Hello crazy, beautiful world and a happy new year! Here's to the chance that things will get better and if not, I will do my best to keep writing to provide a little escape for you all!
I've got good news! This story has reached 100 followers(I mean it keeps flip flopping back and forth over that number for some reason, but hey)! Thank you so much for all of you who has followed and all that!
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I know I did!
Borderlands is owned by Gearbox and 2KGames and My Hero Academia is owned by Kohei Horikoshi and Funimation. Please support the official release.
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"This means someone is talking."
'This means someone is thinking to themselves.'
This means it's a flashback.
*This means it's a sound effect!*
{This means I'm speaking in a different language!}
Angel in a Gilded Cage
No sooner had Midnight yelled out for the race to begin did the entire line of students surge into a frantic horde, pushing into the mouth of the narrow passage to the course outside!
It reminded Angel of the hallway during the lockdown three weeks ago as she struggled to keep herself afloat in the rapids of people and just like before, her pulse and breathing were getting more erratic by the second! She needed to get out, fast!
Fortunately, she had come up with a plan the moment she saw the corridor.
She started moving diagonally to the right, trying not to stumble as more and more bodies pushed her aside. The moment she was a couple feet away from the wall, she grabbed onto the shoulder of a passing boy and sprung up as high as she could!
Her tattoos, which were already thrumming with energy, flashed! Her wings burst to life and with a powerful flap, she lifted herself above the heads of the crowd and launched herself towards the wall! The moment her shoe hit the concrete, she pushed off as she beat her wings again, rising higher as she sprang towards the opposite wall and repeating the maneuver! She did it over and over again, gaining height until she could almost touch the ceiling!
And not a moment too soon.
The temperature plummeted and a wave of frost washed over the ground and walls, freezing many of the competitors to the ground or sending them slipping and sliding over each other! Outside, she could see the culprit Todoroki leaving a trail of ice behind him.
Finally, she folded her wings behind her and leaned forward, her hair whipping around her as she picked up speed and shot out of the hall in pursuit! Soaring above the ground, she closed the distance and let her wings dissipate to save on energy, landing in a roll and breaking into a sprint right behind the boy, whose heterochromatic eyes widened in shock that she had avoided his trap so easily!
"And away they go!" Present Mic announced! "1-A's Todoroki is the first out the door, but Hodunk is right on his trail and the rest of their classmates are not far behind!"
"You're on a loudspeaker, why do you always have to be screaming?" Aizawa's tired voice echoed from the same room.
Glancing back proved Mic correct, as she saw most of her class evade the ice almost as nimbly as she did, using their quirks to jump over the frozen competitors blocking the path or to give them a foothold on the slippery ground! She smiled in admiration before returning her focus to chasing after the lead! She needed to keep on Todoroki's trail and be ready for any other attempts to sabotage her and the rest!
Turning around the corner she felt a flash of nostalgia as the both of them stopped in the face of a new obstacle!
"The two leaders have reached the first roadblock! An army of robots!"
Towering over them was a metal horde of the same robots from the entrance exam! At the front, a battalion of the one, two and three pointers, while in the back were a dozen zero pointers blocking the path forward! The world shook as their treads groaned, kicking up clouds of dirt, their shadows blocking out the sun!
"These guys again!" She muttered tensely, remembering how close she got to almost getting crushed!
She stood her ground, tattoos glowing.
This time would be different!
A two pointer lunged at her from the right, prompting her to jump back as it's claws stabbed into the dirt! She immediately retaliated with a quick slap on it's chassis, causing it to immediately collapse as she ordered it to sleep! Behind it, she saw two more one pointers!
"Up, down, back and around." She chanted, but only once as that was all she needed for her hand to get loaded with enough energy. Her practice has been paying off, she could feel herself steadily getting more comfortable using her power and as a result it was becoming easier to call upon it.
'Guess it really is about self-confidence.' She thought as she fired off two shots, quickly shutting down her targets!
"Holy crap there's so many robots!"
"Seriously?!" She heard new voices over her shoulder!
'Great, the rest of the pack is catching up! I've got to find a way through!'
"Really wish they'd given us something more challenging…" She glanced over to see Todoroki crouch as a circle of cold wind blew around him! "...since my old man is watching."
With an upward wave of his hand, a pure wave of ice crashed up the front of the majority of the zero-pointers, creating a multitude of giant sculptures all in one move!
Angel gaped, once again blown away (almost literally) at his natural talent before registering what he just said.
