Notes: aka filler and bonding, or something. Also, it occurred to me way too late that the most obvious choice would have been to give Seira incomplete Death Scythe, instead of not at all, but whatever.

OK, confession time. I fell off the writing train, and I'm just trying to force myself to through finishing. So I'm not editing the chapters from here. Sorry about the ensuing errors and low quality.

~.~.~

Chapter 4: Union Doctrine

They ended up retreating to the town where their original mission was supposed to take place. If no one had noticed or reported them, it was where they should be and the best possible cover story. If their treasonous actions had been spotted, they would be expected to run as far as possible, so their mission area would be the last place anyone would look.

At least, that was the reasoning.

The apartment building where they were supposed to make the pickup was empty. Not just of any residents, which was natural given that it was owned by a shell of a shell put up by the Union, but also of the object they were supposed to retrieve.

Given that they were late for the pickup, it wouldn't be surprising if the local crooks had just fenced it to someone else. Normally, M-21 and M-24 would have felt some anticipation at the prospect of hunting down those small fry and punishing them for the slight against Union authority, as at least an amusing diversion, but at the moment, the mission was the last thing on their minds. Even as he absently scruffed the faint markings where the object — large and roughly rectangular — had rested, M-21 was thinking of far more pressing matters.

Like their next move. And what had the highest chance of keeping them alive just a little longer.

"Do you think it's possible Crombel saw you?" M-24 asked carefully, his blank eyes following his partner's pacing.

"I don't think so. He wouldn't have seen my face anyway," M-21 said, but there was a deep, unhappy frown on his face. "She picked a place without surveillance to begin with, and Crombel came alone..."

Which might have seemed like a stupid move, but it made sense in the Union's view of the world. If it was a trap, you couldn't afford to show weakness by asking for help, or risk bringing anyone, since they would just take the opportunity to turn on you. And if it wasn't a trap, then you didn't want to share information, whether useful or not, with a rival — which was everyone. There were no allies, not if you made it as high in the Union as Crombel.

"But we don't know that for certain," M-24 voiced what M-21 had been trying not to think about. "Crombel could just assume we were involved, without any reason. Or he might even have some ability we don't know about. Seira can just sense where I am, and I can feel her a little too. Who knows what Crombel can do."

M-21's scowl only grew more unhappy, but he didn't disagree.

"Maybe..." M-24 said slowly, "we shouldn't go back at all, not even to check." There was a tense silence as M-21 turned to stare at him, lips thinning in displeasure. "Just run away," M-24 pressed. "It's not like staying with the Union will lead to anything except getting disposed of, in the end. This is the best chance we'll have. Maybe we can even ask Seira—"

"Are you out of your mind?" M-21 hissed, finally breaking out of his stupor. "What about the pills? You'll die without them!"

'That's a price I'm willing to accept,' M-24 thought but didn't say, knowing it wouldn't help. But his partner must have read something of that in his silence, his expression growing even more stormy.

And, at the same time, M-21 knew him well enough to realize that nothing he said would make much difference. "You... It's not like we can rely on that noblesse girl," he finally snapped back. "Even if you think we can take a chance on her self-righteousness," and that was something M-21 disagreed with, "she's looking for what happened to her family, remember? She's going to keep fighting the Union. You think we should get involved in that?"

He had a point.

Knowing his partner had no rebuttal but also seeing the stubborn look on his face, M-21 clicked his tongue irritably.

"It doesn't matter until we know what our option are," he muttered, turning away. "I'm going to take a look around."

Without waiting for a response, he headed out the open balcony doors. Sighing, M-24 let him go.

~.~.~

Seira's injuries had healed an incredible rate, but the battle and the escape after had taken a great deal of her energy. They had left her to rest in one of the empty rooms, and she was still there when M-24 went to check on her — in the same exact position, posture still perfect as she leaned back against the wall, hands folded demurely in her lap.

Her eyes opened and she raised her head when he took a step into the room, but she didn't turn to look at him.

"How are you feeling?" M-24 ventured, some uncertain instinct making him take off his hat and duck his head and he approached.

"I have almost completely recovered," Seira said. "Another day, or so."

