Chapter 3
Karen was fuming. The stupid jock had scratched her cheek! "Tot can get you a band-aid, Schön," the child offered. That just infuriated her further. She stormed past, needing to see a mirror.
In the bathroom, she peered at her face in the mirror. At first glance, there appeared to be no scar. Looking closer, however, she could see where several pores in her cheek had been realigned. The whelp had left a mark she could see. That was unforgivable.
The next hour found Karen memorizing the new arrangement of her features. She vowed to make him pay for every micrometer each pore had moved. The brat would suffer greatly.
The hive pondered the realization that it would have to combat Youji, once again. The host had once "loved" him. What did it mean? Would the host be happy if it knew what would happen? No matter. The hive would defend "father." The hive stood guard, alert.
"Why is Schön so upset? That was fun! Tot hopes we can play with Weiss again! Tot wants to show the boys how much better Schreient is than Weiss!" Tot waited for a response from Neu, but got none. Hell had already left, and she soon forgot the lack of response.
"When do you think we can fight them again? Tot wants to finish beating the boys up! Do you think Father wants us to kill them? Tot never killed anybody before."
No response again. No matter. Tot entertained herself by shadow-dueling using her parasol against imaginary boys.
Chizuru watched Masafumi working on the formula. The misdirection they had used against Reiji was a complete success. The toys they had created, and eliminated, would leave Reiji satisfied that the genetic technology was still woefully underdeveloped.
Masafumi, however, was clearly not satisfied. He still planned to be the ultimate creation. She feared it wasn't stable enough. If it worked, though, if it worked...
Karen heard the sounds of the attack, and moved quickly. The security cameras allowed her to face the whelp easily. With a grin, she dropped a tendril from her wrist and flicked it at him. She was satisfied to see him dodge, this time. "This will be fun. You've been practicing."
"As have you. This time, I'll finish you."
"Silly boy, I'm going to make you suffer for my scar!"
He looked at her, confused, unable to see the mark she spoke of.
The hive intercepted the one its host loved. There was a fascination with Youji that needed to be solved. What was the purpose of love?
"So, what's underneath that mask?"
The hive had been issued armor. It was not appropriate to remove any piece for an opponent. The hive resisted.
There was a question. How would he react? How would he react when he saw the host's face? It would generate weakness. The hive was sure. The hive accepted a weaker position, and let Youji glimpse the face of the host.
"Tot gets to play with you again! Yay!" She swirled her parasol at the young intruder. Tot decided this boy wasn't very good at his job. He didn't seem to know how to fight. Her reflexes enabled her to dodge every strike with ease.
"Aren't you trying? Tot wants a good fight!" An explosion from Father's direction distracted her.
"Father!"
Chizuru stared in horror as Masafumi swallowed the unfinished elixir. It wasn't complete. She had run the calculations, and knew it was unstable. It was better than previous tests, for he retained his mind, but he was now insane.
She listened, as the others sought to defend their father, and knew her lover was done. She could only hope he would take out Weiss before they had to put him down. Instead, she was forced to grieve as she watched the red-head take his life.
She dragged her sisters from the wreckage, and allowed Reiji's pets to destroy the research. Her private copies were intact. The loss of her lover would make Schreient stronger.