'Old man, is he referring to his father?' She thought. It had taken her an embarrassing amount of time to finally remember the significance behind his last name. Todoroki, as in Enji Todoroki, better known as the Flame hero Endeavour. She had learned that by reading an article during her time off school.
"Hey!" She jumped out of her headspace as someone yelled! "He froze them! He cleared the path!"
Looking past the frozen robots, she could see Todoroki running uninhibited through the first obstacle! She was about to start chasing after him again, but paused at the sudden groaning of metal!
Suddenly, the zero-pointers he incapacitated shattered and crashed to the ground, creating an improvised wall of scrap!
"OH! And 1-A's Todoroki just did it again, cutting off the rest of the competition and pushing ahead! Cold-blooded!"
"SONOFA-!" She (almost)cursed! She let herself get distracted and had let Todoroki pull ahead!
"OUT OF THE WAY!" The signature sound of explosions and a familiar abrasive voice preceded its owner as Bakugo launched himself up, taking flight with his bursts of flame, quickly scaling up one of the zero-pointers still standing!
"'Scuse me!"
"Dark Shadow!" Sero and Tokoyami followed quickly after him, climbing the metal surface with the tape shot from the former's elbows and the latter's sentient silhouette.
"Darnit! Focus!" She told herself, tuning out all stimuli as her mind raced. She could just fly over with her wings, but the process would take too long to make up the distance made between her and the lead!
She looked around, looking for anything she could use. By chance, her eyes fell on the two one-pointers she had deactivated.
Her eyes widened! She got an idea! An idea so crazy that it might just work!
Running over, she placed a hand on each bot. Hopefully she hadn't fried them too much!
"Executing phaseshift!" She incanted, her power coursing through their circuits! A click, then a whir and their eyes flashed blue! Immediately, they picked themselves up.
Turning around and curling into a ball, she let herself be lifted up in their metal clamps. They pulled their arms back!
'Launch! Cyber Softball Special!' She commanded!
Beeping in unison, the bots pitched her like a catapult, sending her shooting through the air! She heard gasps of astonishment as she shot over the frigid wreckage! At the apex of her climb, she replicated what she did at the beginning of the race, spreading her limbs, unfurling her wings and leaning into a nosedive! Her teeth rattled from the g-force as she accelerated, passing by Tokoyami and Sero as she pulled up before she hit the ground!
'Yes! It worked!' She thought with glee, smiling brightly as she glided along the ground for a moment. 'If I can keep this speed up, I can catch up!'
But just as she tilted up and began to climb again;
"OOF!" She grunted as something heavy pulled on the bottom of her right shoe! Had Sero latched onto her like the villainess back in USJ, trying to slow her down?!
She looked down and her eyes became as wide as dinner plates.
No, it was something WAY worse.
"Woah! It looks like 1-A's Hodunk has picked up an unwanted passenger!" Mic laughed!
"MWAHAHAHA! Hope you don't mind me hitching a ride!" Mineta laughed, the short grape haired boy holding onto one of his sticky balls stuck to the bottom of her shoe! Angel's wings fluttered as she struggled to accommodate his weight, losing momentum!
"Get off of me! You're slowing me down!" She demanded, trying to shake him off, but he held a death grip on the ball on her foot!
"No way! You're carrying me to the finish line!" He retorted, then his eyes narrowed. "By the way…" His eyes glinted as he drooled a little. "...I see you've got a nice ass back here."
Later, Angel wouldn't quite know what came over her in the next instant. Perhaps being so close to someone so demented and perverse set something off in her, a natural fear of people like him. All that mattered in that moment was that she needed to get as far away from the creepy midget as possible!
"EEEEEK! GETOFFGETOFFGETOFF!" She shrieked, frantically slamming her other heel in his face!
"OW! OUCH! CUT IT OUT!" Mineta yelped as she repeatedly stamped her foot on his nose, but to no avail!
Seeing that that wasn't working, Angel desperately kicked at the back of her shoe, until she finally managed to dislodge the footwear and the offending tag-along!
"I REGRET NOTHINNNNG!" He wailed as he plummeted back to Earth!
Taking a shaky breath, Angel calmed herself down, returning her attention to the race and catching sight of the next obstacle ahead!
"You ready for this?! If you're not careful, it'll be a hell of a fall! Behold, the Fall Zone!"
"Is that really the best name you could come up with?"
