3:30 pm, September 22nd, Wednesday.

"This has been going swimmingly,"

Phillip spoke sarcastically to himself as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, making his way over to the HQ of ME Corp for another day of work.

Things haven't been easy ever since he confronted Cocolia. The rumors Mei insisted would calm down only increased dramatically over the last few weeks. Ryoma was confronted with rioters constantly, and, more recently, a pending lawsuit was issued courtesy of one blonde bimbo. It got to where employees became more and more convinced that the rumors were true and slowly left the company. This left only Ryoma, Phillip, and some scientists that didn't listen to news networks.

With the current situation, Phillip was a little more willing to alert Ryoma of his capabilities. Shock and awe would have been an understatement of Ryoma's reaction.

However, this wasn't the only problem that had occurred during the stressful month of September.

Earlier that day

"Huh?!"

Three girls stood up against the fourth, while Phillip simply sat there glaring at her. Mikoto was merely confused at the sudden action, while Yuki showed slightly contained excitement. Mei's reaction, however, was that of hurt and betrayal.

Ayame spoke her case, completely ignoring the girl she was tossing away. "I said I'm finished with this farce. She's completely lying, and I'm done playing along."

"Ayame-chan, please!" Mei cried out in an attempt to prevent her friend from leaving. "You have to trust me: my father wouldn't-"

"Oh, shut up," Ayame hissed back, silencing Mei. Phillip stood in response, leveling his eyes at the girl, daring her to continue. She simply turned around, bag slung over her shoulder. "I'm leaving this group and, if any of you grow a brain, you'll do the same." With that, Ayame walked away.

Mei, however, wasn't finished in the desperate and vain attempt to get Ayame back. "Wait, Ayame-chan, please listen to me," she cried, among others such calls, as she ran over to force a conversation between the two. Ayame simply shrugged her off as she headed for the door of the roof. As Ayame grabbed the handle of the door, Mei latched onto her free hand in hopes it would stop her.

Phillip never knew when he started moving, only that by the time he got there, Ayame had pulled her hand free and successfully backhanded Mei across the cheek. The grip he had on that hand was powerful if the grimace on Ayame's face was anything to go by... or the way her bones crunched underneath it.

"You said you were leaving, so do it."

Phillip's grip slacked, allowing Ayame to pull her hand away and leave the roof, clutching her hand along the way.

Mei was on her back, hand reaching out to the door as she neglected the growing bruise on her face. She pulled the hand back a moment later, clenched in a fist above her heart while tears trickled down from her eyes.

"I-I could have stopped her. I know I-"

"Don't." Phillip's words stopped her, causing her to look up at him with wide eyes. "She made her choice. Don't feel remorseful for her faults."

"But-"

"Besides," Phillip knelt to her, offering her his hand. "When your father wins in the end, she'll come back, all sniveling and crying about how much she messed up and all."

Her eyes widened at this before a burst of giggles erupted from her mouth, and the tears subsided. "I think you and I know a different Ayame."

Phillip smiled back at the girl with mild relief. "Well, either way, you have three other people to rely upon at school and your father at home. So, don't cry just yet."

Mei nodded at this and, finally, took his hand. As he gently rose her up, she spent some time to clear off what tears remained. Once she was done, Phillip cupped her right cheek to check the damage while subtly healing with chakra. Once he was satisfied, he walked her back to Mikoto, who gave an apologetic smile, and Yuki, who still refused to stop glaring at him.

Flashback ended

"Damn her," Phillip growled as he put all his aggression into one stomp, leaving a small crater in the rooftop while flinging himself farther than any other jump has.

"Calm yourself. You're liable to cause an even bigger uproar if you continue throwing your anger around."

Why did you stop me from doing it? This would be over now if you-

"Shortsightedness is not going to win here. We work with the story of this universe, not against it. We can't push fate too far here."

Phillip growled once more but calmed himself with a loud, exasperated breath. He knew he couldn't battle Gabriel, no matter how much stronger this journey made him. So, Phillip focused on getting to his place of work.

Once the ME Corp HQ was in sight, Phillip slipped into a nearby alleyway to avoid arousing gazes. He slipped out unnoticed and walked the rest of the way. Of course, there was still the matter of rioters that blocked the entire front of the building.

