a/n: It's something. Always.

Roaring Souls

File 02: Self, Inflicted

Ciel brought out the tray and set it down on a small table in front of her two guests. Her eyes flickered up and down to scan Maylu for a moment, though the other girl didn't notice.

"...I'll be back in a moment with the snacks. My apologies."

"There's no need for that, Ciel. We appreciate your kindness already. Thank you," Maylu said, bowing her head. Ciel nodded and bowed back before leaving. Lan and Maylu sat on a newly-bought couch, inhaling the new furniture smell that would be a bit foreign to them both.

"She's a nice person," Lan said.

"Maybe too nice?"

"Awkward, I guess. I mean, I was too...just can't relate these days."

"Yeah. Same." Maylu looked around the room. It was clean and neat all around. That would seem natural enough for a barely lived-in home, but there was an uncanny precision to it all. "She's an orphan, I think. I just get the feeling."

"You think so? Maybe she's away from home on a trip, or something. I mean, she's gotta be amazing if Dad's this excited about her work."

"That, too. So, uh...what do you think?"

"Think? About the house?"

"No, stupid. Her."

Lan coughed and blushed a bit. "Seriously?"

"Be honest with me," she pressed.

"That's a bit much for you," he said with a frown. Maylu pouted back.

"Is it? I'm just asking a question. She's cute."

"...she's...I guess more than cute. I mean, she is, but...beautiful. I guess." He rubbed the back of his head.

"Maybe you two would be good for each other."

"Yeah, right. She's way smarter than me."

"Yeah, well. So was I."

"...don't think I can argue with that," he muttered. "Listen, don't do anything."

"Why not? Is it that you're not ready?" she asked sincerely.

"I'm not...really interested."

"Are you still dreaming about it?"

"..."

"Sorry."

"It's alright. I just...I don't think this is the time."

She nodded, placing her hands in her lap. "You're right."

"It's been two years."

Maylu picked up her tea and stirred sugar into it before sipping. "Yeah. Two years." She couldn't tell him that there was something pulling at her heart. A year's worth of gentle nudging towards an idea.

Did you choose wrong?

The other boy made her happy. He was stable, successful. He had his soft side that only she could see. Everything went to her, everything was for her. And she wanted to fill the gap in his heart. But she made her choice, and even then she couldn't escape the eventual pull.

Lan argued with Megaman in the background while she sipped at her tea again. She thought of Ciel, and how...what was the word...timeless she looked. She was soft and human, but at the same time...cute was the polite word. Maybe something else was meant by that. Her eyes were blue and her skin was fair. She was delicate.

Could Lan be with someone like that?

Could someone like that be with Lan?

"Apologies for the wait. I prepared some non-traditional snacks."

Ciel's voice floated through the air and snapped Maylu out of her reverie. She nodded politely and looked down at the new tray, stacked neatly with perfectly cut sandwich slices. Lan nodded his thanks, took one, and ate.

"Whoa, these are good. I like the crispy parts."

Maylu smiled and rolled her eyes before taking a piece herself, daintily eating it. Ciel gave her a glance before pouring herself a cup of tea.

"These really are good. Thank you, Ciel."

"You're very welcome. Thank you for your praise of me," she said with another slow nod. "I didn't expect visitors so soon...or rather, at all."

There was little noise other than the sounds of teacups and chewing.

"I know you must be curious...about the state of this place. It was set up as I ordered by the movers. I am an orphan. My...my parents died a long time ago. Murder. They haven't caught the culprits, but they suspect it had to do with business."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Ciel," Lan said.

"I'm so sorry, Ciel. How...long ago?"

"Five or so years ago. I do remember all of it, unfortunately. I remember...I'm sorry, I shouldn't say too much. I live here alone, and sometimes do my work from here. My current employer insisted on a house, so I insisted on remote work capabilities. It seemed like a fair compromise."

"I'll bet. That makes three teenage big shots we know now!" Lan said with a smile.

"Three...?"

"Maylu's boyfriend is Eugene Chaud."

"Nice of you to blurt it out like that," Maylu said with a frown.

"What? It's true!"

"The young man who took charge of IPC. I see...I've heard of him as well. He has a strong will and a forceful way of doing things. Even then...he's cooled off considerably in the past few years. I can see your influence in him, Maylu."

"R-really?" Maylu blushed and brushed back a few strands of hair. "I've been working on him a little, so...I mean..."

"You really are lovely. Any man would want to be with you."

"Ah...! Ciel, that's...um...thank you." She kept her face pointed downwards, now blushing brightly. It wasn't just the compliment, it was the way she said it.

"It's no trouble at all. I simply wanted to be honest with you...it's rare that I feel like I can do that. Especially with other girls."