Coming up ahead was a giant chasm filled with stone plateaus, connected to each other by a series of tightropes! Craning her head, she could just see Todoroki about three quarters of the way to the end of the chasm, skating along the tight ropes with his ice. Not far behind was Bakugo, propelling himself with his explosions from his hands as usual and behind that was Iida, comically balancing on the tightropes and using the engines in his legs to scoot across!
'He must have passed me while I was dealing with… that.' She shuddered before flapping her wings to gain more altitude for another dive. This was a great opportunity to close the distance, her power of flight being one of the most effective ways across.
"Could only imagine how hard it's going to be for everyone else." She muttered sympathetically as she soared over the dizzying heights!
Izuku continued to keep his breath steady as he ran after the rest of the pack. He had managed to get past the robots with the help of other competitors, even taking some down himself, utilizing a plate of a zero-pointer's armor as a shield and blade. He carried it over his shoulder, silently thanking All-Might for getting him used to carrying heavy objects as part of his training, carrying garbage and scrap from Mustafa Beach for half a year.
Now he needed to catch up with those in front, though the urgency to try and make up for lost time hadn't tempered his awe at how everyone was using their quirks. They were so cool!
But he needed to focus, All-Might wanted him to stand out and in order to do that, he needed to somehow get one of the top spots!
His latest roadblock, the chasm! He could spot his friend Angel(still felt weird to call her by her first name) further ahead, using her wings to her fullest advantage, as well as Asui and Uraraka using their powers to cross the tightrope bridges easily.
Unfortunately, like many of the other competitors nearby, he had no such tool, and (unlike the others) he couldn't use his quirk so early in the competition! If he used One for All now, he'd be crippling his body and ruining his chances in the later events!
'This is going to suck.' He swallowed as he peered over the edge, spotting the nets several stories below. He wouldn't get hurt if he fell in, but he would be immediately disqualified.
"Let's get to it." He said, crouching down to lower himself onto the rope.
*BOOM!* He instinctively flinched at the sound of a far off explosion! At first he thought it was Katsuki, but wasn't he further ahead near the lead?
*BOOM!* There it was again and he was right! It did sound like it was coming from behind him!
*BOOM! BOOM!* 'Okay, what is going on?' Unable to sate his curiosity, he turned his head along with all the other participants nearby to immediately be met with the sight of a huge explosion further down the track! From the burst of flames and smoke, a humanoid shape careened through the sky and landed a few feet away in a crater, throwing dust into the air!
Stepping out of the cloud was a foreign looking girl, looking like she was having the time of her life! Her pant legs were rolled up, showing her bare feet covered in soot. She shook dust and dirt from her ash blonde hair while the sun glinted off her bright white teeth, twisted in a mad, bloodthirsty smile, making Izuku realize two things.
First, he had seen her face before, she was one of the students standing outside the classroom a week ago.
Second and more unsettling, the smile on her face was just like the one he associated with his class's resident hot head, Katsuki.
"AHAHAHAHAHA! I LOVE THIS MOTHAHUMPING SCHOOL! I WAS NEVER ALLOWED TO BLOW THIS MUCH STUFF UP AT THE LAST ONE, BUNCHA PANSY ASS BITCHES!" She cackled, poking at the bandage stretched across her nose. Apparently she had the same propensity for swearing as well.
"Oh haiiiii!" She trilled, putting a hand on her hip and giving him a peppy wave with the other.
Izuku was so dumbfounded that he could only give her an intelligent groan.
"Uhhhh…"
"You okay there Shorty?" Was that a comment on his height? "Did I blow your mind with that magnificotacular entrance?! Cuz that'd be a problem… and really awesome!" She laughed again, every word coming out of her mouth only serving to confuse everyone even more.
"Haaah, anyway, I gots to get going! Got my eyes locked on a stud up front and I can't properly court him if I'm not in the final round! They say there are plenty of fish in the sea, but THOSE PEOPLE ARE STUPID AND THERE'S NO WAY I'M LETTING THAT SEXY FISH GO!" She screamed and stomped her feet, her personality shifting from playful to mentally unstable at the drop of a hat!
Still completely bewildered, Izuku and everyone nearby continued to watch as the girl ran several feet back where she came, pivoted and sprinted right towards the cliff!
"TINA...BUNNY HOPPER!" She hollered, leapt and slammed both feet down! The ground flashed pink and-*KABOOM!* All the competitors on the cliff edge yelped at the sudden blast of heat and sound that erupted from under her, sending her sprawling over the first gap!
"HOLD ON TO YOUR BADONKADONK BABE! YOUR GIRL'S A COMIN!" The bizarre girl yelled as she landed on the closest platform which promptly exploded as well, propelling her forward like a pyrotechnic kangaroo!