Phillip simply sighed as he entered the crowd. Some of them were new and paid him no mind as he shuffled past them. Others weren't and made it clear as they tried taking potshots at him. However, he wasn't defenseless and blocked any knee, kick, punch, or elbow sent his way. By the time he reached the door, Phillip had stopped almost 100 different attacks.

Once he was inside, a boot crashed through the glass panel of the door, causing a metal shutter to slam down and block off the screams of the mob. Shaking his head, Phillip looked over the place, noting several other windows replaced with shutters. As the site was shrouded in darkness, Phillip began his work.

"Hephaestus, activate lights and send me the list of tasks."

"Affirmative. Welcome back, Overseer Stuyvesant."

"Enough with that," Phillip told the building's AI, created to work security after they all quit. "I'm still just an employee."

"Understood, Overseer Stuyvesant."

Phillip rolled his eyes at yet another adversary he had yet to defeat. Putting aside the AI's behavior, Phillip summoned a mass of clones, all of which transformed into his ex-co-workers. They got to work immediately, picking up the jobs of who they transformed into would accomplish. With that out of the way, he turned back to his little compartment... only for a call to ring out from his earpiece.

~Come up to the office. I wish to speak with you~

Top Floor, 10 minutes later.

Phillip stepped out of the elevator immediately upon its opening. Ryoma was seated at his desk, though looked far worse for wear. His bloodshot, baggy eyes had dark circles around them; his clothes were wrinkled from hasty dressing and, despite his confidence to win the war, had an expression of concern on his face.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Phillip questioned, hoping to bring some level of normalcy to lighten the mode.

Ryoma sent a grim stare but showed a soft smile behind it. "Yes, I needed a say a few things." Phillip walked closer, stopping at the foot of the desk to hear what Ryoma needed to say. "First and foremost, the trial. It was shifted for tomorrow, so don't come after today."

"Rather quick change, don't you think?" Phillip said, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "It feels like Cocolia is trying to make a move."

"I know," Ryoma said, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin on them. "Going into the second item, I wish for Mei to lodge with you tonight."

"Uh," Phillip let the word slip out, confused at what Ryoma was asking for. "I don't think that's a sound idea."

Ryoma narrowed his eyes at this. "Do you plan on hurting or taking advantage of her?"

"Fuck no."

"Then I see no reason as to why she can't stay with you for a single day," Ryoma replied, relaxing his features while also ignoring the curse Phillip released.

Phillip, however, didn't relate to this. "Her coming and going from my apartment would set off more rumors. The last thing she needs right now is someone calling her 'whore' wherever she walks."

Ryoma gave an elongated breath before responding. "There are some things I need to do before the hearing. It would be best if Mei remained outside of the house while I finish them."

"Are these 'things' potentially dangerous?"

Ryoma shook his head at the question. "Just some contacts that I need to address and some items that need to be disposed of."

Phillip opened and closed his mouth, trying to figure some way of convincing the man to rethink. Failing to come up with anything, he turned his head away while pressing his tongue against his cheek. "Are you certain you've got this?"

Ryoma chuckled at this, a dark and dry chuckle. "For all my confidence on the matter, I can't reasonably assume that I'll win against that vixen."

Phillip shook his head at this, his expression gloomy. "Anything else you need to alert me of?"

"No," Ryoma said as his expression rotated back to solemn. "You and your... clones, you call them?" Phillip nodded at the question. "Finish the required jobs, and you can leave when you desire."

Phillip gave one more nod before walking back to the elevator, ready to start his work. Once he entered the elevator, Phillip turned around to send the man a confident smile, one that was returned. Only then did his descent begin.

4:30 pm

"Good evening, sir."

Phillip stared flatly at the massive man in front of him, stationed before the jet-black limo he drove. The two of them stood there, sizing the other up before Phillip let out a sigh and stepped forward.

"Let's just get this over with."

The chauffeur nodded and opened the door to the limo, showing off the current occupant on the other side to Phillip. He and Mei shared a smile before Phillip pulled himself into the vehicle and plopped down on the seat. The door shut behind him and, after a moment, the driver began the course to Phillip's apartment.

For a long while, the drive was silent outside of the low hum of the car. Phillip picked his brains for a conversation topic, but he doubted Mei desired to talk about the weather or, God forbid, how the others were doing. The wound of what happened this morning was still rather prominent, so he'd rather not stir that pot.

Thus, Mei was the one who spoke. "How was your work?"

"It's fine."

"That's good."

