A Saga of Tanya the Evil/The Irregular at Magic High School crossover.
I do not in any way, shape, or form lay claim to either of these works.
This is just a work of admiration from one fan, to those others that share the same interest.
The only characters or places I lay claim to are those solely of my own creation.
A (not so) simple request.
Monday June 9th, 6:00am, 2094
The next morning finds the two veterans of a very foreign war sitting at the table eating breakfast, Tanya sipping at her cup of bitter black brew while Visha seems to be doing her best to make sausage a rare commodity. "I could get used to this, Visha." Tanya comments, flipping to the next page of the newspaper on her device.
"Ma'am?" Visha questions from around another link. "The food, you mean?" She finishes her plate, gathering Tanya's and taking them to the sink.
Tanya chuckles, giving Visha a fond little grin. "Not all of us think solely of our stomachs, Visha. I meant not being shot at, not wondering when the next wave or artillery barrage is coming. Not wondering when the next fanatic will show up." She says as she rises, gathering her bag and Visha's into her hands and starts to walk to the door, passing Visha's to her once they had exited and the door was locked behind them.
"I see. Yes, I could get used to this. Especially the food." She says as she grins over at Tanya. "I liked the 'stir fry' you recommended to me, and thank you for letting me have some of your curry, ma'am. I might have to order it next time." She says, rubbing her belly fondly.
Tanya laughs, shaking her head as she leads the way, Visha her usual step behind and to the right of her. "Of course, Visha. So, are you ready for classes? It won't be anything like you had experiences in OCS or the battle college. Remember, stick to the cover story, and stay near me. I will help whenever I can to smooth things over. I might not have had much longer than you in the school, but every bit of experience is vital when you're entering a new battleground."
"Ma'am, yes ma'am" Visha immediately choruses, stopping just short of the salute that is instinctual for her.
Tanya chuckles as she squares her shoulders, entering the school grounds proper. "Let's do our best."
Classes pass much as they had before, the fact that this society was much more polite than you would expect in a wester society didn't hurt. Yes, Visha was mobbed by the other students, but at least she didn't have to fend off the perverted advances of the boys here. Yes, there might be a few of them that might need to be shown how to understand the proper level of terror still, but that would come in time. Tanya smiled that smile of hers, not able to stop imagining training the lot of the young mages, almost feeling a sense of nostalgia.
Visha, for her part, does an admirable job. She sticks to her cover story, and defers to Tanya whenever she needs to. Even though her formal training seems to be oddly behind, her raw talent and potential goes a long ways towards evening the field. Six months of rehabilitation proves worthwhile as she joins the other girls on the field for physical education, accounting herself admirably, at least in the eyes of Tanya. The other girls are a bit taken back at another young amazon like the mysterious diminutive blonde that had already shaken up their ranks.
Classes end for the day, and the two girls find themselves outside the doors to the student council chambers, Tanya reporting for the summons and Visha choosing to come along instead of facing the student body without the support of her former superior.
Two sharp raps to the door, and Tanya stands at something just short of parade rest while she waits to be acknowledged. The door is opened by a younger girl who is a bit shorter than Tanya herself who has a warm, welcoming smile for the pair. "You must be Tanya Degurecheff. And this must be your companion that we have heard so much about in such a short time." She glances over her shoulder, her head tilted for a moment, then nods and turns back to the pair. "Do please come in. I'm the secretary, Lisa Neuman. Can I get you two some tea?" She asks as she leads the pair to the table, indicating where they can sit at the foot while the others regard them.
Tanya smiles and nods "Yes, thank you. That would be appreciated." She says as she takes her seat, Visha sitting just a moment after she does in the seat besides her. "I hope that you didn't mind my friend accompanying me? She is also new to the school, having just recently arrived and she can be a bit shy at times." She casts a glance over to Visha, who is sitting quietly but smiling softly next to her.
The tall, willowy blonde sitting at the head of the table smiles and nods. "That is not a problem, we might want to talk to her as well, if she has the same potential that we have seen from you, Tanya." She says in a warm tone of voice. "I'm Erika Braum, the student council president this year. " She gestures to her right. "This is Stefan Linder, the vice president." The stocky young man nods at the introduction as Erika continues, gesturing to the redhead sitting next to Stefan. "This young lady is Jane Donner, our treasurer. She is a bit of a stick in the mud, but no one is better with numbers than her." She says, winking at Jane who just rolls her eyes and nods to the pair.