Izuku sat there, mouth agape.
'Who… was that?' He wondered incredulously, trying to figure out what the heck she was talking about.
"Heads up ladies and gentlemen-!" He jolted at the sound of Present Mic's voice! "Our leaders have hit the final barrier!"
'Crap!' He grabbed onto the closest rope and hung off the bottom like an iguana! Todoroki was already at the last obstacle, he couldn't afford to waste any more time!
Putting one hand over the other while simultaneously shifting his feet, he began traversing the gap, carrying his metal plate with the frayed cords looped over his stomach.
'That was a really cool use of her quirk though… I wonder...'
Angel had just reached the end of the chasm when she heard Mic's announcement.
'Good, I'm right behind them!' She noted confidently as she landed, trying to ignore the feeling of her sock foot on the dirt and disengaged her wings. Sustained usage was taxing, as evident by the dull aching in the back of her skull so she needed to hold onto her remaining time for the final stretch.
"It's the final hurdle folks! Can our young heroes overcome the horror…" Angel stopped abruptly in her tracks.
"...of the minefield?!" He crowed!
"Seriously?!" Her eye twitched as she stared out over the large expanse of dirt. On the surface, it just looked like a field, but if she looked hard enough, she could just barely see small mounds of dirt, imperceptible if you were not paying attention to where you stepped.
Looking up from the ground, Angel spotted Todoroki about half way across and in hot pursuit was Bakugo, the way he had used his explosions to keep moving at a fast pace the entire race proving to be just as effective by flying over the hidden traps. Beyond that was the final stretch to a corridor back into the stadium and the finish line!
"Don't worry folks at home..."Mic continued. "...these mines aren't the real deal! They're loud and they flash, but they only pack enough of a payload to rattle your head a bit! Doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful though!"
Sure enough, glancing off to the side, she saw Iida frantically trying to outrun the cascade of pink explosions behind him, only to eventually be sent sprawling!
'Clever…'She noted. 'They made it so you need to take your time to avoid them, forcing you to slow down and letting everyone else catch up! What to do, what to do...' She pondered. She didn't want to use her wings here, she'd likely need them more for the final stretch and she couldn't just run through if she didn't know where the mines-
'Wait!' She snapped her fingers! 'I can't see the mines, but maybe I can hear them!'
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, letting the white noise fill her ears. A moment later, she heard it, a deep growling coming from hundreds of digital throats, waiting patiently for their prey like Venus fly traps!
She smiled triumphantly, opening her eyes!
'Let's go!' She thought to herself, breaking into a run! Gaze focused on the ground, she strained her ears.
'There!' She jumped and dashed left, missing a patch! Pivoting on her heel she hopped a short distance to the right, then forward, keeping stride and her speed up!
'Yes!' She thought, glancing up at Todoroki and Bakugo in front, who seemed to be fighting amongst themselves! 'I'm catching up!'
"What's this?!" Mic cried out incredulously! "1-A's Hodunk is prancing about the minefield like a ballerina! But wait, it's working?!"
Angel allowed herself a confident smirk as she continued nimbly jumping between each mine! She heard a particularly large clump right ahead. She took a running start and jumped as far as she could, the triumphant feeling of success coursing through her as she lifted her head!
Only to become aware that she had just thrown herself in front of the two leaders, both of which had turned away from each other to stare at her!
She was in the lead and that meant she was the biggest threat!
'CRAP! I WASN'T PAYING ATTENTION!' She cursed, landing in front of them and kept running!
*BOOM! BOOM!* "OI!" She gasped as Bakugo flew over her shoulder, fixing her with a furious glare! "YOU'RE NOT BEATING ME AGAIN ANGEL GIRL!" He bellowed, swinging his sparking hand at her! She ducked, just barely avoiding the burst of flames over her head, the close proximity to the blast making her ears ring!
He continued swinging at her, making her sweat as she just barely kept dodging his attacks while trying to avoid the mines!
After sidestepping another flaming swipe, she spotted red and white out of the corner of her eye!
Todoroki! He was trying to escape!
She grit her teeth! She couldn't let him get away!
'Oh no you don't!'
She reached out and grabbed onto the back of his jacket and pulled, making him stumble back! He shook her off, but not fast enough that Bakugo didn't notice what he was trying to do!
"I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU EITHER HALF AND HALF!" He snarled, throwing a punch at him, to which the bicoloured boy only narrowed his eyes and sidestepped the strike, sending a blast of cold right back at both of them!
