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.

The Beast stirs…

Tuesday June 10th, 6:10 pm, 2094

Tanya sighs, giving a long-suffering look to her companion. "This is a stupid outfit, I can't believe you talked me into wearing it." She grouses.

"But, it looks amazing on you!" Visha gushes, hands clasped together and just under her chin, beaming brightly at the former Devil of the Rhine, currently dressed in, as far as she was concerned, far too many pastels.

"Visha, do I need to remind you of The Dress again?" Tanya says in that calm, cold, dreadful way of hers. Somehow, the almost beatific smile makes it even more sinister.

"No Ma'am!" Visha says, standing up straight. "No reminder is necessary." She hesitates, then relaxes a bit. "But...I like how it looks on you. No, the colors are...Not you, but perhaps there is something that can be done to make it less….Ummm…"

"Tooth rotting?" Tanya interjects, slowly turning and taking it in. "They could at least have had the decency to provide trousers instead of leggings."

"I think that it's supposed to be..Fanciful, Ma'am." Visha says, looking apologetic.

With a heavy sigh Tanya relents, letting her former adjutant off the hook. "Fine, fine, in the sake of cultural exchange and blending in, I will allow it this time."

"Thank you, Ma'am! You're very generous, Ma'am!" Visha choruses as she falls in behind Tanya as they make their way towards the field where the training stage is set up for Mirage Bat.

Tanya gives a critical look over the other first year athletes, mentally critiquing their actions and performance, something that had become second nature to her when dealing with the constant floor of fresh recruits, especially as the war drew closer to an end and the amount of training became more and more trunctuated. "That woman's stance is horrible. She is not squaring herself properly before she executes her shot." She nods towards one of the hopefuls for speed shooting. "And what, exactly, does that boy think he is doing? That is not how you move from cover to cover." She nods towards one of the young men doing drills for Monolith Code.

"I think that they are...doing their best, Ma'am." Visha offers in a hopeful, polite tone of voice as she mentally takes notes on what her former superior is pointing out.

"Be that as it may, it's still inexcusable. If they were sent to the Rhine like that, I would have had to do some...Remedial training." Tanya says with that classic smile that her recruits learned to fear so correctly.

"I am not disagreeing with you, Ma'am, but they are civilians, what can we really expect of them." Visha says, stopping as Tanya stops and looks over her shoulder, their eyes locking.

"It is still something that should not be allowed. Such inefficiency speaks volumes of the quality of the education." She turns back forward, striding purposefully forward. "Yes, it would be in the best interest of everyone if someone took this bunch of chicks under their wing, and made something useful out of them, besides chicken soup." Tanya says, more to herself than anyone else.

Visha swallows a bit, choosing to ignore the little flip of her heart, the tightness of her chest. It didn't mean anything, it couldn't mean anything. Tanya was always, regardless of what anyone's paperwork might say, her superior. Add to that, that she was a woman, and surely her feelings were impossible. But why was it, when she saw Tanya like this, so focused on others, so caring in her own way, that it made her feel warm inside? She shakes her head, never stopping in her careful strides to remain precisely where she was meant to be, a step to the side and behind of the Argent. It was where she belonged. She could never imagine being beside her, walking next to her, holding her hand… She flushes as she quickly tries to change her thoughts to things less distracting.

"Well, here we are." Tanya says as she eyes the pillars jutting into the sky, surrounded by water. The practice area looked exactly like what she had studied, down to the placement of the pillars and their height. She gripped the stick, her practice CAD in her other hand as she activated the sequence of spells that she would be using today, at least until she could figure out something better. WIth an easy hop, she carried herself gracefully to the first of the pillars and activated the projections. As the colorful balls of light appeared above her, she narrowed her eyes and started to plot her course, working through the best sequence of launches and landings to make the most of her time and energy.

With a nod, she executes the series that she sees in her head, launching gracefully from one pillar to another, landing fast, precise swats of each of the balls as she works through her sequence. With a gentle grace befitting the 'fairy of the battlefield' she landed on the top pillar once more, watching for the next sequence even as she noticed how quiet the surrounding students had become.

