Important notice, Sorry, I was so tired that I actually posted chapter eight instead of chapter 6, please forgive me.
As an apology, have Chapters, six seven and eight all at once!
"Of all the dangerous, irresponsible, downright reckless… Argh!" Mima fumed from a few feet away from where a bored Desida, and a mortified Isika kneeled penitently.
"Calm down Meems, she didn't know any better." Marisa said from one of the couches, seemingly amused.
Mima visibly tried to calm down. "That's right, she didn't know any better, she didn't know any better…" She repeated like a mantra.
"What did I do wrong?" Isika asked, with embarrassed tears forming in her eyes.
"Don't worry, Mima's just blowing this out of proportion," Marisa said dismissively. "She is a vengeful spirit after all, she tends to get pissed off about a lot of things."
"This is hardly out of proportion Marisa!" Mima snapped at her former pupil.
"Can I go now?" Desida said, raising her hand.
"No!"
"Worth a shot," Desida said.
"It really wasn't," Marisa snickered.
"But what did I actually do!?" Isika wailed.
"What you did, was something incredibly dangerous. You just engaged in a non-binding verbal agreement with a demon!" Mima declared.
"...Eh?" Of all the things Isika was dreading, that was certainly not it.
"I think you might need to elaborate Meems," Marisa said.
Mima Massaged her temples. "It might surprise you to find out, but most youkai are not particularly helpful as a rule. In fact many youkai can be downright nasty if they think they can get away with it. From mean spirited pranks to kidnapping and homicide, and everything in between. And when it comes to dangerous youkai, Demons are on the top of that list."
Isika looked over to Desida. Who yawned and rubbed the back of her neck.
Her scepticism must have been showing because Mima added. "There are exceptions of course, Desida being a significant one. But it doesn't change the fact that demons can be incredibly dangerous, they live in hell for a reason. And not only did you take a nap next to a sloth demon, but you also basically invited one into your head!" Mima took a moment to cool herself down again.
"I-is it really that bad?"
"Well worst case scenario, you could have never woken up again," Marisa said conversationally, making Isika blanch. "Don't worry, like Mima said, Desida's an exception, I wouldn't let anyone genuinely evil learn on the Final Spark. I consider myself a pretty good judge of character, and Desida is too lazy to have any ill will for anyone."
"She gets me," Desida said, making deadpan finger guns.
"I seriously doubt you had no ulterior motives," Mima said.
"Well, since we are on the topic, can I get extra credit for this?" Desida asked.
Mima facepalmed, while Marisa tried to repress laughter.
"You know what? I'll think about it," Marisa said. She stood up and walked over. "But seriously while Mima is overreacting, it is important to know that people in the Alliance can be just as mean if not meaner than anyone from the citadel, especially some species of youkai. You are safe on board, but just remember to be a little guarded. Try to be a little sceptical of strangers, and if you are not sure, just contact me, Mima, Alice, or even Aju, we can set you straight."
"Alright, I think I get it," Isika said.
"Good girl," Marisa said, petting her on the head. "Just consider this part of your training. A magician shouldn't take things at face value."
"Okay," Isika said.
"Anything else you should be telling her Marisa?" Mima asked expectantly.
"Oh yeah. Good job on getting your magic going!" Marisa said, crouching down and slapping Isika on the back.
"That's not what I was going for," Mima grumbled.
"Ehh, I can't be bothered disciplining her for taking a shortcut. To be honest I was getting pretty impatient myself. Meditation is not really my thing," Marisa said. "I was this close to just feeding her mushrooms until she had magic pouring out of her ears."
"Um, what?" Isika said, wondering if she should be concerned.
"Yeah, not the most elegant solution, but it gets results," Marisa said, shrugging. "Desida's solution works too though, and probably saved you a stomach ache. Good work Desida."
Desida, who had laid down again when everyone had stopped looking, gave a thumbs up.
"So… I did good?" Isika said, still wondering what she should be taking away from this.
"Just roll with it," Marisa said, pulling Isika to her feet, "Well since you have access to magic now, and Patche let me off early, How bout I go and teach you some simple magic?"