"And then... you're going to go after the Ninth Elder?" he guessed. As Seira considered her answer, he admitted, "Crombel's info is probably good. He wanted you to make trouble for the Elders, so he could steal their data or just undermine their power. Lying to you about where to go wouldn't be in his interests, and he wouldn't warn them either."

"His own allies?"

M-24 snorted. "That's the Union way. You get ahead by cutting the legs out from everyone else."

Seira's expression didn't change, at least not in any way he could have explained, but her disapproval and disgust was clear. It was almost like the truth about the Union had never occurred to her and made no sense at all — except that, to them, it was the most obvious thing.

"I suppose it's not like that with you nobles," he said, one corner of his lips quirking up wryly.

"No," Seira said, then her lips thinned. "But... Nobles betray each other as well. My clan..."

"You're looking for them," M-24 filled in. "They were betrayed by other nobles?"

Her hands clasping in her lap, Seira let out a slow, controlled breath. "A century ago, my father and my clan and our allies, the Landegre, were sent out to stop an incident in the human world," she said, each word coming only reluctantly. "Many humans had been threatened by the clan heads who had betrayed us when the previous Lord went into Eternal Sleep. We tried to stop them and protect the humans, but the traitors used them as hostages, and..."

M-24 could guess what followed. It seemed that M-21 had been more correct than he realized, when he said that Seira's sense of duty would get her killed. It had already happened — to her family. He opened his mouth, to tell her that there was no need to continue a story that had to pain her, but Seira went on before he could stop her.

"The Landegre clan head was killed. His soul weapon returned to the previous head, and that's how we knew..." she said, her gaze distant. "Almost every member of our clans had gone with them, but not one of them returned. So I became... the only one of the Loyard clan left in Lukedonia."

They didn't come back, she said. And that meant— "You think some of your people were taken by the Union?"

It was a stupid question, he realized immediately after saying it. Seira had already told him he felt like one of her clansmen, and Crombel had all but confirmed that, using parts of them... M-24 winced. There was a stinging behind his eyes, something that felt almost like tears that wouldn't come.

"My father's soul weapon did not pass to me," Seira said quietly. "When I reach for it, I can feel that his soul has not joined our ancestors inside it. That's why I know he is still alive. But if he hasn't returned, then he must be held captive. So I will find him and free him."

Her voice soft and very young. The earnest longing in it made it fragile, like she was revealing something secret. It was such a small, simple wish — to see her family again — but there was a desperation behind it that M-24 understood all too well.

That small, simple wish was impossible far away. Too many things lost, taken, so she clung to that one last hope all the more desperately.

"You must love him very much," he noted, turning his hat over in his hands with an absent smile.

A parent... What was that like? He couldn't remember his own family, of course, but he thought it might be something like the rest of the M series to him. He was more than willing to give up his own safety and even life, if they could have been freed — if M-21 could be freed.

Her eyes flicking to him, Seira gave a small nod.

He couldn't ask her — 'please help my partner' — as he had intended. Seira had her own family to protect and save. They, their little artificial family of two, would have to find a way to protect themselves.

~.~.~

When M-21 returned, it was to find them sitting together in peaceful silence. He stared for a moment, trying to figure out if they'd fallen asleep upright, before he caught the faint twitch at the corner of M-24's lips. Clicking his tongue irritably, he stalked toward them.

"I got food," he declared in a flat tone and dropped a couple takeout bags on the ground in front of them. Plopping down so they made a rough circle, he began to rummage inside. "Here, this is yours. And you too."

Seira looked at wrapped burger he held out to her for a beat too long, making M-21 scowl.

"Thank you, I'm grateful for your consideration," Seira said quickly, when he tried to take it back. However, once it was in her hands, she simply stared at it rather dubiously.

"If it's too low class for you, then don't eat it. I don't care," M-21 snapped. Pointedly looking away, he took a large bite of his burger and chewed with more vigor than frankly necessary.

Sighing, M-24 followed suit.

"Food... is necessary for humans to function," Seira commented, still staring down at the burger far too intently — as if reaffirming an alien idea. "And sharing food is a means of bonding and goodwill."

"It's not for nobles?" M-24 asked mildly, ignoring the face M-21 made before he remembered that he was ignoring her. Thinking back on it, Seira had never seemed to eat anything while they were traveling to Korea, or when she was waiting to ambush Jake and Mary.