Erika turns to her other side, gesturing to the stocky, muscular young man sitting at her left hand. "May I present to you Anton Brecker, the head of the Disciplinary Committee, without their hard work we would have anarchy." She nods to him once more, then turns to address the final person present, sitting besides Anton. "And joining us today is Lutz Lergen, the head of the sports and extracurricular committee." The tallish redhead nods his head, smiling warmly at the two of them. "It's actually at Lutz's suggestion that we called you in. If you would like to take over, Lutz?" She says, sitting back down.
The redhead nods, standing in turn. "Thank you both for coming here today, I am sorry to interrupt your day, but I'll be honest here. We need your help." He runs a hand through his hair. "We haven't done well in the last couple of years Seven School competitions. We are hoping bringing in a couple promising first years might help us swing things about, get us back into the competition, if not this year, then next. That is where you come in, Degurechaff. You, and possibly your friend as well. Can I call you Tanya? I'd like to call you Tanya. Less formal, you know?"
Erika at this point clears her throat, giving him a pointed look.
He coughs as well, ending his rambling bit and gives Tanya an expectant look.
Tanya nods, collecting her thoughts as she glances to the side, getting the subtle nod that she had expected, but worried a bit by that particular gleam in Visha's eyes. "So, you're hoping that by bringing in people that the competition hasn't thoroughly scouted, that have shown some measure of ability and talent, that you can swing things a bit in your favor. Especially since your previous outings have hardly been a favorable showing for your school, and thus you haven't gotten the best of what the school has to offer, as well. Is that about the gist of it, then? And yes….Let's use first names here, it would put us on better footing, I believe." What goes unsaid is that the name Neuman might still be a bit of a subject that neither of the girls wants to broach, not yet at least.
Lutz pales a bit, then sighs and nods. "You have it about right, yeah. Some of the first and second years we were hoping to get this year seem a bit...Hesitant. So, are you willing to give us a chance, Tanya? And what about your charming friend here?" The look he gives Visha would be considered suave and charming, if he hadn't just been a rambling idiot in front of them.
Tanya can feel that vein in her temple twitching for some reason, perhaps the idiot's ramblings had bothered her more than she had thought. "I can't speak for Viktoriya, but I would be willing to participate." She glances aside at Visha, ignoring Lutz for the moment. The hand clasping and gleam in her excitable companion's eyes does worry her, but at least Visha collects herself long enough to nod in assent. Tanya turns back to Lutz and sighs. "I guess there is nothing else for it but for the two of us to see what we can do to help you out." She holds out her hand, meeting Lutz's gaze squarely.
He hesitates for a moment, then clasps her hand in his and gives her a firm if awkward shake. "I'm glad that you are able to help us out with this, there are a couple of events we really need some coverage in…" He trails off, glancing at the president. "But, I guess we can save that for tomorrow. Can you be down to the gym after classes are over? We will be holding a team meeting in one of the multipurpose rooms, and it's a good chance for you to meet the rest of the first years." He steps back, unable to meet her gaze. "Thanks, again."
Tanya sweeps her gaze over them, putting on her best fake smile. "Of course, thank you. We look forward to working with you, Lutz." She nods and leads Visha out, chewing on her thumbnail once they are out of the building. "I can only imagine what kind of wet behind the ear slackers that mess was able to rummage up. Oh well, I guess there is nothing to do but to see what scraps he found, and whip them into something resembling shape." She straightens her shoulders, taking on that particular look that Visha knows so well.
Visha nods, swallowing a bit. She knows that look, she has seen it many times over the years. Why, exactly it seems to make her feel oddly warm is something that the former adjutant isn't quite ready to examine in depth.
The two make their way off of campus, soon talking about what they should do for supper that night, not having yet laid in proper provisions for sustained cooking. Tanya has her opinions, of course. "I think that tonight we order from that pizza place we passed on the back stretch of our little jog yesterday. I liked the layout of the store, and the smell was rather pleasant." She casts a glance at Visha. "...And tomorrow after the meeting, we will go shopping, to find stuff to stock the cabinets, ok?" She adds, shaking her head at the look of glee that crosses her companions face. "For as much time as we spent hunkered over a small campfire eating whatever we could scrape up, you are surprisingly motivated to cook, Visha."
Visha smiles and nods. "It's always been one of the things I enjoy, Tanya. I like cooking for you..I mean us. It feels good to know that something I do off the battlefield is appreciated." She says, walking perhaps a bit closer than normal to the Argent.
Tanya nods, smiling a bit awkwardly. The pair share a companionable silence until they arrive back home, where Tanya delegates the ordering of pizza to herself, while Visha brews some more coffee for her former superior.
Supper is spent eating pizza on the couch, a movie that neither one had ever seen playing on the screen. Then, homework, baths and bed were in order.
Sadly, that night would not prove to be a quiet one for Tanya, as the spectres of war raised their heads once more to invade her sleep.