"The social aspects can be difficult at times, yeah. I get it. It's gotta be different at work, though..."

Ciel shook her head. "Humans are consistent across many spectrums. And high school is very much a part of adult development."

"Heh. So Lan might be this dumb forever?"

"Hey..."

Ciel tilted her head and gave Lan a small smile. "There's always room for change."

He blushed before smiling back at her, which didn't escape Maylu's notice. She smiled outwardly, and wished inwardly for magic between them.

Though...a part of her wondered who that wish was truly for.

"So this is the basis of your new net navigator system. It certainly looks great!"

Yuuichiro Hikari looked over the large screen in front of him. He was in a special room at the SciLab facility in Den City, along with some assistants and a bearded guest. Both were wearing lab coats as they watched the navigator go through its paces with the help of a special program.

"He's still incomplete, not much more than a shell right now," the other man said.

"It's still pretty exciting, though. This is the creation of that young lady, Miss Hublot. She's incredibly talented."

"And modest."

Yuuichro chuckled at that. "Very much so. She'll be working further on it?"

"Of course, we've already made the arrangements. We don't have a projected date for completion as of yet, unfortunately."

"Nothing to worry about," Doctor Hikari said with a smile. "We'll do our best at SciLab to get you the time and resources you need to finish up. It's going to be a while anyways, what with the test runs and data gathering..."

The navigator's shell came to a stop as the test program went offline.

"No concerns so far?" the bearded man asked.

"Nothing yet. Great things take time. My father said as much."

"He was indeed a great man," the guest said. "Perhaps millenia ahead of his time. But...I must be going for now, Doctor." He handed Yuuichiro his lab coat. "We should be seeing you tomorrow."

"Looking forward to it. Thank you, Doctor Weil."

"Of course. And thank you for having us." The two shook hands before Weil left.

So starts the first part of my plan.

Weil smiled to himself, typing up his long silver hair and adjusting his tie. His pointed nose gave him the appearance of an eccentric, perhaps a mad scientist of sorts.

He considered it amusing in hindsight.

It's quite simple. With little in the way of problems on the internet, there's but one thing to do. Create the problem, sell the cure...become rich beyond comparison...and reform humanity at the end of it all. Everyone will soon come crawling to me. No need for complicated maneuvers, though. The good doctor is genuinely impressed.

"Yes, sir. You have made a wise choice, son of Tadashi Hikari. Soon enough, the net and everything in it will belong to me."

All it will take now is a little more time. And of course...her.

"Thanks again, Ciel. We really enjoyed staying with you."

"Yeah. And those sandwiches were pretty great!"

The slight emptiness that came wasn't as bad as she thought. Ciel watched her new friends from across the street leave. Already she wanted to see them again, to hear them laugh and argue with each other, even if she was only able to sit quietly and watch. Their energy was infectious. They promised to visit again soon.

The dull pain became sharp.

Hours passed. Ciel worked, out of duty and to distract herself from the thoughts coming in. She stopped when they became too much to bear, and she slipped into the kitchen before bed, feeling thirsty. She grabbed a glass with one unsteady hand and placed it into the space on the fridge door, waiting for water.

Shivering. It was cold, but it really wasn't.

Her hand was shaking and she couldn't stop it. She aborted her plans and set the glass down on the counter. It was night. Her head throbbed. She shivered harder.

The voices were tearing through her head.

She clutched at her head as her eyes watered. It was slowly getting hard to breathe.

Everything kept hurting and wouldn't stop.

Every.

Single.

Night.

She wanted to just die. If she could just die then it would all stop, forever, never to hurt her again. There was the glimmering knife on the counter and she could see her thoughts scrambling and mixing together.

You should have been deleted. You're a virus. You're a monster.

The words spun in her head over and over as she reached for the knife, her body getting heavy as she fell to her knees. The sting that came from her drop was drowned out, redirected as she felt her brain being torn to pieces.

Nothing but.

Nothing but.

Nothing but.

Nothing but.

Delete.

Delete.

Delete.

Everything-

She snapped back into reality and felt herself leaking.

She rose up, frantic, dripping blood. The knife fell away from her stomach. Panic.

Reaching for the phone and grabbing it as she fell to the floor.

"Den City Emergency, please state your emergency-"

"I'm...gonna die...blood..."

It didn't hurt but her body was-

"Blood..."

"Ma'am-"

Everything was disappearing too quickly.

"-hear me-"

A face. In her mind.

Smiling. Kind.

Shining.

"Lan...?"

Her blue eyes widened before sliding shut. The phone fell out of her hands.

Blood slowly trickled onto the floor, noise came from the phone, and the girl lay motionless.