Just like that, the conversation ended just as abruptly as it started. Knowing the lecture Gabriel would give him for the piss-poor discussion, Phillip raked his brain again to make the now awkward silence. Mei seemed to have either lost interest in conversing with him or was just as lost, as she refused to meet his eyes when he looked her way.

A saving grace came when the chauffeur spoke. "If you two need a conversation piece, why not talk about hobbies?"

Phillip and Mei looked at the man for a split second before looking at each other. Mei looked more relieved at the idea, while Phillip looked out of the window, his face expressing his desire to avoid this.

Noting Phillip's reluctance, Mei started the conversation. "I wouldn't call it a hobby per see, but I'm being taught in Kenjutsu."

Phillip rose an eyebrow at this, casting her a sideways glance. "Swordplay?"

Mei nodded at this. "My father says that, while the use of swords has diminished, there are many lessons hidden in the teachings. So, he hired a teacher for me."

"What's their name?"

"Master HOMU."

Having learned this world's economy, Phillip understood precisely what "Homu" meant. The disturbing image of a man-sized humanoid, yellow creature with large rabbit-like ears and a grin of razor-sharp teeth crossed his mind, causing him to shudder. Mei noticed immediately, but Phillip managed to wave her down before she became too curious.

However, with nothing to preoccupy her mind, she jumped into the next part. "What about you?"

Phillip inwardly cursed at this. While he had plenty of them before his journey, they more or less disappeared when saving the world became more prominent. This meant the only thing he had worth sharing was the thing he had already shared.

So, he decided to lie a little. "I play video games."

Mei nodded at this as if expecting something of that idea. "My father says you shouldn't play for too long, but I've played some of the first games made."

"Like?"

"The first Homu Fighters and Kallen Fantasy 1. Which of these were yours?"

"... Kallen Fantasy," Phillip lied again, hoping it would satiate the girl's curiosity and stop her from digging. Unfortunately, it didn't.

"Let's play together later," Mei stated with a wide grin.

"I stopped playing console games a while ago. I focus on PC games."

Mei seemed displeased at the idea for a second before bringing a hand up to her chin as if contemplating something. After a second, she looked back at him.

"I believe Mikoto mentioned that Kallen Fantasy was ported to computers. We should still be able to play together."

Phillip mentally sighed at this but was more expressively happy to Mei. "Alright. We'll play a couple of games." A different conversation was occurring in his head.

Go to the store and purchase a laptop and a couple of controllers. Also, find out how to play co-op in this world's version of Final Fantasy.

Clone: Would you like fries with that, sir?

No, but I would like less sass from my clones.

Clone: Blame yourself, not us.

With that, the conversation ended, almost forcing Phillip into a groan. Luckily, he prevented himself from doing so and looked out of his window to stare as the gray city zoomed past the limo, mind wandering back to the conversation that he had with Ryoma and analyzing in what way he could aid his current employer.

"Don't worry about it. We'll achieve the victory in this dimension as we have in all the others."

I'm less worried about the overall dimension and more about the individuals. Are you absolutely sure I shouldn't help him in some way?

"Positive. If you want to help them, you should follow the script. It is for the best."

Phillip closed his eyes, hiding his exasperation of the matter from the two others in the limo. From then on, all conversations ceased as they traversed the roads of a city doomed to die.

Some time later.

"This is my place," Phillip stated as he and Mei stopped in front of his apartment. Mei scanned over the entire hallway, enamored and... seemingly disappointed with the outcome.

"This isn't what I expected an employee of my father would live," she admitted, her eyes back on Phillip's door as he fished out his keycard from his pant pockets. "My father should be paying a lot more than this."

"Your father pays me enough," Phillip stated, opening his door with a nudge of his elbow after unlocking it. "I'm just more minimalist than other people."

Mei peered inside. "It looks comfy enough. Is there enough room for the both of us, though?"

Before Phillip could open his mouth, Kiana's door swung open, and the girl stepped out into the hallway. Kiana immediately turned their way and opened her mouth to say something, only to pause at the sight of Mei. After a moment, Kiana began to drool slightly out of the corner of her mouth but smothered it quickly before stepping forward to introduce herself.

"Hey! My name is Kiana, Kiana Kaslana. What's your name?"

Mei jumped at the forwardness of the white-haired girl. "I-I'm Raiden, Mei. Nice to meet you."

