A pair of new thoughts replaced the old ones. One stated that she definitely needed the coffee from the un-boiled kettle to get to grips on reality. "Gimme a second." Keeping both eyes on the boiler suit, she carefully navigated back down the corridor until she reached the right door. Her spare thought was that backup was required to deal with the recently mad thing seated at the kitchen table. And only one person deserved to be awake at such an unholy hour. "Yuuuuseeeiiii!" Pounding on the thick wood that hard probably woke up half the square. It was worth the risk.
"What?!" In his hurry to open the door, Yusei was still in the baggy shorts he slept in. That didn't matter because she hadn't broken gaze with the suddenly sane spectator.
"She's up." One hand displayed a remarkable ability to grapple the windpipe of anyone within grabbing distance. Even when not instantly visible. "And she's making more sense this time."
"Mu-su-me. Ca-n't. Bre-athe." Thumping at her arm brought enough attention that he was let go. More like the noise of his fist pounding on her arm was irritating rather than the blows themselves. "What's going on? It's the middle of the night."
Approximately twelve minutes until five. Technically morning. A vague look drifted over his eyes as voiceless words bypassed his ears entirely. Leaning around the corner of the door, he followed Musume's line of sight to where Phantom was quietly staring back at them. Hello. Like Musume before him, the first thing that Yusei realised was how much more coherent Phantom sounded.
"Give me a second." Closing his door, it opened a few seconds later with his torso now covered by a tatty shirt grabbed from a bottom drawer. "How long has she been talking?"
"Maybe a few minutes." It was impossible to be certain. Those nightmares Musume were enduring kept her fairly out of touch with the world. Oddly, this had been her first decent night of sleep in a long while.
Staring back down the corridor together, they silently evaluated the increasingly uncomfortable figure. As much as they hated to admit it, the pair worked well together for a very simple reason: Yusei was good at handling people, Musume was good at hurting them. As they watched, the head slowly tilted to look at the cat while a finger gently stroked the tapping paw.
"What did you do?" Moving at a glacial speed, the perch slowly rose and moved over to the kettle to turn it on. Progress was delayed by an array of soft murmurs in one ear whenever the shoulder rest moved too fast or too far.
"Why do you think I did something?" Neither moved their eyes as they recognised the futility of her question. "It wasn't me, I swear." Swearing was an art that Musume had mastered, telling the truth was one that she had not. Taking this into account, they both pretended to accept what she had said until the next big whopper came along.
"Did you have a plan?" Watching the figure slowly inch around the kitchen around with one arm keeping a cat sated, they measured up the danger. In a fair fight, Yusei could probably match maybe three people. Maybe five, if they were mediocre enough. Musume could probably level a building if she didn't hold back. And they were watching a peaceful figure who had taken down down dozens of armed police officers without any forewarning making coffee and stroking a cat.
"She said she wanted to talk." An array of mistakes had slowly hammered the importance of speaking before a fight into her skull. Although she couldn't undo the mistake of their fight on the rooftop, Musume could make amends for it. "So, let's talk." Despite her vote of diplomacy, she made sure that Yusei was first to approach the kitchen. Cannon fodder if anything went wrong.
"Er, good morning?" Hearing the voice of her owner, Hoshi leaned back and gave a slight 'mew' before snuggling back onto her mobile platform.
Good morning. Opening the fridge, she smoothly poured a dribble of milk into the swirling mug in one hand. I apologise that you woke up this early. A tilted head glanced at Yusei. There is still time to have a nap. You could get some more rest. Everything that she was saying was perfectly acceptable yet not the sort of answers that they had expected. And strangely concise.
"That's alright." Carefully taking a seat at the table, he could see how Musume was keeping one hand tucked rigidly under the lip of the wood as she took the other seat. Any smart gambler would have bet there was a certain weapon being carefully held there. "I'm used to getting by without sleep."
Your condition. I forgot. There was a pause as little pieces were sorted neatly into place. A slightly longer one entered as she composed a longer sentence. Coherency was still a bit wobbly after losing control of her faculties. I thought that you had been sleeping better of late.
"What makes you think that?" Whatever condition he had was common knowledge. That he was sleeping normally again was a secret that not even Yusei's family knew everything about.
People sound different when they are... restless. There was a slight pause between the words. Jack would have misinterpreted it as menacing. Crow would have recognised it as careful. Yusei decided to reserve judgement for the moment. Before the past weekend, he would have assumed the best in people. Now, he couldn't even be certain. Even though she had been useful, there was too little known about Phantom to be certain. Here. Sliding the mug onto the table before him, she carefully moved back around to reclaim her chair. Milk, no sugar. Another mug was placed in front of Musume who looked at it with a suspicious eye. Plain.
"Thank you." A tiny detail caught Yusei's eye as the other mug was callously drained in the sink. Imprinted around the cylinder was a moist outline vanishing in heat of the liquid within. "Did you sleep well?" It was tricky to make small talk with the dimly lit blue eyes. They were the only part visible in an otherwise empty void.
