Fuck the Echelon Unit. In fact, fuck her dear older sister Hana for roping her into this.
Well, "roping" wasn't exactly the proper word, considering that it was a direct order from the director. Still, that didn't mean she had to like it. Izumi shifted in the hard chair, wincing when she realised that her bottom had fallen asleep. She glared at the desk in front of her, taking special note of the name etched into the nameplate placed proudly on the corner. Yamamoto Haruko. What was taking this lady so long?!
She swivelled around in the chair again, groaning as pins and needles raced up her legs. She'd been sitting here for nearly an hour; couldn't they just let her go to her classroom on her own? Izumi let her head rest against the white wall behind her, legs finally free of the numbness.
"You're kidding me," were the first words that blared through her telecommunicator. Saki's face occupied the whole screen, and since Izumi had thrown the hologram against the wall, it looked like a larger-to-life version of her friend was talking to her. Kinda creepy, actually.
"Wish I was," Izumi scaled down the hologram. There, now the younger girl didn't look like she belonged in Shingeki no Kyojin.
Saki snorted ungracefully, a strand of her red hair getting caught in her mouth. As she spluttered to spit it out, Izumi settled against her bed, cradling her bowl of miso soup in her hands like it was her saving grace.
"Where are you guys now?" She was desperate to take her mind off the impending mission. Hana had given her two days to get ready and start preparing for her role, but Izumi didn't want to think about it for now. At least, just for tonight.
"Bucharest," she couldn't see Saki's face. Izumi had called right when she, Kei and Aiko had just begun to scout for Takano's location. The girl nearly spat out her miso.
"The fuck?" According to the file they'd retrieved in Paris – Izumi shuddered at the memory – that asshole had been in Florence only hours ago. What the hell was he doing in Romania less than two hours later?
"Yeah, I know," Saki moved into frame. "We're thinking he managed to get word of what happened in the Louvre and immediately hopped onto a jet to skedaddle outta the country."
"Shit – must have been one of the men from the museum."
Saki shook her head. "Kei doesn't think so. He's suspecting that the guard he'd taken the location from might have noticed something and alerted Takano."
Izumi whistled. "Then that means you guys need to hurry the hell up." Saki grunted, the screen shaking a bit as she jumped over a gap between two rooftops.
"Aiko-senpai's already in position. Kei and I just need to secure the perimeter."
"I wish I was there with you guys," said Izumi, setting her bowl aside. She didn't hate undercover work, but she wasn't a huge fan of it either. Assassination was her forte, and if she needed to go undercover to do it, then fine. But acting as a guard for someone? Izumi would have screamed "No!" from the top of the Echelon tower if she didn't respect the Director so much.
"We know you do – we wish you were here, too," her friend's smile was radiant. Izumi returned it happily. She had met Suzuki Saki nearly 7 years ago, when the younger girl was first initiated into the organisation. Clumsy, shy, and quiet, Izumi didn't think they would be friends, let alone teammates. Fast-forward years later, and Izumi she couldn't imagine how life would be without Saki.
"I gotta go now, Mimi, we'll let you know what happens when we're finished, yeah?" She couldn't completely see her friend's face because of how much her communicator was shaking, but Izumi appreciated the warmth in her voice. Bidding her good luck, she turned off the hologram and sank down into her bed, eyes fixed squarely onto the ceiling. Damn, things were getting exciting for her friends.
She only hoped that her own mission would be exciting too.
Izumi snorted, gaze still glued to the ceiling. Poor pre-field Izumi, thinking that there just might be a chance the guard work would be mildly interesting. Nuh-uh, girl. Nuh-uh.
"—And she's just right here, Nakamura Yui! Eh, Nakamura-san?"
Izumi sighed deeply and peeled her head off the wall. In the doorway stood the very late Ms Yamamoto and another girl – a student, Izumi realised. Ms Yamamoto ushered the blonde into the room, who was eyeing Izumi curiously.
"Hello, I'm Nakamura Yui. It's nice to meet you," Izumi bowed. The other girl blinked, curiosity melting away into a friendly smile.
"Hi, Mezato Ichi here. It's nice to meet you, too."