"Raiden, Mei, huh?" Kiana said the girl's name to check how it rolled off her tongue. She grew an enormous grin afterward. "I like it. A pretty name for a pretty girl." Mei flushed at the compliment and tried to mutter her gratitude, but Kiana rounded to Phillip, who was holding the door open for Mei. "Oi! Where the hell were you! I thought you said you were going to tutor me!"

Mei, again, jumped at the sudden yelling Kiana sent Phillip, who gave the girl a flat look before replying to her. "I had work to attend to. Something you should apply to your homework."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I work super hard!"

"Eating and video games aren't considered hard work."

"Um," Kiana and Phillip paused their back and forth momentarily to turn to Mei, who seemed more sheepish than before. "I-I'm sorry, but am I intruding on something right now?"

Kiana blinked a couple of times before looking back at Phillip. "Hey, who's the hottie? Is she your sister or something?" Out of nowhere, she gasped before pointing at him accusingly. "Or is she your girlfriend that you never talked about?!"

Phillip gave her a deadpan expression for her statement. "No. She's the daughter of the CEO I work under. He wanted her to stay with me until he fixes something."

This, unfortunately, led to another gasp from Kiana. "Your CEO wants you to bed her while he fixes the wedding?!"

"No!" Phillip shouted as a rush of frustration and embarrassment flooded his brain. "He just wants her out of the house while he focuses on other things!" He rose a finger just as Kiana opened her mouth once more. "Not a wedding."

Kiana pouted at this before contemplating something for a moment. When she snapped out of her thoughts, she spoke. "So, she's single right now?"

Phillip groaned at this while Mei, whose blush was growing and growing as the conversation passed, started to sputter at the question. Mei entered Phillip's apartment with embarrassment-filled action, forcing Phillip to close the door as she rushed past him. She quickly entered the first room closest to her, which happened to be Phillip's bedroom.

Phillip let out a sigh at this before opening the door to look at Kiana, who was simply perplexed at Mei's action. "I'll help you with your homework later. I need to make sure Mei is okay and feels at home." Before he could close the door, Kiana stepped forward, blocking the path.

"I wanna talk with Mei, though. Please?"

Phillip stopped for a second before allowing Kiana in. She immediately moved past him and waltzed right into his room. He followed her, and the two found Mei on the ground, fainted and completely flushed. Kiana rushed over, picked her up, and placed her on his bed.

Phillip shook his head at this. "You do realize that is my bed, correct?"

"Are you going to put a pretty girl like her on the couch?" Kiana asked, giving him an accusing stare as she covered Mei with the blankets.

Phillip pinched the bridge of his nose, let out an exhausted sigh before dropping his arm in resignation. "Fine. I suggest you go get your homework; we'll be at it for a while."

"Aw, but I wanna take a nap," Kiana pouted, casting an eye at Mei as a thought crossed her mind.

"No, especially not with Mei," Phillip chided before walking up to Kiana and grabbing her by the white button-up shirt she wore. He then dragged the girl over to the door, opened it, and tossed her out of the apartment. "Now, grab your homework and meet me back here in 15 minutes." At Kiana's grumble, he closed the door.

Walking to his bathroom, he prepared for a shower with one thought on his mind: I hope this doesn't blow up anytime soon.

5:30 pm.

Mei woke up later as Phillip "tutored" Kiana on mathematics. She exited Phillip's room with a lighter blush than before but still couldn't meet his eyes when he turned to her.

"Are you feeling better now, Mei?" She nodded at Phillip's question as she gazed off to the window on her left. After seconds of uneasy silence, Mei looked back to Phillip.

"I-I'm sorry about before. It was ungraceful of me." At this, Mei bowed to Phillip, who didn't react. On the other hand, Kiana looked back and forth between the two as if expecting a fight to break out.

"Mei, I don't care about that," Phillip stated as he placed the pencil in his hand down on the table. "You were embarrassed, and rightfully so, so I expected that you would want some time to yourself." Mei stood straight at this but kept her eyes on the floor.

Phillip then pointed at Kiana. "Besides, you two need proper introductions to each other." Kiana gave a vigorous nod at this and looked back at Mei.

"As I said before, I'm Kiana Kaslana. I'm a freshman at Senba High."

Mei turned to Kiana, who sat at the other end of the couch, and bowed to her. "Good evening, Kaslana-san. My name is Raiden, Mei. I am a senior at Senba High."

Kiana's eyes sparkled at this. "Oh, could I call you Mei-senpai?"

