them, but into a thousand shards it spit as it flew, Aimee dipping Rider's tendrils in Mia's veins -

- and Boudoir's strands discarded the projectiles to the side as the three stood again, brown-haired man inside & in his kitchen, eight blue tendrils bursting out of his shoulders -

" - that's him." muttered Aimee, thirty feet separating the two, foe laughing on the other end - " - can kill him instantly, but -"

" - come!" he shouted - " - I was waiting for you to show up, anyway!"

Marisa rushed left along the wall and Mia & Aimee followed; scarabwoman nodding, a spray of orange flame hit the wall -

- and burnt a clear hole through to the apartment's bathroom, Boudoirsquare forming to keep the hole's fire from spreading. In to the room swept the women, and as Aimee rushed out to the hall -

- a gust of wind blasted her with the strength of a thousand left; Mia heard her crashing through another door, Rider's protection leaving her as she rushed out to the hall with Marisa -

- and seeing their foe right & still in the kitchen up the hall; another gust of wind shot towards them -

- but the next scene was instant. Marisa threw her palms out, a dozen strands erupting & hardening from her gloves -

- and their friction slowed the wind but not their advance as they kept their run up the hall; ahead, Doppori rushed to block the entrance -

- and in to an invisible wall smashed Marisa -

- and in to Marisa smashed Mia behind, two wincing as they staggered back -

" - another trick of wind, if you're curious." droned Doppori, still in his kitchen with fifteen feet separating them. "The tentacles create an airless environment - or harden -"

- the ceiling started to rumble behind him, and in the next instant -

- Aimee dropped with knife-drawn out of the aperture; Doppori turned, and a swift blast of wind launched him right just in time to dodge her vicious swipe, Aimee sighing as she rushed back out to the hall and chased him there. The invisible barrier gone, Mia & Marisa caught up behind and saw him rushing away at the other end of the hall, and Marisa turned left to the wall: "Gonna-- I can flank at the front door-"

"FTL!" shouted a voice only familiar to Mia, and fear came over her; in the next instant a sword of ice decapitated Doppori, the three with shocked eyes as they saw its source ahead. It was something that was an utter dreadnought, the seize of three headless men, two right arms & one left bursting out of his armor's back. A sword of ice was in one of his four-fingered hands, and before they could react, his torso turned away as his legs did not, as if two separate halves, and his otherworldly tone said "FTL." and he was gone in a cloud of scarabs.

"I- wait-" panted Mia. "I-I recognize that voice, it's... it's the same person who kidnapped me."

"Were those your scarabs?"

The cloud disappeared ahead, but before they did, Mia compared them to her own and nodded.

"...shit." muttered Marisa."

"Alright. Alright, alright, alright." nodded Aimee, relevantly. "Just stay cautious. Just need to check on something real quick." Rider's tendrils went taut, and Doppori's head appeared in her hands. She wiped the blood off his skin, then showed the tattoo she had noticed earlier on his neck: a golden scarab, signed 'R.D.'.