"Mezato-san here is from the same year and class as you. She'll be showing you around the school as well as bringing you straight to your class," the cheer in Ms Yamamoto's voice was so palpable that Izumi gagged inwardly. Outwardly, she fixed a bright smile onto her face and nodded.
"Wonderful!" The diminutive teacher clapped her hands together then began to shoo them out of the office. "Run along now, girls, first lesson is about to start and we don't want to be late!"
The door closed behind them. For a few seconds, Izumi and Mezato stood quietly outside, not daring to say a word. Izumi glanced at her new companion, a little startled to find out that Mezato was already studying her.
"So," she broke the silence, tilting her head towards the door. "She's fun, isn't she?"
Izumi blinked in surprise, then let one corner of her mouth tilt upwards. "A real party girl, alright."
Mezato chuckled, then glanced at the clock above the door. 7.38am.
"So," she turned back to Izumi, "we've got about 20 minutes before class starts. Why don't I give you a short tour of the school first?"
Izumi shrugged. "Sure, why not."
The blonde started walking down the hallway, motioning for Izumi to follow her. "So what brings you to Salt High School in the middle of a semester?"
"My dad got a new job here," Izumi answered smoothly, shrugging. "It was easier for him if our family moved too, so we did."
"Where were you from?"
"Sweets City," Izumi laughed at Mezato's awed look. "I promise living there isn't as pleasant as it sounds."
"It isn't?"
"Nah, just a normal city. Seasoning City isn't that much different, I swear."
Mezato chuckled, a small smile hanging off her lips. "I wouldn't say that. Living here isn't as boring as it sounds." Izumi raised any eyebrow at that. She opened her mouth to ask what Mezato meant when the other girl suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"So that hallway down there leads to the sports facilities," she nodded at their right. "Over on the left leads to the canteen. Come on, I'll show you how to get to most of the classrooms."
They spent a good ten minutes just wandering around the school and chatting. Thankfully, Mezato was a really affable person. Izumi didn't have to think too much about what to say to her either since the other girl filled up the silence most of the time with school gossip.
It was when Izumi happened to glance at the clock above the canteen wall that she realised that class was about to begin. She glanced at Mezato, who was staring at a couple two seats away from them and saying something about "unrealistic expectations of love at a young age."
"Uh, Mezato-san," Izumi interrupted. The girl waved away the formality. "Mezato is fine. What's up?" Izumi jerked her chin up at the clock.
Mezato cursed, then grabbed her arm and began to walk briskly back to the staircase they'd come from. "Ikeda-sensei is gonna kill me if I'm late again!"
Two minutes later they were panting in front of a classroom door. Year 2 Class 2, the sign beside it said.
"We're here, Nakamura-san," Mezato gestured to the door behind.
"Nakamura is fine, Mezato," Izumi smiled at her new classmate. "I'm not one for formality, either." That earned her a grin.
"We should go in now, Ikeda-sensei must be waiting for you," she turned around and knocked, then opened the door. Izumi took a steadying breath. Despite the fact that she'd gone undercover quite a number of times, she'd never really gotten used to the people aspect of her assignments. Namely, the "having-to-interact-with-other-students-her-age" aspect.
As soon as she stepped inside, the classroom quietened. Mezato was already back in her seat. Izumi glanced at the teacher – a woman who looked like she was in her thirties – and gave her a bow.
"Ah, you must be the new transfer student. I'm Ikeda Nana, it's a pleasure for me to teach you," the smile that Ikeda-sensei gave her was warm. She then turned to the class, all of whom were watching the exchange with curious eyes. "Now then, it seems that we have a new student joining our class today! Please introduce yourself, dear."
Izumi turned, meeting the stares of thirty other students. Her eyes quickly rove over them, searching for the reason as to why she ended up in Salt High School. Eventually her gaze landed on a boy seated two rows away with the same expressionless face and dark hair she'd seen in the hologram just days before.
Found you.
Izumi bowed. "Hello, my name is Nakamura Yui." As she straightened, her eyes met his. She let the sides of her mouth quirk up.
"It's such a pleasure to meet you!"