Mei's eyes widened at this while Phillip pressed his right hand against his forehead. Kiana simply stared back at Mei as if she was waiting for consent on the matter. They stayed like this for a good minute before Mei spoke up.

"I-I mean, if you wish to refer to me as such, I wouldn't mind."

Kiana jumped up at this, rushing to Mei and enveloping her in a massive bear hug. Phillip simply shook his head at the action as the cheerful girl exclaimed her joy on the matter, while Mei somehow showed both confusion and happiness on her face.

As time passed them and Kiana showed no sign of relenting, Phillip picked up the pencil and tapped the eraser part against the table to pull the girls' attention towards him. "I'm glad you two have become friends, but, Kiana, you need to do your homework."

"Bah," Kiana groaned in response, slumping over to show her contempt for the idea. "Do I have to? I wanna talk with Mei some more."

"Kaslana-san, you should do your own work," Mei suggested, clasping her right wrist in her left hand in front of her. "If you don't, you won't pass through school."

"Mei-senpai, you can call me Kiana, you know," Kiana replied, flashing Mei a toothy grin.

"Oh, no. That feels far too informal for-"

Kiana brought her hands up and looked Mei in the eye with her own eyes swelling from false tears. "Pwease, Mei-senpai? Pwetty pwease?" Mei attempted to resist the action, only to falter with a sigh. Kiana pumped her fist at this before going in for another hug.

"That doesn't mean you're no longer responsible for your work, however." As these words exited Phillip's mouth, Kiana stopped, slumped over again, and slowly walked to her side of the couch to receive Phillip's tutoring.

As Kiana was forced back into the math textbook, Phillip looked up at Mei. "I'm sorry, but with Kiana's study habits, she and I will probably be stuck here for most of the night."

"It's alright," Mei said as she moved closer to Phillip. "In fact, I'd like to aid Kaslana-san- wait, I mean Kiana-san. I would like to help Kiana-san with her homework as well. If you'd let me."

At this, Phillip moved some of the books on the couch to the floor and held his palm out to Mei. She grabbed the hand with a ginger touch and a light flush as he aided her over to the now open spot. Kiana made sure to rejoice once Mei was seated next to her with another massive hug. Phillip tapped the white-haired girl with the eraser of the pencil in his hand and got back to work.

"So, Mei, right now we're on multiplication."

8:00pm

"I guess time flew a little too quickly."

Phillip was the first to notice the pale moonlight that shone from his window, signifying night had come. Mei had taken to sit between him and Kiana to help Phillip with his tutoring. They had worked tirelessly throughout the last couple of hours of sunlight, but it was ultimately fruitless, primarily due to Kiana's down-right refusal to stay on topic. She either delved into other parts of her day or tried coercing Mei into dropping the study session. Mei did her best to stick to the studying but often looked to Phillip as a means of support.

When he noticed the time of day, everyone noticeably relaxed.

"Finally!" Kiana cried, stretching out wide and almost hitting Mei in the process. "These textbooks are way too boring."

Phillip let out a sigh before standing tall and moving towards his tiny kitchen. "I'll make dinner for us, so long as Kiana leaves us enough." Sending the white-haired girl a glare, which she responded with a sheepish grin and a finger scratching her cheek, Phillip began rummaging through his drawers. It was during this that he noticed something off.

A "tsk" escaped his lips as they clenched together into a grimace. He rounded back to the girls. "I'm going to have to make a run to the grocery store. There are some missing ingredients I need."

Ignoring the obnoxiously loud groan from Kiana, Phillip went back to the couch and grabbed his coat. He then stared down at Mei. "Turn on the television if Kiana gets too uppity. She's easier to control if she's distracted."

"Oi! I'm not a pet!"

Phillip leaned down and grabbed the remote off the table before clicking the power button. The television flashed on to reveal a cartoon, to which Kiana locked onto immediately.

"See?"

Mei gave a slow nod at this, somewhat enraptured at the sight of Kiana's hyper-focus. It was only when Phillip had left and grabbed the door handle that she broke from the trance.

"Will you need assistance? I could call my chauffeur to transport you there."

Phillip looked back and gave a slight smirk in response. "I'll be fine. I would rather you be here and keep Kiana at bay until I return. I'd like to keep my rations for now." Mei seemed saddened by this, so Phillip added something else. "My laptop should be under my pillow. You and Kiana could play some games while I'm away. It has no password right now." She brightened only slightly at this but enough to allow Phillip his leave.