Looking up, Seira frowned a little. "I appreciate the thought," she assured them, also not looking at M-21, since he didn't seem to be interested in her thanks. But the glance she shot at the burger again seemed distinctly unsatisfied. "For the next meal," Seira said slowly, "would it be possible to acquire ingredients? I wish to... return the gesture."

"You want to cook?" M-24 guessed. "There's no gas or power here, or water."

"I learned to summon basic elemental forces from the Eleanor clan head, when she oversaw preparations for my coming of age. I am not on the level of using such powers in combat, but a small scale application is possible," Seira said — which didn't tell M-24 anything, really, but he nodded in acceptance.

Perhaps the more important question was if she could cook at all, if she didn't need to eat. Judging by his smirk, M-21 didn't think so, and that was likely the reason he said, "Sure, I'll get some groceries when I head out to scout next time."

'Don't just get something unusable,' M-24 tried to convey with a flat look, but his partner only kept smirking and took another bite.

~.~.~

It wasn't entirely his fault, given that he didn't have any way of knowing what constituted a normal list of groceries, but M-21 returned that evening with a rather motley mix of goods. Seira nonetheless accepted them without comment.

"You know you're just shooting yourself in the foot," M-24 pointed out. "We're going to have to eat whatever she makes."

"What? Why?!" M-21 demanded, abruptly losing his smug grin.

"She's going through all this trouble," M-24 said, "and she ate what you brought her." Her expression had remained completely unreadable the entire time, so there was no way to tell what she thought of the taste, of course. "Come on, she's not going to go through all this trouble to poison us."

He pointedly raised his eyebrows and waited until even M-21 caved. They might not have memories of ordinary life, but the course of basic decency was pretty obvious.

It was also because he was going to need to eat whatever Seira produced that M-24 decided he didn't want to know how she would go about preparing it. If she was doing some noble-style blood sacrifice magic in what would have been the kitchen of the empty apartment, he was better off not knowing.

Because, honestly, the three course meal Seira somehow produced looked and smelled delicious.

"It looks great," M-24 told her so. The fact that Seira blushed under the praise just made M-21 scowl more, giving his place a deeply suspicious look M-21 was giving his plate.

"Where did she even get the plates from?" he muttered to himself.

This was a good point. Utilities aside, they also didn't have any cookware or utensils. Had she materialized them the same way she did with her clothing...?

M-24 shook his head and firmly pushed the thought away. It didn't matter, and he didn't care. With that in mind, he steeled himself and took a bite.

It was as delicious as it looked and smelled.

M-21 had been watching him with morbid fascination, waiting for the moment when he finally stumbled across the proverbial trap, but as M-24 beamed and took another bite, it became obvious that the food really was... at the very least edible. With only creasing suspicion, he gathered up a forkful — where did Seira get forks, too? — and nibbled tentatively.

He could feel M-24's expectant gaze on him. The feeling of 'I told you so' was unmistakable. "It's... fine," M-21 muttered and began to eat in earnest, ducking his head to better ignore Seira's small smile and deepening blush. "But you know," he added after a few moments of silence, broken only by the sound of chewing and crunching, "I think you're supposed to leave the eggshells out."

"Ah..." Seira managed, suddenly stiff as a board, "is that how humans do it...?"

~.~.~

"If nobles don't need to eat, do you still do it for pleasure?" M-24 asked, as the meal began to wind down.

"Not everyone does, but most at least drink tea. My clan and the Landegre had duties in the human countries, so we are more familiar with human culture," Seira explained. "My father and Sir Roussare often recreated recipes they had tried during their travels for us — for me and Sir Roussare's son, Regis."

The amount of new information implied in her casual answer was amazing — that there were multiple clans, with their own duties, that some of those duties related to humans, but others did not, that there was a country or something similar was not a "human" one, but which belonged to nobles...

Many in the Union would have quite literally killed for what they were hearing, and M-21 carefully noted every detail he could. That information might become a useful bargaining chip, against the Union.

Frowning faintly, Seira added, "I hope Regis is eating properly and getting enough sleep. He's still very young."

"Well, he still has their... previous clan head to look after him, right?" M-24 suggested, based on something they must have discussed without M-21 present.

It was a good idea to fish for more information, especially about other "nobles," but... Sneaking a glance at his partner, M-21 tried to hide the unhappy twist of his lips.