I have not slept. Melancholy touched the voiceless voice as she spoke.
"Let's cut to the chase." Not one for subtleties, Musume asked the question that had been preying on their minds for a while. "What do you want and why are you here?" Tightening her eyes, Musume was prepared for any signs of deception. Except that the ethereal eyes were focused on a place far beyond the room.
Recognising a warning sign, Yusei indicated to let him take the lead. "Phantom?" After a moment, the helmet slowly tilted back to face him and slowly came back to focus on the situation.
Apologies. I was... listening. A pause preceded the final word yet there was no indication of dishonesty.
"Listening to what?" It was evident from the distracted air that only one ear... rather, only half Phantom's attention was focused on the conversation at hand.
Everything. And there was another one of those impossible smiles. It is... fascinating to... observe how it all fits together.
"Great." Not to be deterred, the less sympathetic figure at the table was quick to barge back in. "Now, tell us why you're here."
To prevent Yliaster from eradicating the Signer bloodlines and because you asked me to stay. A stunned moment went past. They had not been expecting such a blatant answer.
"Okay." Taking a sip from his coffee, hindsight reminded him that it could have been poisoned. Taste was quick to vote that it detected no poison and only a perfect cup of coffee. "Can you explain a bit more?"
Of course. When nothing further came, he had to gesture for a continuation. It was too early to be coping with the subtle nuances of an autistic mind. He had asked a question and she had answered in the affirmative.
As far as I understand, the cycle of battle between Signer and Dark Signer are cycled every five millennia. While the Dark Signers are empowered post mortem, the Signers are designated by lineage. Sitting in the dark room in the early morning, Yusei was unprepared for a supposedly secret history to be so casually unrolled by this unknown. In this cycle, the Signers have no non-Signer siblings. With the questionable exception of Leo and his five minutes of fame, this was true. If Yliaster were to eliminate any of you, then the Mark would be lost to future generations. Dark Signers would win by default and the entire world would suffer.
"Are you really trying to say that you're trying to save humanity?" Unimpressed by the martyr complex which people seemed to bandy around so much, Musume sneered at the implication.
Humanity? Voiceless words scoffed at the idea. Humanity is a garbage species who I would not miss if they died out tomorrow.
"Wait, you just said you were trying to stop the end of the world." Trying to spot the linear thread was not a feat that Yusei exactly excelled at. He usually needed the autists working for him to lead him through the hoops. "Which is it?"
Humanity can go hang. I am only concerned because the world needs to be here for others. Tickling the cat on her shoulder, the connection was finally made clear. Humans weren't worth a damn in her estimation. She was only in this for the cats. Now, if you will excuse me. Fussing over the cat, she carefully ruffled fur into place while carefully lifting it down onto the table. I have to leave. Standing up, she politely tucked her chair back in and nodded amicably.
"No." Tilting backwards on her chair, Musume looked up with glimmering eyes.
Pardon? Beside polished manners, perfect grammar and invisible outfits, Phantom was apparently slow on the uptake. Most likely because nobody had told her not to do anything for a long time.
"No." Musume's first instinct was to reach for the hidden weapon that had been tucked into her boot since getting sucked into Convergence while Aion rewrote history. Considering how little she yet understood about what it could do – especially with what had happened last time it had been near their guest – she left it alone. "We tend to work under a code around here. Stick together, that sort of thing." In his room, Crow woke up in a cold sweat for reasons he couldn't figure out. Punching his pillows into a more comfortable mess, he rolled over and went right back to sleep. It was too early in the morning to be waking up.
It would be better if I left. A curious glimmer was in those eyes staring up at her. Not unlike the one from the rooftop where they had spiralled into a fight. Enough to make her consider pulling the chair back out. By sheer force to will, she managed to stick to her plan. Therefore, I am leaving.
"No." Yusei's eyes twitched sideways. That commanding tone was so like Akiza's that he was instinctively trying to stop whatever he was doing. Which was only made more difficult because he wasn't actually doing anything. It was a wonder that Phantom was able to stand upright under the pressure. "Like it or not, you're better off with us. So, shut up and let's help each other."
For a silent minute, they stared one another down. Phantom no longer had eyes which needed to blink nor a body to distract her nor could she be affected by any mystical abilities that might be sent her way. By contrast, Musume was pissed that she hadn't had any coffee yet. It was no contest.
I must leave. Grumbling under her breath was difficult but she exuded an air of exasperation instead. For a while. But do not worry. Trying to smile was distinctly different from actually smiling. Everything underneath it came from the wrong place. Repression. Denial. Capitulation. I will try and return as soon as I can. When she said those words, there was a flicker of honest hope in the smile.
"When you get back." Giving a stern glare that came straight from her mother, it was clear that this conversation was not far from over. "You're going to explain everything." For just a moment, Phantom toyed with the idea of never coming back. But it was as inevitable as the tides. They needed each other. It would be best to try and get along.
Sorry for radio silence. Things have been hectic with life, Brexit (fuck Brexit), etc.
To quote the cat, 'can haz reviews'?