Angel yelped, leaning back and trying not to trip as the ice narrowly missed her arm, bumps rising on her skin from the sheer cold!
"So we're playing like that huh?!" She growled, drawing her "pistol" and firing two shots, one at each of them! Bakugo let loose a blast from his hands, spinning away from the bolt while the one she sent Todoroki's way singed the side of his jacket!
Back and forth they all went, firing attacks at each other while looking for an opportunity to escape, the latter of which proved difficult as every time one of them would make a break for it the other two would stop them! They were locked in a deadly dance, jumping, grabbing, shooting, spinning, ducking and weaving, all the while struggling to step over landmines!
Angel's headache was getting worse and her skin stung from the surface level burns and frostbite! She couldn't keep this up for much longer! She needed an openi-
*KABOOM!* All three of them halted mid attack as a sudden wave of light and sound flooded the world! Looking back, they beheld a massive explosion, way bigger than Angel thought the mines could accomplish!
"What the hell?! A huge explosion has engulfed the start of the minefield! Wait! Who is that on top?! It can't be!" Mic drew their attention upwards as a silhouette emerged from the dust and smoke and into the sky!
Riding on top of the explosion on a plate of metal was a familiar freckled face wreathed in green hair, shooting over the minefield like a rocket!
"I-Izuku?!" Angel stammered in disbelief as she watched her friend rocket overhead!
"Incredible! 1-A's Midoriya has blasted himself up to the front! He's taken the lead!"
In an instant, Angel and both of her former rivals realized what had just happened and started running after the new contender for first place!
"DEKU! YOU SHITTY BASTARD!" She heard Bakugo roar beside her!
She pumped her arms, quickly sidestepping all of the explosives as before as she kept her gaze upon her airborne friend! She noticed that he was quickly losing altitude and was going to crash!
'That means I won't have to worry about him if I just keep running!' She concluded, glancing to the side as he continued to drop, projecting that he was going to land just as she, Bakugo and Todoroki would pass him, all three of the neck and neck!
Then the world slowed as she watched with horror as her friend gripped onto the plate he had ridden, flipped over and slammed it on the ground!
For a moment everything was still before there was a flash!
A deep growl became a triumphant scream!
*BOOM!* Angel was blinded and struck deaf as the ground erupted beside her, the explosion not close enough to harm, only disorientate!
She shook the stars from her eyes just in time to witness Midoriya tumble out of the second blast into a roll and make a run for the end!
"WOAH! Midoriya has once again outmaneuvered the competition! He's cleared the minefield and is almost to the end!"
'It's not over yet!' Angel thought, pouring all the energy she had into her wings, lifting off the ground with a powerful flap, sending a wave of dust up in Bakugo and Todoroki's faces behind her! She glided across the path, closing the distance more and more! She could almost pass him!
*Badmp!*
"NNGH! No… not now!" She hissed as pain stabbed into her skull, her wings flickering and dying! Cutting off the flow before she was completely incapacitated, she dropped a few feet before hitting the ground, stumbling a little before she resumed running after her friend again! Her head thumped from the combined force of her migraine and the blood and adrenaline pumping through her veins!
She entered the dark hall right after her friend, lungs burning and head feeling like it was about to split open, but she kept running, her chance at first place ahead of her and the sound of her opponents behind!
"This is it folks!" Mic's words echoed off the narrow walls along with the roused cries of the crowd! She was right behind him and getting closer! Midoriya was slowing down from exhaustion! Steadily, she got closer and closer to his side! She was going to overtake him!
"The first event and they already gave us a show to remember! The winner, of the preliminary obstacle course, iiiiiis..!"
They stepped into the light!
"MIDORIYA IZUKU!"
The crowd roared, cheering exuberantly from their seats! Angel stumbled under the weight of realization as she struggled to catch her breath!
"I… lost…" She panted, hands on her knees as sweat dripped down her head and the pain inside of it getting overshadowed by the myriad of emotions she was feeling. She had gotten second place out of about a hundred people but it did nothing to alleviate the stinging feeling in her chest. She had come so close to winning only for it to be snatched away at the last moment! There was an ugly, burning there too, like a mixture of anger and something else, something she had never felt before.
"Is this… envy?" She wondered aloud. She never recalled being jealous before, at least to the extent that she actually felt angry at whomever had what she didn't.
She didn't like it.
"H-Hey!" She looked up to see the culprit, looking down at her, joyful tears in his eyes as he held out his hand. "Are you alright A-Angel-chan?!"