"Is something the matter? Did you finish your practice already?" She asks of them in that haughty manner of hers, one eyebrow arched in an inquisitive manner that would have had any of the former soldiers of the 203rd scrambling to find themselves as much busy work as possible lest the Commander does it for them.

Visha smiles up at Tanya, that open, honest expression soothing the ire of the Argent. "I think that they are just in awe of your prowess, Ma'am. And, I imagine, are finding motivation to renew their efforts." Visha sweeps the other first years with that knowing, honest look of hers as they quickly disperse, not understanding the sudden sense of dread that overcame them.

Tanya weighs Visha's statement for a minute, eyes critical before she nods. "Very well, then. I will run another three sequences, then we can go over them to see if there are any suggestions to be made, then." She says, then puts action to word.

After finishing her sets, under the unwavering attention of Visha and a few of the other students, Tanya and Visha settle down to break down her performance in the event and to observe how the other first years seem to be coming along, along with a discussion of how those in charge seem to be handling it.

"I think that if I make changes to this and this part of the sequence, it should handle the randomness of the placement better, more like a roving patrol zone coverage." Tanya explains as the two sit huddled over one of their tablets, beverages at close hand. Tanya takes a moment to savor the aroma of the can of coffee, glad to have such conveniences, even if they are nowhere near the quality of what she is already growing used to once more.

"I can't disagree with you, Tanya, but maybe if you stop here and here, it will increase the performance value while only moderately decreasing the overall tactical flexibility. It is, after all, supposed to be entertaining, and I think saving the more efficient model for next year will give us a greater advantage in the next competition, since they are sure to analyse it." Visha counters, still delighted over getting to see her Tanya perform in such a way. She also decided to come back and reexamine that oddly possessive thought at a much, much later time.

Tanya nods, and lets her gaze sweep over the others, frowning a bit as she sees the people who are supposed to be overseeing their training once again talking amongst themselves. "I can understand being a bit more slack, since they are civilians still, but the level of engagement in training shows a definite lack of talent among the trainers, and a lack of commitment. I don't know if I can let this stand." She chews on her thumbnail in thought for a moment. "If you were the officer in charge of training, how would you show these new recruits how best to improve their talents, Visha?" She poses to her companion.

Visha hrms for a moment, tapping her drink with one finger while her face takes on that thoughtful look that Tanya had to secretly admit she found enjoyable. "I think that I would encourage them by showing them what they are capable of, ma'am." She eyes Tanya for a moment, grinning slightly. "But I have the feeling you are thinking something more like the beginning of the first day training the 203rd."

"There is a reason I took you with me all through my career, Visha." Tanya says, habitually starting to reach up to adjust the cap that has not been there for six months. She casts a baleful glance in the direction of her oh-so-not smirking associate before she rises. "I think it's well past time that someone takes an active role in starting to get these students looking something like the professional mages they will someday be."

Visha nods as she falls into step with Tanya. "And I imagine you already know where you intend to start, Ma'am?" She says, admiring the forceful stride of her diminutive companion.

"You would be correct as usual. We need to make the proper impression on them, then the rest are more likely to fall in line with us, and we can cut out some of the more banal parts of the training." Tanya says with a nod.

"Oh, you mean like thirty-six hours of shelling, Ma'am?" Visha responds in that sweet, innocent way of hers.

Tanya coughs once, glancing over her shoulder with a devilish little smirk. "I still stand by that approach. And yes, I think we can save a great deal of time with a little saturation bombardment. Do you have the suite of repurposed tactical spells loaded into your CAD?" Tanya asks, already knowing the answer, but one can never be too prepared after all.

"Of course, Ma'am. You did oversee them yourself." Visha says with a blush, remembering well the Argents touch on her chest as she oversaw the installation of the spells, feeling her mana emanating from her hand as it rested over the implanted CAD that had replaced her heart. Her hand fleetingly rests for a moment over that same spot, a faint blush starting to creep over her features before she is snapped out of her reverie by them arriving at the point that Tanya had chosen to make her impression at.

Tanya smiled that devilish smile of hers, surveying the battleground she had chosen. "So, which one of you wants to teach me what you think you know about Monolith Code?"

-AN-

Sorry for the short update, and long delay. I blame life and Destiny 2 for the one, and finding the flow that feels appropriate for the other. That said, I would probably expect the next update