"Yes Please!" Isika exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.
Excellent!" Marisa said, walking out of the room, Isika in tow. "I think for starters let's see if you can manifest a bullet…"
Mima watched them go, and massaged her temples again. "Oh god, I just realised, by the time this is over there are going to be two Marisa's running around aren't there?"
Marisa, Isika and Mima now stood in the practice Hall, once more basically empty, besides the Blue haired girl in the stands, who had paused in her reading to regard them at a distance.
"Now I am going to teach you one of the most basic abilities a magician should have, the ability to manifest power," Marisa said confidently, hands on hips, Isika hanging on every word.
She lifted her right hand, and a large yellow white ball appeared above it. "Now this is a bullet, the most basic magical construct you would ever be called upon to make. Its most common use is in magical duelling of the Danmaku variety. Think fast!"
Before Isika could react, Marisa flicked the ball at her and it impacted her shoulder. She yelped as she felt a small spike of pain centered on the impact, almost like an electric shock but not quite. But it was gone as quickly as it came, and she found herself looking down to see no visible damage, even her clothes were unaffected.
"What was that for?" Isika pouted, more confused than anything.
"Just keeping you on your toes, but mostly to show you what a Bullet felt like. It hurt right?"
Isika nodded.
Marisa nodded as well. "Yup, they hurt, but not much, and not for long. and that's what a bullet is for. In short they are to make sure a person knows they've been hit, but not enough to debilitate them in the duel. In Danmaku, most folks will be throwing around hundreds, if not thousands of these at once." Marisa said, lifting her hand in the air, and spraying a fountain of multicoloured bullets into the ceiling.
Isika wondered if she would ever get tired of seeing Marisa perform magic, she doubted it somehow.
Marisa cancelled the stream and brought her hand back to her hip. "For you however, just one will be sufficient. As a training exercise, this will be teaching you how to control your magic, and manifest it outside yourself in useful ways. Plus, the sooner you master bullets, they sooner we can start playing a bit of Danmaku. It is one of the Alliances most popular pastimes after all. I'm one of the best there is, and I'll be damned if any student of mine isn't becoming a pro."
"Ok…" Isika said, for the first (but not the last) time, starting to feel a bit of pressure from being Marisas apprentice.
"Eh, don't be like that, it's fun!" marisa exclaimed with a smile, "sides, we got months to get you ready, and like I said, for now, just one is fine. And just like the meditation thing, no rush. You'll figure it out when you figure it out. We are moving at your pace, not mine."
"Thanks," Isika said, smiling awkwardly.
"No problem, just remember, as your master I reserve the right to poke you if you start slacking," Marisa said, smiling her signature cocky grin.
Isika laughed nervously.
"Well no point lollygagging, let's get started!" Marisa said, she held her hands out in front of her, like she was holding a ball. "For starters hold your hands out like this."
Isika did as instructed, copying Marisas pose.
"Now, Draw out your power, draw it into your hands, and will it into shape, we are focusing on making the bullet itself, we can make it hurt later."
"Draw out my power," Isika repeated, looking down at her hands.
"Like you did before, only now bring it outside of your body, and make it visible," Marisa instructed. "Go on, give it a shot."
Isika took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Unlike before Desidas intervention, the magic responded easily. It was rather sluggish at first but she could feel the prickling up her arms and the ends of her finger tips. She attempted to do as Marisa told, to try and draw the power out.
It was resisting, but she was just as stubborn. She didn't quite know how long she stood there, the prickling at her fingertips ebbing and flowing, becoming numb under the sensation.
"Well… would you look at that!"
At Marisa's words, Isika opened her eyes. Dancing around her fingers, little smoky wisps of darkness coated her hands.
"It's not much, but it's a start," Marisa said. Contrary to her words, she was beaming.
In a small cafe in an upscale part of Caava's commercial district, a lone drell sat in a private booth, calmly sipping a drink, waiting on his new clients. His handler had been sparing with the details, clients wishing to brief him personally. Apparently it was not his usual sort of assignment, but his handler suggested he hear them out.
