As they worked to set the Denver branch of Chronos back to rights after the attack by the three Guyvers, Ranza and her group couldn't help but wish that at least one of the Guyvers had been killed during the attack. But no, all three of them had managed to escape into the lower levels of the building while the male Zoanoids had been either confused or killed in the attack.
They could have at least tried to give a good account of themselves during that battle. Still, they were only normal Zoanoids, even if one of the model types had been created by the son of His Excellency Imakarum Mirabilis. There wasn't any real reason to expect more from them than any normal Standard Zoanoid, but would have been very useful to have some actual Hyper Zoanoid personnel stationed here.
But now wasn't the time to think about things that hadn't happened; their job was to clean up this base and restore it to working condition, and that was what they were going to do. As she set aside the last pile of technological rubble, Ranza turned to look at the large hole that had been blown in the floor of the room where she and her fellows were working. She'd heard reports that there were a lot of holes just like this one; now those reports were being confirmed by her very own eyes. Ranza could see that the hole, no doubt made by one of the three Guyvers, extended down through seven levels of the building.
Why it didn't stretch all the way to the bottom was a detail that Ranza didn't need to know to be able to complete her salvage and cleaning duties—a fact that the Zoanoid reminded herself of every time her eyes or thoughts started to wander back to the holes in the various floors. It wasn't important; all that mattered was getting this place back up an running as soon as was feasible.
The sound of someone whistling – calling her and her compatriots to attention – was almost obscenely loud to Ranza's enhanced hearing. Still, that didn't mean she could ignore it just out of spite. Even if the caller was being a jerk, there was always the possibility it was one of her superiors.
"Girls!" Ranza shouted when she noticed that some of them were still standing around instead of being at attention like they should have been.
Even if they were still cleaning up the mess of smashed electronics and other types of debris on the floor, it was more important that they show the proper respect to their superiors. Checking to make sure that all of her fellow Zoanoids were standing at attention the way they should have been in the first place, Ranza turned to the person that had come in to speak with them.
"Is there something any of us can do for you, sir?"
Ranza could now see that the person who had been addressing her was one of the very few Hyper Zoanoids in this area. She could tell by the lapel pin he wore and the way he carried himself. All Hyper Zoanoids had that same basic carriage, that just-waiting-to-take-on-the-world look about them. Ranza supposed it came from being one of Chronos' vaunted elites.
There were times that Ranza wondered just what she looked like to an outsider, but since those kinds of things weren't important to her line of work, she didn't think about them very often. Or for very long.
"I just wanted to make sure you ladies knew that the boss is going to be coming over to make an inspection of this area, so I'd advise that you and your group get to work."
"I'll take that into consideration, sir," Ranza said, trying to be polite. What the hell do you think we're doing, you stupid asshole?
Nodding pompously, the Hyper Zoanoid turned and left the room, and Ranza rolled her eyes disgustedly at the place where he'd once been. He might have been one of her superiors, but that didn't mean that he couldn't be an irritating little shit. It only meant that neither she nor any of her girls could actually call him on being an irritating little shit. It was kind of annoying at times, but it was still the way things were.
Turning and heading back into the group of her fellow Zoanoids, Ranza saw that they were all going back to their assigned tasks. They were good soldiers; they knew what they had to do, and they would keep doing it until they were either done or had been issued different orders. Crouching to pick up some more debris – it looked like part of what had once been a server this time – she tossed it into the pile and moved on to the next small junkheap. It was monotonous, to be sure, but it was the job that she had been assigned.
They had somehow managed to make it out of the sewers without any more blood being spilled, though Ryan still had smudges of dried blood beneath his nose, and Agito hadn't yet cleaned all of the blood off of his chin. Sho wasn't quite sure why Agito and Ryan had decided they needed to fight; he didn't know what they had thought they were going to accomplish, but Agito looked even angrier than ever.
That was in direct contrast to Ryan, who did look like he had just accomplished something. Well, at least he looked calmer and happier than Agito did. Agito looked like he would start yelling at the first person who so much as looked at him sideways. Sho was careful to watch Agito out of the corner of his eye—at least when it looked like Agito was going to turn his head and catch him watching.
He was worried about both Ryan and Agito, but for varying reasons. Ryan hadn't seemed like the type of person who could be provoked into a fight that easily, and Agito… well, he had always seemed to have some kind of reserve that made him seem completely untouchable. But Ryan hadn't just touched him; he'd displayed an honestly disturbing willingness to hit him.
Sho hoped that they wouldn't get into any more fights like the one they'd just had. He hoped that Ryan and Agito would be able to work out their differences – whatever they were – because otherwise Chronos would be able to pick them off very easily.
+Ryan, why did you attack Agito like that?+
+You really think you want to know that, Sho?+
+Of course I want to know, Ryan. You're my friend.+
+What about Goth-boy there?+ Ryan asked, subtly tilting his head in Agito's direction.
+He's a friend, too, Ryan.+
+You mean Goth-boy actually has friends? That's a surprise.+
+Why do you keep calling him that?+
+He wears lots of black, and he's a complete jerk. Hence Goth-boy.+
Agito shepherded them into a nondescript black car, glaring at Ryan while he climbed into the front seat and slammed the door. Ryan rolled his eyes, climbing into the back and settling himself in the seat. Sho climbed in next to Ryan, just as his fellow Guyver slammed the car door and locked it. Buckling his own seatbelt, Sho closed the door and waited for the car to start moving.
+Hey, Sho. Do you know why he acts like that?+
+Agito?+
+Yeah, him. Do you know?+
+I'm sorry, Ryan. But I don't really know.+
+You don't care, or you just never asked?+
+I've never asked.+
+And Goth-boy never talks about himself, right?+
+No,+ Sho said, realizing that it was true. +He really doesn't.+
Ryan lapsed into silence, occasionally looking over at Agito, then looking away as soon as the taller boy noticed him doing it. Sho wondered what they were going to do when they made it back to the safehouse that had been prepared for them, since Ryan obviously had some sort of problem with Agito, something that had lead to him starting a fight with the other Guyver.
He hoped the three of them would still be able to work together; they needed all the power they could gather to be able to take on Chronos and win. And… to avenge Mr. Murakami and his son. Turning away from the others, not wanting to make them worry about him, Sho closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window. The others still didn't know what had happened to Mr. Murakami.
He was glad to be going home again, but the fact was that he would have to tell the others what had happened to Mr. Murakami; otherwise… he might be able to hurt them. The same way that he had tried to hurt him; the way he would have succeeded if it hadn't been for Ryan. For all the danger that his presence would bring them, he was really looking forward to seeing Mizuki again—her and Tetsuro and all the others. He wondered how Mr. Hayami and his fellow scientists were doing. They had to be happy to have escaped Chronos the way they did. They were all free now, and that had to mean a lot to them. Turning to look back at Ryan, he found that the other Guyver had settled back into his seat and was watching the passing scenery with a half-lidded gaze.
+Ryan, are you tired?+
+Well, that and kinda bored. It's been a long day, and I'm not just referring to the parts where I had to mix it up with Chronos.+