And just like that, it went away. She couldn't be mad at Midoriya for just barely winning, especially when he worked just as hard as she had, if not more. He deserved this victory. Besides, she had done very well herself, getting second place despite all of the hurdles, she had accomplished what she set out to do at this stage, excel. In the void that her envy left behind, a spark of pride and happiness grew specifically for the boy smiling bewilderedly to her.
'He really is one of a kind.' She smiled.
"Yeah…" She breathed, clasping his hand so he could help her keep steady. "Head hurts…but I'll be fine, just need to… recharge." She gulped. "That uh… trick… with the mines and the plate… that was really cool."
"Y-You think so?" He chuckled bashfully. "I dug up a bunch at the start of the field and jumped on them. I got the idea for it from a girl at the Fall zone. I saw what you did with the robots, that was super cool!"
"Oh you saw that? Well I just looked at them and thought… you know…" She shrugged and weakly mimed a pitch. "...softball." She laughed a little, earning a similar snort from him as they basked in their accomplishment.
Meanwhile, their two closest competitors came through the archway, both of them tired, but fuming at the sight that welcomed them.
"Shit! Goddammit!" Katsuki spat, nearly gritting his teeth to powder as he glared daggers at his three classmates that had beaten him, once again. "Again?! For fucking real?!" He snarled, stomping off to blow some steam before the next event.
Shoto on the other hand, only stared at the two teens in the centre of the stadium. The first, his self appointed rival that he needed to overcome in order to defy "that man" and the other a strange girl whose personality seemed to resonate with something within him, something that left him confused, angry and agitated. He still didn't know why, but it wouldn't stop bothering him and now she had made it to the next round much to his chagrin. The girl and the mystery surrounding her was a distraction and he needed to concentrate on his end goal.
He needed to win, without "his" power.
He turned away and left to get a drink of water.
"Damn! Not bad for a broccoli headed runt!" A man laughed mirthfully, taking a swig from his can of beer.
"Little maníaco has balls, I like him!" A shorter man with a comparatively gravelly voice agreed, flicking some ash from his smoldering cigarette in a tray next to the couch.
"A young underdog…the way he used the panel...was very clever." A third quietly noted from his armchair on the side of the carpet facing the widescreen tv.
"So, any of you want to change your bets?" The first asked.
"My money's still on the boy with the exploding hands! He looks ready to kill!" The short man replied, taking a drag and blowing a smoke ring.
"What about you Zee?" He asked, then looked over when he didn't get an answer. "Zee? Why're you so quiet, well, more than usual?"
"The girl with the wings...and the luminous tattoos…has my interest."
"Woah man! Didn't take you for the type!" The short man laughed, smoke belching out his mouth.
"You know what I mean…" He answered dryly and continued. "...remember the first hurdle..? She controlled the drones."
"Uhhhh, so?"
"Then, at the minefield…she could detect the landmines…machines obey her."
The other men went quiet. "You think that's what that was?"
The third nodded. "It is a theory…but if I'm proven correct…she is what we need."
The room became silent, save for the tv, the other two men catching on to what he was implying, giving each other a look.
"Well, let's not get our hopes up."The first broke the silence. "Lets see what else she can do, then we can think about it." He said, getting some nods as they continued waiting for the final results to be counted.
"Hey..." The short man pointed at the girl on screen. "Am I the only one that thinks those squiggles kinda looks like..?"
"Yeah, I noticed that too." The first answered, taking another sip.
"Noticed what?"
All three turned to the woman walking up to the couch, sending the short man scrambling to stamp out his cigarette in the tray and wave away any residual smoke.
"Oh uhh… something." The first man gave a knowing glance at his seated companions. "Just watching the Yūei Sports Fest, wanna join?" He offered.
The woman put her hands on her hips. "Of course not. Because you three refuse to finish your paperwork, I have to pick up the slack. We still need to fax the reports on the last stakeout."
"We wouldn't have that problem if you'd let me hire a secretary." The first man shot back.
"You seem to conveniently forget that we had a secretary and they quit because you couldn't stay professional." She admonished him.
"Hey, not my fault he was hot." He objected. "But seriously, there's something you don't want to miss! How about this? You join us for the next event and if you leave, you chain us to our desks until we get the paperwork done. Sound fair?"
She raised a brow. "You sound…oddly confident. Hmm, fine. I'll take that bet." She answered, walking around and setting herself on the couch.
"Uhhh, chips?" The short man offered a bag.
"No."