Chidori's tears soaked into the carpet of the Mikage International CEO office. She was pleading in a broken and desperate voice to make them stop torturing her friends and only take her for whatever they were planning. Kagami and Gladys stood at the desk in front of her. Two lab coated doctors waited at the door behind her. Gladys and the medical goons looked confused, while Kagami seemed emotionally indifferent.
Chidori had come to the complex by herself. After a year of witnessing the Mikage family's ruthlessness and barely surviving some of their constant schemes herself, she knew it was only a matter of time before real tragedy struck. Her friends, her family, any one of them could end up like Kei. She was willing to accept whatever horrible things the C-Project had in store for her, as long as it meant everyone she loved could finally live in peace again.
"Leave Aya alone!" she sobbed with her head sunken forward. "Leave Touya alone! Leave Shouta alone! Leave Suzumi alone! Leave Yuuhi alone! I'm just as strong as Ceres, and I'll do anything you want! Please! You won't need to bother any of them if you have me!"
Kagami stood unmoved. Looking down with his arms crossed, he spoke with stern and distant authority.
"Reveal your true self, C-Genomer."
Chidori glanced up with a tiny gasp. Obediently, she drew her celestial powers forth and transformed her appearance from a human child to a young adult Tennyo that represented her real age. Her plain boyish features changed into those of a petite pearl-skinned goddess that fit snugly in her short overalls. Her cherry blonde pigtails changed into blueish-black silk that waved down her shoulders like two streams of water. She was unique for her kind in how easily she could hop between forms—Something she had gotten used to from teasing Yuuhi so much. She only hoped the magic trick would be enough to sway the Mikage chairman.
Her hopes didn't go unanswered, as Kagami was now showing her the slightest hint of intrigue on his otherwise expressionless face. Usually when he caught glimpses of Chidori in this form, it meant she was on security footage destroying company property with a wall of lightning, or mutilating one of his field agents with her telekinesis. Now he was seeing her in this form because she was surrendering. After analyzing a few trends on the biological stock report sulking in front of him, he nodded.
"Thank you," Kagami said stoically. "I believe this is the first time we've properly met in-person, Miss Kuruma."
He continued to stand motionless and cross-armed as he thought. He never showed the slightest hint of fear for being in the presence of a celestial creature who could annihilate him by blinking, never allowed her to think she was anything more than a sparkling fleck of bacteria under a microscope to him. The dreary and heavily formalized tone in his voice remained unchanged as he spoke.
"Your proposition is rather surprising after all the trouble you've given us. However, I'm certain with your particular talents and the value you have to offer, we can reach an agreement that benefits both of interests. It's not every day a Type-A Pallas graces us with her presence offering her services."
Kagami slowly turned his attention to Gladys. He said only one thing.
"Prep her."
Gladys nodded, knowing it was her job to smooth over the gritty and somewhat unpleasant details of the business with a delicate touch. She stepped away from the desk and knelt to the carpet in front of Chidori, bringing herself to the younger woman's eye level.
"Are you serious about volunteering yourself in your friends' place?" Gladys asked carefully.
"Of course I am," Chidori whispered in her shivering breath.
"Will you help us with our experiments so we can determine the full extent of your power?" asked Gladys.
"Yes," Chidori answered weakly.
"Would you agree undergo a special surgery if we suspend the rest of our research on Ceres and focus on you as our primary subject?" Gladys slipped Chidori a small look of compassion as she asked.
"Surgery?" Chidori squeaked. A hint of fear twinkled in her golden Tennyo eyes.
"All the Type-B girls we've brought here have already gone through with it, and you won't be any different. You'll sleep through the whole thing," Gladys said softly. "You'll have the best specialists in the world taking care of you from now on. Give us a little help and I promise you we won't have to rely on anyone else. That's what you want, isn't it?"
Chidori kept her head low, swallowed her tears, and nodded gently. She couldn't imagine what was in store for her, but she decided it would be better not to think about it. Her caring and selfless demeanor gave her an almost motherly charm.
"Good," Gladys said. "These nice doctors will show you to the clinic. I'm sure you'll do great."
Gladys helped Chidori to her feet. The two workers in lab coats joined Chidori on either side, instantly causing her a small panic attack as she glanced back and forth. Gladys gave her a supportive look that said there was nothing to be afraid of.
Chidori allowed herself to be silently escorted away by the doctors. Kagami and Gladys spoke in private once they were alone in the office.
"You know what the strangest thing is?" Kagami asked with his eyebrow quirked. "We weren't going to pursue Aya anymore anyway. She's already pregnant."
"That doesn't mean we should be any less grateful for Chidori's help, Kagami. Now we won't have to go on any more egg hunts to fill our basket." Gladys smiled.