Outside the complex

"I know you saw that."

Not hard to, considering.

As soon as Phillip took a step outside, under the guise of his transparency jutsu, he jumped up to the roof of the apartment complex in one leap. Once there, he strolled to the side that had his room and looked over the side. To the naked eye, nothing would be there, but Phillip noticed the shimmer of something invisible moving towards him.

Phillip stepped back and readied himself as the object reached the edge of the roof. As he did, the thing lost its invisibility to show what it was... or rather, who. Gray hair twisted into drill-like pigtails was enough to tell.

Phillip was the first to speak. "What do you want, Bronya?"

Bronya didn't answer immediately, opting to look at him with a tilted head and dull eyes. "Subject Phillip was able to perceive Bronya despite her cloak. How?"

"Answer mine, and I'll answer yours."

Bronya didn't react to the bargain and floated closer to the ground, though never landing. "Bronya's question will be answered upon Subject Phillip's capture." With this, her robot appeared behind her, the arm that had the lance now switched out for a massive cannon that it leveled at Phillip. "Surrender is the most logical answer."

Phillip relaxed his stance, giving a brief nod at this. "Okay, my question was answered. Now for yours." The robot didn't wait for him to answer, firing three missiles in his direction. Phillip grabbed the first two projectiles out of the air and quickly tossed them towards the sky. He then leaped over the third with a backflip and caught it as it passed under him. With an overhead throw, the third was sent after the two with blinding speed, causing it to collide with one and detonate all of them with one small but loud explosion.

Once back on his feet, Phillip looked over at Bronya with a stone face. "I suggest you leave before the authorities get here. That should have alerted the entire block of what's going on."

It did, as the two noticed several builds nearby had just reactivated lights and the sounds of the city seemed to condense closer to the complex. It wouldn't be long before someone had the bright idea of calling the police on the place, even if no one ever finds out who was the cause of the commotion.

Bronya slipped back into her invisibility without a word and left the rooftop, as Phillip felt her presence slowly flow away. Phillip, in turn, turned on his transparency jutsu and leaped in the grocery store's direction to work his case. All of this happened just before the roof door exploded open, and Kiana came out of it, wielding a Colt pistol in both hands. She looked around several times before her guard let up, and she let out a huff.

"Damn."

8:45 pm

Phillip groaned as pops escaped his neck as he rolled his head. A plastic grocery bag dug into his left arm's skin, carrying several spices that he would need for tonight. It wasn't that he lacked them so much as it would make his alibi slightly more concrete if he used these over the ones in his pantry.

He had climbed over the last step on the stairs and started down the hall that he felt the blood circulation in his upper arm clog up, forcing him to move the bag to his palm to continue. By the time he got to his apartment, his blood flowed entirely again, but his palm was hurting instead. Phillip was also welcomed back with an odd sight.

Both Mei and Kiana were stationed outside of his door. Kiana had her foot raised to break the door down while Mei did her level best to prevent that from happening. Neither of them noticed him, so they continued their little argument of the correct course of action until Phillip made his presence known.

"What are you two doing?"

"Phillip!" Mei cried out once she turned to him. "A loud bang occurred while you were gone, and Kiana went to investigate. I followed out to see how I could help, and the door closed behind me just when I realized I couldn't provide much aid."

Phillip knew exactly what she meant but still played dumb by blinking a couple of times and exchanged looks with Kiana, who had long since put her foot down. "Are both of you okay?"

"I'm fine," Kiana said, an odd level of smugness emanating from her. "Mei-senpai was a little shaken, so I made sure to protect her."

Mei blinked at this. "Um, Kiana-san, I don't believe those were the events that transpired. Weren't you the one who jumped at the sound before running off?"

"Wha-?!" Kiana looked at Mei wide-eyed before shaking her head violently. "No, I didn't! I was just excited about some action after all that boring homework! That's all!"

"Really? Are you certain?"

"If it's alright with you," Phillip rose his voice to snuff out any more yelling Kiana would do at Mei's inquisitive words. "I would like to get inside and eat. What say you two?" Kiana nodded her head just as violently as before, while Mei nodded only once. With that, Phillip slipped the card out from his pocket and gave it to Kiana, the closest of the three to the door. She opened the door, and they walked back into the apartment for a pleasant, silent remainder of the night.