It was also rather unusual to get an assignment on Thessia. Even when dealing with Asari, business tended to be conducted on planets like Illium, or at the very least in some of the quieter parts of the citadel.
Needless to say, he was curious.
He was joined in her booth by two Asari that, from his briefing, he recognised them as his clients.
"Welcome, I take it you are my clients, Sethame and Liria, Correct?" He said diplomatically.
He observed the pair, committing them to memory. The taller of the two, Sethame was an Asari Matriarch and doctor known for her numerous contributions to the fields of medicine, especially genetics, and her Ice cold bedside manner. True to her reputation, she regarded him with what a lesser individual might register as cool indifference and professionalism, however he could see signs of exhaustion, clearly she has been suffering from many sleepless nights.
Her Partner, Liria, had no such composure. The woman fidgeted in her seat, clearly nervous. Liria despite being only a maiden has managed to gain not-insignificant influence within the Republic of Caava. Her upbeat nature and confidence are seen as a breath of fresh air to the old city and is well loved in both the senate and on the street. Although recently she has shifted away from the public eye, claiming an unspecified illness.
To the drells expert eye, she may not be conventionally ill but she seemed to be stressed beyond what was healthy.
"And you are Thane Krios," Sethame said "I know you by reputation, I understand you are quite skilled."
"So I am told," Thane said. "Now, I have been told you have an unusual job for me, and wish to brief me personally, I must admit I am quite curious."
"That is correct. But before we continue, I trust you will be discreet, this is a delicate matter, and could have serious repercussions should it come out," Sethame said.
"Discretion is an important part of my profession," Thane said.
"Very well, First I wish to clarify, despite potentially utilizing your skills of your profession, this is not an assassination. Should all go well, hopefully no one will have to die. We wish to hire you to find a missing person."
"... While I am not against taking such an assignment, I find this rather unusual. There are others who are capable of performing such a task. Usually such a matter would be taken up by the authorities."
"Unfortunately, contacting the authorities is the last thing we need," Sethame said. "And anyone else we have contacted has turned up nothing. As for why you… an associate of mine recommended you, saying your skills were unmatched, and you might be sympathetic to our problem."
Thane Raised an eyebrow. "Sympathetic?"
"It's our daughter," Liria, who hadn't said anything yet, suddenly spoke up. "She's been missing for over a year. We have looked everywhere, we hired all kinds of people, but no one's been… no one…" Her voice broke a little, and Sethame pulled her into a one handed embrace, her face softening.
"As you can see, we are running out of options," Sethame said. "If I may speak frankly, we are nearing the end of our rope."
"I see…" Krios said. "It may surprise you to find out that I myself am a father, and even I cannot fully imagine the grief you may be going through. I will take the assignment."
"Thank you." Sethame said, who hadn't taken her eyes off her partner, who was still sniffling into her shoulder.
"I believe you have already discussed payment with my handler, but I will need whatever information you feel prudent to the… your daughter," Krios said, deciding at the last minute that 'the target' might be in poor taste.
"She was always an adventurous girl," Liria said between sniffles, "So proud and independent, yet humble and hardworking."
"She disappeared from our home after one evening, along with a bag and some personal effects, so we do not think she was kidnapped," Sethame said. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a small picture. "This was taken about a month before she vanished. So it should still be accurate."
Thane accepted the photo and studied the features of the Asari child, and there was a flash of recognition.
'New face, worn clothes, hopeless expression, determined eyes, showed me the route the target took every day, asked about my profession, was paid in credits.' the memories flashed before his eyes in an instant.
"Are you alright?" Sethame said, having watched the expressions flash across Thanes face.
"Your daughter, what is her name?" Thane said, turning the picture this way and that.
"... Isika." Sethame said, regarding Thane curiously.
Thane looked up. "I believe I have a lead. Several months ago, I met your daughter on the citadel."
Chapter Notes:
Good thing I noticed, we nearly missed the start of a subplot :P