That wasn't why M-24 had asked.

"Sir Gejutel is still in Lukedonia," Seira replied. "But Regis is here in the human world. He's preparing for his coming of age, and I was accompanying him. His body and power are still developing, so he needs more rest and care than an adult." She paused, a shadow passing over her usually stoic features. "I am... somewhat concerned about him."

M-24 chuckled quietly. "Well, that's natural. He's like your little brother, isn't he?"

It was just a normal conversation, just small talk. Just because he wanted to know more about her. M-21 could tell — the tension easing slightly in his partner's shoulders, the slight smile tugging at his lips, the crinkling at the corners of his eyes.

Liking someone outside the M series, being interested in them... It had never happened before. And what he felt watching that — M-21 didn't recognize it, but he didn't like it. His chest felt tight. Surreptitiously, he had drifted back, the way one of them usually did to better keep a look out. But now it felt like he was on the outside somehow.

If Seira didn't blame them for what Crombel had done, if M-24 was right and she had tried to fight him because of them, and if she was sharing all of this freely — that was a lot of ifs, but what if it was really possible? What if M-24 had a point and she was their chance out?

Seira was just a girl, even if not a human one, whose power had limits. But she had a history, friends, a home, and an entire race. If they could leverage that—

They, huh? M-21's lips twisted, the thin scar pulling slightly.

"Do you want any help cleaning up?"

"Cleaning?"

"You know, the dishes..."

M-24 gestured to the plates, though they were already practically licked clean. It was annoying to admit, but the food had been delicious, especially compared to tasteless lab rations or the mismatched assortment they usually subsided on. However, Seira only gave the tableware a blank look.

The movement of her power was so subtle that it was nearly unnoticeable as it swept across the plate she was holding, and the small spots of grease and sauce just... flaked away.

Turning it over, Seira showed M-24 the now clean plate — before it too disintegrated, returning to whatever state is had non-existed in before Seira created it. She spread her empty hangs like a magician after a trick, then cleared her throat slightly self-consciously.

"It's not the most elegant use of our power, but it can be quite convenient," she admitted. "Do you want to try?"

M-24 looked at her in surprise. "Do you really think I could? I've never done anything at all like that."

"You use mind control in the same way as a noble would, so there is precedent. I said before, you may have more of our powers as well," Seira said. "There is no loss in trying."

Hesitating, M-24 ran a hand over the top of his head. He couldn't explain it to Seira, but the suggestion made no sense. After all, in the Union, sharing power or knowledge or skill was something that was almost unheard of, or at the very least came with many strings attached. But perhaps it was different if you had power to spare — knowledge and strength to spare.

"Well, I suppose you're right," he finally agreed.

As he turned away and forced himself not to pay attention, M-21 thought he saw Seira's eyes flicker to him for an instance. It must have been his imagination — neither of them seemed to pay him any mind as he silently moved away and out of the room.

If Seira wanted to teach M-24 how nobles did things, did that mean she saw him as a noble, in some way? Or even... not quite someone of her clan, of course, but...

M-21 shook his head sharply.

No. Even if that was the case, it was still crazy. He wouldn't rush in and put their lives on the line, not when there might still be no need for it. The first thing to do, before making a decision like that, was to find out what their options were.

He needed to know — was returning to the Union even an option?

At least, that was what M-21 told himself and the only reasoning he would have admitted to. And if there were other half-formed plans, chasing themselves around in the back of his mind, about the Korean branch's stocks of pills and whether getting any them was at all possible... those were just idle thoughts. He hadn't decided anything yet, that was all.

~.~.~

When M-21 departed during the night, Seira had assumed he was going to scout the area again, or perhaps use that as an excuse to work off some of his nervous energy. It would have been impolite to keep track of him too closely and difficult besides, when his aura was not much different from the many humans in the city. So, closing her eyes, Seira had let herself drift into a healing trance again.

M-24 was the one who found the note, the sudden wavering of his signature with unease and worry immediately drawing Seira's attention.

She glanced over the words calmly, but the corner of her mouth twitched downward.

"It is more unpleasant than I realized," she noted, "from this side."

Yes, getting ditched in the middle of the night was an unpleasant feeling indeed. She would need to apologize to Regis properly.

~.~.~

Next: Human Toys

~.~.~