September 23rd, 4:00 am,

Phillip opened his eyes to stare at the gray ceiling of the living room. He pulled himself up to sitting position, causing the spare red blanket to fall off his body and bunch up at his feet. Staring at it for a moment, he looked over to the couch, only for his vision to be blocked off by the table. Pressing his right palm against the cold floorboards, he stood up to look at the occupant of the couch.

Kiana laid on her front as she slept, head tilted to the left to breathe. One arm was tucked underneath her pillow while the other was draped over the side. She let out soft snores as she left a puddle of saliva on the pillow. The only thing missing from this picture was the blanket she took with her.

Phillip picked the fallen blanket from the floor, walked over to the sleeping Kaslana, gave the blanket a flap, and laid on top of her. Immediately, the girl closed her mouth as she curled up into the blanket. Phillip simply shook his head at this before walking over to the bedroom. He gave the door three rapid knocks before cracking it open when he received no reply.

Mei was still fast asleep, face up while the rest of her body was hidden underneath the sheets. Phillip opened the door to give the room a better run down and found nothing out of place. Satisfied with the quick scan, he closed the door and began his routine for the day, just without clone support. He simply hoped the peaceful beginning of the day would continue for the remainder of the day.

7:45 am

"Thank you for the food for this morning," Mei said as she and Phillip walked to their classroom. " I'll be sure to ask the maids to make something for you as a gift of appreciation."

Phillip waved it off. " You were a guest of mine. Providing food was the least I could do."

"My father told me to never leave a debt unpaid. Please allow me to pay you back for your hospitality."

Phillip let out a sigh as they closed in on the classroom door. " If you want to repay me, let me lodge at your house if I ever lose my apartment."

"That's hardly a fair trade."

"Yeah, well, it's the only one I'm agreeing to."

With this, the two were close enough to the door for Phillip to open it. Mei entered the classroom first, with Phillip following close behind. As soon as they entered, a couple of whispers entered their ears.

"Didn't you hear?!"

"Of course I did. It's all over the news."

They shared a look of confusion with each other before going to their desks. Phillip placed his items down before looking back towards Mei, who had arrived at her desk much sooner than anticipated. However, an oddity occurred almost immediately, as no one got closer to her.

In fact, those that would sit close actually moved back, as if repelled by Mei's mere presence.

Phillip rose an eyebrow at this and kept an eye on Mei for her reaction. She seemed to believe that it was a problem with hygiene as she began sniffing her school uniform for any terrible odors. Not intrigued by this, Phillip scanned over the classroom and noticed something.

Gone were the fake smiles that offered fictitious happiness and fabricated sympathy. All they provided was the once-hidden malicious disgust they always had, and each and every single one of them was aimed at Mei.

Deciding to test his luck, Phillip turned to the student behind him. "What's got everyone in a huff?"

The student, a blonde girl with a face he'll forget by tomorrow, shook her head. "It's nothing you did; you were just an employee. What her father did, though…"

Phillip narrowed his eyes at this and opened his mouth to counter the accusation when another in the back of the class spoke up.

"Hey, you dumb bitch! You should pack your things and leave! This school shouldn't have your kind here!"

Mei was utterly unaware of who the person was talking to, too busy checking herself for anything physically wrong with her that pushed the usual crowd away. Thus, that person stormed close to Mei and violently pulled her from her seat, causing her to fall onto the floor with a loud thump.

Phillip, trying to keep his cool while not dropping his cover, stood up and hurried over to Mei. Looking her over and finding her more shocked than hurt, he rounded back at the student.

"Sorry, do you mind explaining why you're attacking a classmate for literally no reason?"

The student snarled at this. "Oh, come off it. You mean you haven't heard the news yet?"

"Sorry," Phillip said, leaving any interest in hearing a piss poor reason for terrible actions. "Unlike you, I don't use a news outlet to determine my actions."

The student jeered. "Well, guess what: that bitch's name means nothing now. So, don't try defending her unless you want trouble."

"I-I'm sorry," Mei spoke, finally finding a voice against her aggressor. "What happened that caused all this? I don't know what's going on."

It's was then that the student told them the truth in a fit of race, something Phillip didn't want to hear and caused Mei to go silent with wide eyes.

"Your criminal of a father was arrested!"

Sorry this took so long to get out. I had a crash early last week and had been down and out for a while now. Technically, I think I'm still pulling myself together, but I am getting through.

Hopefully, this chapter was worth the wait, and I'll see you guys on the next chapter.